The Best-of Thought Catalog

What are you looking for? This page is a real-time index of the best Thought Catalog articles on a variety of topics.

Awakening

• This Is When She’ll Leave You – And Never Look Back by Shahida Arabi
• Strong Women Are The Ones Who Leave by Lauren Jarvis-Gibson
• I Will Love You In Letting You Go by Marisa Donnelly
• I Stopped Being A Good Girl – And I Am Never Going Back by Katerina Lolita
• The Liminal Space Between Heartbreak and Healing by Shahida Arabi

Anxiety

• How to Overcome Shyness by Erin Cossetta
• The Strongest Girls Are The Girls With Anxiety by Holly Riordan
• 50 Simple Mini-Habits That Actually Help With Anxiety by Chrissy Stockton
• What Anxiety Actually Is, Because It’s More Than ‘Just Worrying’ by Kirsten Corley

Almost Relationships

• 5 Types of Almost Relationships You Should Never Engage In by Erica Gordon
• 10 Unique Struggles You Only Experience When You’re “Talking” To Someone by Ella Cerón
• How To Get Over Someone You Only Sort Of Dated by Violet Benson
• An Open Letter To The Quintessential Almost Girlfriend by Rose Goodman
• The Ugly Truth About Getting Over Someone You Didn’t Date by Kirsten Corley

Badass Women

• 15 Things All Badass, Fearless Alpha-Women Do Differently From Other Types Of Women by Brenda Della Casa
• 15 Things Ambitious Girls Do A Bit Differently When They’re Dating by Kim Quindlen
• 10 Things No Truly Badass Woman Will Stand For by Kovie Biakolo
• Why The Women Society Calls “Damaged” Are The Most Powerful by Shahida Arabi
• 11 Badass Signs You’ve Moved On From Your Narcissistic Ex by Shahida Arabi
• 6 Reasons Why Independent Women Are Intimidating by Hallye Stubblefield

Beauty Standards

• Why Do I Hate My Body? by Jamie Varon
• Unlearning How To Be A Woman by Jamie Varon
• You’re Allowed To Be Fat by Chrissy Stockton
• The Most Powerful Decision Any Woman Can Make That Will Change Her Life Forever by Kovie Biakolo

Creepy Tales

• 15 People On Their Experience With The ‘Sleep Paralysis’ Demon by Chrissy Stockton
• 49 Deeply Creepy Tales Of The Paranormal To Read If You Don’t Want To Sleep Tonight by Eric Redding
• Alexa Told Me Where The Bodies Are Buried by Lane Loomis

Coffee

• Signs You’re A Coffee Addict by Nico Lang
• 22 Little-Known Facts About Coffee by Lorenzo Jensen III
• 15 Signs You Are A Closeted Coffee Snob by Heidi Priebe
• Tea People vs. Coffee People by Chelsea Fagan
• 18 Reasons Why Black Coffee Is The Best by Catie Prendergast
• When Two Friends Connect In A Coffee Shop by Aman Basra
• What Your Coffee Order Says About You, From A Barista by Alecia Li Morgan
• 22 Things Your Barista Wants You to Know (But Can’t Tell You) by Christy Yoder
• Here’s What Happened When I Went 90 Days Without Coffee by Maya Kachroo-Levine
• All Of The Best Ways To Brew Coffee (According To An Ex-Barista) by Robert Parmer

Dating

• The Difference Between Dating A Boy And Dating A Man by Sophie Wrenfield
• I Dated 5 Men At Once And Here’s What I Learned About Modern Romance by Katerina Lolita
• It Takes A Real Man To Date An Alpha Female by Mitzi J. Hernandez
• The Truth About Dating After Narcissistic Abuse Every Survivor Needs To Know by Shahida Arabi
• 10 Things Dating Should Feel Like And 10 Things It Shouldn’t by Kovie Biakolo
• Dating Is Like One Giant Game Of Mindf*ck That I Refuse To Participate In by Kirsten Corley
• Online Dating Is A Hunting Ground For Narcissists And Sociopaths: How To Protect Yourself In The Modern Dating Age by Shahida Arabi

