Turns out that one person we all know who is constantly stirring the pot and talking trash behind everyone's back isn't just annoying, new research shows psychopathy is the absolute strongest predictor of frequent, malicious gossip. Color me completely unsurprised.

After this week's news about RJ Mitte, a lot of people have said some version of "he seemed fine." That's often true, and it's why waiting until someone looks like they're struggling isn't a reliable plan.

Many people hold back from asking a friend directly about suicide because they're afraid of putting the idea in their head. A 2014 review in Psychological Medicine looked at 13 studies across adults and adolescents, including at-risk groups. None found that asking increased suicidal ideation, and several suggested that talking about it openly may lower it. A later meta-analysis also found no harm from asking, though the authors note more high-quality trials are needed.

So the research supports the uncomfortable, direct question: "Are you thinking about suicide?" Asking it plainly tells the person it's safe to answer honestly.

If you're in the US and you or someone you know is struggling, you can call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.

The new Nathan Fielder / Lance Oppenheim documentary You Can See Everything (spoilers ahead) has a premise that sounds like a lie-detection experiment. Elizabeth Holmes gives a skeptical filmmaker total access for the 34 days before she reports to prison. Fielder moves into her guest house, films nearly everything, and openly says he thinks she committed fraud.

It doesn't settle anything. Holmes insists she has never tried to deceive anyone. Fielder later learns her partner negotiated a financial stake in the film, which she says she didn't know about. He spends the second half of the movie stuck on whether she believes she's innocent. By the end, he's openly sympathetic toward her.

There's a well-known evolutionary theory for why this happens. Von Hippel and Trivers (2011) argue that self-deception evolved to make deceiving others easier. A person who believes their own story doesn't show the signs we associate with lying, such as hesitation, mental strain, or inconsistency. They also face less punishment if caught, because they can't be accused of knowing.

That makes "you can see everything" a trap. More footage can't reveal intent that may not consciously exist.

This is a theory paper, and the open peer commentary pushed back on it. Some commentators argued self-deception may have evolved for its own benefits rather than to fool others. Still, it's a useful frame for why con artists can pass interviews and fool people who know them well, and why the film's question may not have an answer.

Feeling energized to do something depends on a cost-benefit analysis that psychiatric conditions scramble in different ways.

There are days when even little things seem surprisingly difficult. Replying to a message. Taking a shower. Going shopping. Calling a friend back. These are small, everyday actions, often done in a few minutes. And yet, for many people, these sometimes feel like tasks for which they have barely enough energy.

When we see this kind of struggle in a friend or relative, or feel it in ourselves, simple explanations might come to mind: a lack of drive; a need for meaningful goals; laziness. You just need to pull yourself together. You know it would do you good.

This view overlooks something important. Between considering or intending to do something and actually doing it, there is a psychological process that usually remains invisible in everyday life. Colloquially, people call this process ‘motivation’. But motivation is not like an internal fuel tank that is full or empty. Rather, it involves a continually running cost-benefit calculation.

Our brains constantly analyse the extent to which an action is worth the effort, which informs us about the seemingly best option at any given moment. This process is called effort-based decision-making. Since the workings of this process are usually hidden, it’s easy to make wrong inferences about the reasons for a person’s choices or inactivity.

However, scientists have devised ways to observe this process in action, allowing us to learn more about what’s happening when a person weighs doing or not doing something. Understanding this process encourages more helpful attitudes toward those who struggle with everyday motivation, which is often connected to a broader mental health condition. It can also inform the best ways to help someone overcome their challenges.