Could we be misunderstanding eating disorders for some patients? Research suggests that more than 30 percent of inpatients being treated for an eating disorder are also autistic. Claudia Hamond talks to Professor Kate Tchanturia from Kings College London, and Fiona Hollings, expert by experience, who helped develop a new approach to treating eating disorders in people with autism. What are your strongest memories from your teenage years? For good and bad Dr Lucy Foulkes, from Oxford University, argues that our adolescence shapes us. She talks to Claudia about taking teenage love more seriously, having empathy for risk-taking teens, and how to look back on your adolescence more fondly.And Professor Daryl O’Connor, from the University of Leeds, discusses new research which shows that focussing on positive memories can help people who have previously been depressed feel happier. He and Claudia discuss how this might be useful if you feel your mood start to drop.Producer: Lorna Stewart Editor: Holly Squire Studio Manager: Tim Heffer

Members of the UK military piloting unmanned aerial vehicles, commonly known as drones, operate from Lincolnshire - a long way from frontline battlefields in the Middle East. Via their drones' cameras, they can watch their enemy targets for days or even weeks at a time. But while they might be physically safe, their close-up views of traumatic events can cause mental harm. In this episode, Claudia Hammond speaks to a former pilot of military drones. They are joined by Professor Dominic Murphy, who is head of research at the Combat Stress Centre for Applied Military Health Research, and Professor Peter Lee, an ethicist from the University of Portsmouth. Together, they discuss the issues faced by military drone pilots. In the studio, Claudia is accompanied by Professor Catherine Loveday, a cognitive neuroscientist at the University of Westminster. They discuss the news that a new type of drug for schizophrenia has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration in the USA, and what this could mean for those with the condition. They also pore over a recent piece of research that revealed AI chatbots might be able to pull people out of the rabbithole of conspiracy theories. And the All in the Mind Awards 2025 are open for nominations! You can nominate the individual, group or professional who really helped with your mental health. In this episode, we hear from Josephine Barclay, who won the individual category in 2023, along with her daughter Maudie, who nominated her. If you'd like to nominate someone, you’ll find everything you need to know by going online to bbc.co.uk/radio4/allinthemind. Full terms and conditions are available there too. You have until 1pm on Wednesday the 8th of January 2025 to get your nominations in.If you are affected by anything in this programme, details of organisations offering support with mental health and self-harm, or feelings of despair, are available at bbc.co.uk/actionlinePresenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Alice Lipscombe-Southwell Editor: Holly Squire Production Coordinator: Siobhan Maguire

Functional Neurological Disorder, or FND, is the most common disorder you’ve probably never heard of. Some say it might be as common as MS or Parkinson’s and yet it’s not well known even by many medical professionals. It can cause seizures, paralysis, convulsions and changes in sensation, as well as pain, fatigue and memory difficulties.It’s caused by a problem with the system in the brain that connects us consciously into our bodies, leaving sufferers unable to access their bodies properly. Because it doesn’t show up on scans and tests it is often not diagnosed effectively, and patients can face difficulties accessing the help they need or even being believed that their symptoms are real.Claudia Hammond sits in on a consultation at the Maudsley Hospital between Emma, a new patient who is having exactly those problems, and Mark Edwards, Professor of Neurology and Interface Disorders at King’s College London. She also meets Callum Alexander, a recovered patient who now volunteers for the charity FND Hope. He was referred by Mark for specialist neurophysiotherapy with Glenn Nielsen at St George’s University Hospital, which had immediate results. Glenn tells us that FND can cause the brain to become excessively focused on actions are normally automatic, such as walking, and that redirecting the brain’s attention can be one way of alleviating it.Meanwhile, Emma is relieved she finally has a name to put to her condition and Mark is pushing for more positive diagnoses of FND.Back in the studio, Claudia is joined by Kavita Vedhara, Professor of Health Psychology at Cardiff University. With increasing polarisation in the US in the run up to the forthcoming presidential election, she presents a study that sheds light on how we might view people who are more nuanced in their approach to controversial topics.You might expect people who are able to express both sides of an argument to thrive in social situations. However, this new research suggests that people with nuanced views are seen as less likeable than those with polarised views, even by those who agree with that person’s ultimate position. How does that impact our chances of being able to have reasoned political debates?The 2025 All in the Mind Awards are now open for nominations. You can nominate individuals, professionals and groups who have helped you in your hardest times.Claudia catches up with ZeZe Sohawon who nominated her psychiatrist Dr Claire Purcell for an award in 2021. Since then ZeZe has set up a youth autism and mental health charity, Emotion Dysregulation and Autism, helping autistic young people who struggle with their emotions leading to mental health problems. The charity is about to start delivering a peer support programme in Birmingham hospitals, and she’s done all of this while studying for a Neuroscience degree. This year she’s a judge for the All in the Mind Awards and tells Claudia why she thinks people should take part.You can find out more about the awards in the programme or by going to bbc.co.uk/radio4/allinthemind where you’ll also find full terms. Entries close 8th January 2025 at 1pm.Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Ben Motley Studio Manager: Emma Harth Production Coordinator: Siobhan Maguire