Gaslighting

• 50 Shades Of Gaslighting: Disturbing Signs An Abuser Is Twisting Your Reality by Shahida Arabi

Narcissism

• 5 Damaging Lies We Learn From Narcissistic Parents by Shahida Arabi
• 20 Diversion Tactics Highly Manipulative Narcissists, Sociopaths And Psychopaths Use To Silence You by Shahida Arabi
• The Invisible War Zone: 5 Ways Children Of Narcissistic Parents Self-Destruct In Adulthood by Shahida Arabi
• 5 Sneaky Things Narcissists Do To Take Advantage Of You by Shahida Arabi
• This Is What Happens When You ‘Discard’ An Abusive Narcissist First by Shahida Arabi

Divorce

• When Your Parents Divorce When You’re Just A Kid by Jamie Varon
• 16 Ways Children Of Divorce Love Differently by Maya Kachroo-Levine
• She Divorced Me Because I Left Dishes By The Sink by Matthew Fray
• Divorce Is Painful, But Sometimes It’s The Right Choice by Taylor DuVall
• How To Date A Divorced Guy, And Why It’s Worthwhile by Mélanie Berliet
• 16 Crazy-But-True Stories Of Really, Really Bad Divorces by Lorenzo Jensen III
• 30 Men Recall The Moment They Decided To Divorce Their Wife by Jessica Winters
• Instead Of Shaming The Divorced, We Should Be Learning From Them by Mark Groves
• What No One Tells You About Getting Divorced When You Have Kids by Rebecca Lammersen
• 15 Young Divorcés Share Why Their Marriage Failed (And How They Could Have Fixed It) by Kim Quindlen

Modern Romance

• Why Modern Romance Makes Me Want To Punch Myself In The Throat by Melissa Moeller
• Meet Me Offline by Stephanie Georgopulos
• This Is How We Date Now by Jamie Varon
• What Different Cultures Can Teach Us About Modern Love by Kovie Biakolo
• All We Have Now Is Modern Dating And It Seriously Sucks by Rose Goodman
• Why Good People Ghost: How Our Current Dating Culture Necessitates Dishonesty by Lauren Jarvis-Gibson
• A Love Story Told Through Google Searches by Katie Mather
• This Is Why Passionate Girls Come Across As Clingy by Holly Riordan
• The Modern Dating Struggle by Christopher Hudspeth
• 18 Ugly Truths About Modern Dating That You Have To Deal With by Christopher Hudspeth
• The Ugly Reason Why Romance Is Dead and Gone by Holly Riordan
• I Fell In Love With A Married Guy And I’m Not Really Into Apologizing For It by Mélanie Berliet

Mating

• Guys, Here’s What It’s Actually Like To Be A Woman by Tucker Max
• 10 Animal Mating Rituals Human Dating Should Have by Christopher Hudspeth

Men’s Issues

• 41 Guys Share The Secrets They Desperately Want Women To Know by Eric Redding
• How Pornography Is Changing Millennial Men (Hint, The Sex Is Much, Much Worse) by Pierce Nahigyan
• This Is The Kind of Man That Women Want To Fuck by Alison Stevenson

Love Addiction

• The Real Reason Why We Love Bad Boys, Toxic Partners and Emotionally Unavailable Men by Shahida Arabi
• The Real Reasons Your Toxic Ex Keeps Crawling Back – According To Research by Shahida Arabi
• The Cognitive Dissonance Of The Codependent by Brian McElmurry
• This Powerful Manipulation Method Keeps You Bonded To Your Abuser by Shahida Arabi
• Love-Bombing Is Crack Cocaine: The Addictive Cycle of Narcissistic Abuse by Shahida Arabi

Love Triangles

• 3 Powerful Ways To Heal From The Toxic Triangulation of Narcissists by Shahida Arabi
• Only Fuckboys Stay Friends With Their Ex by Irina Mikhailovna

