The big idea: how to use your senses to help beat depression

Our research suggests that it's not sadness per se that leads to poor mental health, but shutting down input from the body. Sense foraging' offers a way out of the trap

Modern life seems designed to stop us from being alone with our thoughts and feelings. Our days are built from the bricks of work and play, mortared by media and intoxicants. It's understandable: glimpses behind the curtain can be deeply uncomfortable. When we pause for a second, the mind too often gravitates towards our greatest sources of stress - be they troubled relationships or our own critical stories about ourselves.

Scientists have even found that quite a few of us would rather give ourselves painful electrical shocks than wait in a distraction-free room for 15 minutes. Most people would agree that we need an occasional break from constant activity, but we seem unable to take advantage of our time off; rumination rushes in, spoiling what should be a period of respite. Distraction is one option - but why does taking time to chill" now require Netflix?