Life Advice

• Read This If You’re An Old Soul Who Feels Lost by Shahida Arabi
• I Hope You Never Stop Believing That Your Time Is Coming by Rania Naim
• We Should All Be Snobs by Christina Lancione
• How To Not Be An Asshole: A Guide To Mindfulness by Anna Ulmer
• ‘No’ Is The Single Most Powerful Gift You Can Give Yourself by Nikita Gill
• Your Demons Are Just Disassociated Parts Of Yourself You Have Not Yet Learned To Love by Brianna Wiest

Letters

• To My Friend In A Toxic Relationship, I Hope One Day You Have The Courage To Walk Away by Mitzi J. Hernandez
• An Open Letter To My Best Friend: Anyone Would Be Lucky To Date You by Holly Riordan

Self-Love

• She’s Happy Now, He’s Still The Same Piece Of Shit by Nicole Tarkoff
• Stop Telling Me To Love Myself First, Because That’s Bullshit by Callie Byrnes
• To My Fellow Women, Life Isn’t Just About Finding A Boyfriend by Lauren Jarvis-Gibson

Single Women

• Girls Who Stay Single For Large Gaps Of Time Actually End Up The Happiest by Holly Riordan
• 10 Things I Learned While Everyone Else Was Getting Married by Rania Naim
• Read This If Nobody Texted You Good Morning by Heidi Priebe
• Single Women Are Happier Than Society Thinks They Are – According To Research by Shahida Arabi
• 20 Of The Best Quotes To Empower Single Women Everywhere by Michelle Marshall
• 10 Reasons Why Smart Women Usually Have The Hardest Time Finding Love by Brianna Wiest
• This Is Why It’s So Hard To Be The Single One by Kara Nesvig
• 15 Things You Need To Know About The Life Of A Highly Sexual Single Woman by Isis Nezbeth
• 5 Reasons Why It Shouldn’t Matter Whether Or Not You Get Engaged Before Age 25 by Marisa Donnelly

Satire 

• 6 Signs You’ve Found A Great Guy (Actually, He’s Just Doing The Bare Minimum) by Katie Mather
• This Is The Type of Pasta and Alcohol You Should Consume, Based On Your Breakup by Lauren Jarvis-Gibson and Molly Burford
• Take This Quiz To See If You Should Text That Guy! by Katie Mather
• 6 Signs He Totally Loves You And — Actually, Who Cares, Everything Is A Disaster by Katie Mather
• 30 Personal Questions To Ask That Guy You Just Went On A Tinder Date With, While You’re Both Waiting For The Uber by Katie Mather

Sex

• What Women Wish You Knew About Eating Pussy by Shaun Galanos
• 10 Tips On How To Lick A Girl (NSFW) by Bianca Bui
• What It Feels Like To Get F***ed In The Ass by Ryan O’Connell
• This Is How To Really Make A Woman Come, According To Science: 5 Facts About The Female Orgasm Everyone Should Know by Shahida Arabi
• I Bet You Didn’t Know There Are 9 Types Of Orgasms, And Here’s How To Have Them All by Christine Schoenwald
• 21 Women Reveal What It Was Like To Have Sex With A Large Or Small Penis by hoK leahciM
• 50 Types Of Sex Women Actually Want To Have by Holly Riordan
• 50 Different Ways Your Boyfriend Wants You To Fuck Him by Holly Riordan
• You’re Not Really A Couple Until You Have These 17 Different Types of Sex by Sylvie Quinn
• 9 Reasons Why Women Should Definitely Be Masturbating by Megan Brotherton

Self-Care

• This Is What Self-Care Really Means, Because It’s Not All Salt Baths and Chocolate Cake by Brianna Wiest
• 5 Powerful Self-Care Practices That Can Save Your Life After Emotional Abuse by Shahida Arabi
• 102 Ways To Not Let Irrational Thoughts Ruin Your F*#king Life by Brianna Wiest
• 10 Ways To Strengthen Your Existing Self-Care and Self-Love Practices by Shahida Arabi
• 15 Minimum Effort Self Care Tips For A Busy Day by Nikita Gill
• 5 Reasons I’m Glad I Got the Fuck Over Myself and Went To Therapy by Alex Korchinski

Social Media

• The Cost of Broadcasting Intimacy: Modern Relationships In A Digital Age by Eliza Newman
• 7 Specific, Painfully Awkward Moments That You Could Not Have Had 11 Years Ago by Rachel Hodin
• To Tweet Or Not To Tweet: Combatting Instant Gratification Tendencies In A Technological Society by Sarah Halperin
• Why Now Is The Time To Abandon Social Media by James Swift
• How Social Media Is Ruining Your Relationship Before It Even Starts By Violet Benson
• A Love Story Told Through Venmo by Katie Mather
• If You Aren’t Doing These 17 Things, You Don’t Understand Social Media by Peace Ofuré

Spirituality

• 7 Spiritual Ideas That Enable Abuse and Shame The Victim by Shahida Arabi
• The Grace With Which You Accept What’s Not Meant For You by Brianna Wiest
• Be Armed With God’s Grace And Go Light The World by Marisa Donnelly

Healing

• The 7 Types Of People You Meet When You’re Trying To Heal by Nikita Gill
• It’s Going To Ache Before It Starts To Heal by Nikita Gill
• You Can’t Hurry Healing by Marisa Donnelly
• Healing Isn’t Supposed To Be Quick by Marisa Donnelly

Humor

• 50 Hilarious Comebacks That Will Shut Everyone Up (And Make You Look Like A Genius) by Mélanie Berliet
• 15 Guys From Harry Potter And Whether Or Not You Should Sleep With Them by Ella Cerón
• 5 Things That Will Make Any Normal Person Go Insane by Ryan O’Connell
• 6 Fake Boyfriends Every Girl Has (Even If She Has A Real Boyfriend) by Jessica Blankenship
• 10 Signs You Have No Life by Ryan O’Connell
• The 10 Best ‘Mean Girls’ Quotes To Use In Day-to-Day Life by Christopher Hudspeth

Harassment

• Why Women Don’t Want To Be Approached In Public (And How To Do It) by Shaun Galanos
• Changing The Politics of Street Harassment Means Men Must Step Up by Nico Lang

Hookup Culture

• Thank You, Fuckboys by Cantika Rustandi
• The 5 Types of Narcissists You’ll Meet On Tinder by Shahida Arabi
• I’m Pretty Sure I’m A Fuckgirl (And Like…I’m Okay With It) by Kendra Syrdal
• 8 Types of Fuckboys That No Single Girl Has Time For by Nicole Tarkoff
• I’m Opting Out Of Hookup Culture by Marisa Donnelly
• Why I Will Never Be Your One Night Stand by Lauren Jarvis-Gibson

Identity

• I Am Not Here To Make You Comfortable by Kovie Biakolo

On Feminism

• 6 Seemingly Non-Feminist Things That Feminists Secretly Want Men To Do For Them by Kat George
• Why We Need Feminism by Nico Lang
• What People Forget About Feminism by Yasmine Amin

Poetic Prose

• In Bed With You, I Whisper: ‘Please, Please, Please’ by Kara Nesvig
• For Seven Minutes My Heart Stops, And I See You by Bianca Sparacino
• You Should Date An Illiterate Girl by Charles Warnke
• The Beauty and Tragedy Of The Butterfly Effect by Nosipho Dlamini
• Read This During The Worst Moments Of Your Life by Shahida Arabi
• Something Like A Love Poem  by Ryan O’Connell
• It’s 3 A.M. And He Texts Me by Ari Eastman

Poetry

• Anxiety Is A Girl With My Face, But Not My Body by Sade Andria Zabala
• The Title of This Poem Is ‘Fuckboys’ by Chrissy Stockton
• Dear Abuser: I Am The Revolution You Never Expected by Shahida Arabi

Rape Culture

• A Gentlemen’s Guide To Rape Culture by Zaron Burnett III
• Dear Society: Women Shouldn’t Have To Dress Modestly To Be Respected Or To ‘Avoid’ Rape by Shahida Arabi
• Teach Your Sons That Women Do Not Exist To Please Them by Jyrmie Eisenheart Ladiero
• Pussy: A Think Piece by Joel Daniels
• The 10 Biggest Misconceptions of Date Rape And Rape Culture by Jazmine Reed
• This Is Why ‘Big Bang Theory’ Actress Mayim Bialik’s NYT Op-Ed Is Terrible by Molly Burford

Writing Tips

• The Most Important Things I’ve Learned About Writing After Writing Every Day For Two Years by Heidi Priebe
• 31 Women Writers On The Advice They Would Give Their Younger Selves by Kara Nesvig
• So You Want To Be A Writer, That’s Mistake #1 by Ryan Holiday

Meta

• Here Are All Your Favorite Thought Catalog Classics Re-titled As If They Were Posted In 2017 by Heidi Priebe

Oddities

• Koko, The “Talking” Gorilla by Tao Lin
• The Merkin: A Brief History by Dan Hoffman
• Clothing Optional: What It’s Like To Be A Nudist by Lily Chen
• Every Social Network I’ve Ever Joined in Chronological Order by Ramona Helin

Alcohol

• 5 Things Drunk People Like To Do by Ryan O’Connell
• 10 Signs You’re Dating A Drunk by Molly McAleer
• What It’s Really Like To Be An Alcoholic by Jamie Iredell
• 12 Stages Of Getting Drunk With Your Best Friends by Ari Eastman
• 10 Things I Learned From 1000 Days Of Being Sober by Emily Kate Pope
• 21 Signs You Love Drinking, But Actually Hate Drinking by Lance Pauker
• Read This If You Don’t Drink And Are Sick Of People Asking Why by Ryan Holiday
• The Different Types of Drunk You Can Be by Leigh Alexander
• 15 Things You Need To Know About Loving Someone With An Addiction by Maya Kachroo-Levine

Dogs

• 13 Things That Happen When You Get a Dog by Chris Perry
• Facts You Didn’t Know About Labrador Retrievers by Daniel Hayes
• This Is What My Service Dog Taught Me About Myself by Chloe Quail
• 27 Indisputable Reasons Why Dogs Are Better Than Cats by Chelsea Fagan
• 14 Signs You Have An Unhealthy Attachment To Your Dog by Kendra Syrdal
• What Happen When You Date A Girl Who Loves Her Dog by Chrissy Stockton

Pornography

• There Are So Many Benefits To Watching Porn by Samantha Jane
• 77 Women Reveal What Type Of Porn They Watch by Lorenzo Jensen III
• Working As A Background Extra In A Porno by Sarah Jane Woodall
• Why Men Who Don’t Watch Porn Are Better Lovers by Bryan Reeves
• Amateur Hour! Adventures In Porno Self-Publishing by Mélanie Berliet
• I Am Not Any Man’s Personal Porn Star And Neither Are You by Marisa Donnelly
• 18 Women On How They Really Feel About Men Watching Porn by Tatiana Pérez
• 18 Children Of Porn Stars On What It’s Like Having A Parent In Porn by Madison Moore
• Face-to-Face with the World: On MyFreeCams.com and Digital Intimacy by Daniel Coffeen
• I Tried Masturbating To Music Instead Of Porn And Had The Best Orgasm Of My Life by Rushel Miller

Emotional Affairs

• This Is What To Do When Your Partner Cheats Emotionally
• This Is What Being Faithful Means Because It’s More Than Not Sleeping Around by Holly Riordan
• How To Tell If He’s Cheating On You Or You’re Being A Paranoid Fuck by Eugenia Porter

Parenting

• 10 Things You Learn From Being Raised By A Strong Mother by Rania Naim
• I’m Slowly Learning What It Means To Be A Mom by Mélanie Berliet
• To The Man Who Called My Baby Girl A ‘Flirt’ — Please Just STFU by Mélanie Berliet
• Here’s Why You’ll Never See ‘Mom’ Listed In My Bio by Mélanie Berliet
• I Was Supposed To Be The Chill ‘Fed Is Best’ Mom, So Why Am I So Obsessed With Breastfeeding Exclusively? by Mélanie Berliet
• 10 Types Of Moms That Suck by Brianne McDonald
• Tick Tock: It’s Time To Stop Bullying 30-Something Women About Their Biological Clocks by Mélanie Berliet