Ariane Gerami, a researcher at the University of Bristol, explores how surfing can boost mental health, discussing the need for more evidence on surf therapy's effectiveness. Dr. Peter Olusoga, a psychologist at Sheffield Hallam University, dives into the declining need for uniqueness in a social media-driven world. Claudia Hammond also touches on the intense grief felt for deceased celebrities, revealing intriguing insights into parasocial relationships and modern mourning practices. The conversation balances personal reflections on surfing and celebrity influence on mental health.

Did someone amazing support you through mental health problems and would you like to recognise that support? Claudia Hammond launches the All in the Mind Awards where you can nominate individuals, professionals and groups who have helped you in your hardest times. Full details in the programme or by going to bbc.co.uk/radio4/allinthemind where you’ll also find full terms. Entries close 8th January 2025 at 1pm.We want to recognise friends, family, colleagues, professionals, groups who have supported those with mental health problems. And to launch the awards Claudia talks to Joe Wicks, one of the judges this year, about how he supports his parents with their mental health difficulties, and about his passion for exercise as a route to improving mental health. Claudia is joined by cognitive neuroscientist Catherine Loveday from the University of Westminster. They discuss the role of cortisol in our bodies and how social media trends like #cortisolface are misleading. And Claudia and Catherine are joined in the studio by musician Sean O’Hagan and his neighbour Chris Newman doesn’t understand the joy Sean takes from it. Together they discuss why music makes some of us emotional but leaves others cold. And neuroscientist Catherine attempts to measure Chris’ response to music and discusses musical anhedonia, a condition which affects 5-10% of people including, possibly, Chris.Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Lorna Stewart Studio Manager: Emma Harth Production Coordinator: Siobhan Maguire

Smartphones are bad for the mental health of children and adolescents. At least, that’s the popular perception that has led to calls for smartphones to be banned for children under a certain age, with numerous media reports drumming home the narrative that smartphones are damaging a generation. But the evidence for a link between smartphones and poor mental health is surprisingly weak, and smartphones also have uses that can be beneficial to children and adults alike. Claudia Hammond talks to Dr Amy Orben, who leads the digital mental health group at the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit at the University of Cambridge. As well as her own research, she’s reviewed huge numbers of studies on the topic and says that the panic around smartphones mirrors previous panics about other technologies such as the radio. So how do we allow children to become part of the digital world while also keeping them safe?Claudia is joined in the studio by clinical psychologist Linda Blair, who brings along a new research paper on what it means to get a diagnosis for a mild mental health problem. Diagnostic labels can legitimise help-seeking and boost empathy, but they can also encourage the view that mental health problems are persistent and discourage the idea that you can overcome them.Climate anxiety is a fairly new label, and we hear from a group of people in Fife about how climate change is affecting them emotionally. Claudia then speaks to Caroline Hickman, a psychotherapist who works with climate activists and researches the psychological effects of climate change on young people. Human beings have an amazing capacity for resilience, but most of the problems we have faced in history have had a solution. How do we cope with a crisis that does not have a solution and contains multiple uncertainties?

Psychologist Dr. Linda Blair, GP Dr. Anisha Patel, and wellbeing consultant Benjy Kusi discuss toxic positivity, the impact on mental health, and the importance of embracing negative emotions. They highlight the harm of suppressing feelings, share personal experiences, and stress the value of authentic self-expression for well-being.

In a fascinating discussion, Professor Emily Holmes from Uppsala University and Dr. Julie Highfield, a consultant clinical psychologist, reveal how Tetris can help ICU workers cope with traumatic memories. They detail a successful trial using the game as a mental health intervention during the pandemic. The conversation also touches on concerns about teenage internet addiction, debunking alarming headlines, and explores the psychology of secrets—how they weigh on our minds and affect our well-being.

If you’re feeling demotivated and aimless, but you’re not depressed, you might be languishing. But what exactly is languishing, and what can you do about it? Claudia Hammond talks to the sociologist Dr Corey Keyes, who coined the term. He has some solutions that could help you move from languishing to flourishing, as well as poetic descriptions of how nature inspires his work and hopeful tales about the search for meaning in the modern world.We hope that the many children currently going through exams across the country are flourishing, but exam success is far from the only influence on their futures. A new study shows that children who perceive greater household chaos at the age of 16 are more likely to have poor mental health by the age of 23. The most fascinating aspect of the research is that it involved twins living in the same household, and their perceptions of chaos were often wildly different. So what can parents do improve their children’s perception of chaos? Professor Daryl O’Connor from the School of Psychology at the University of Leeds joins Claudia in the studio to look at the evidence.We also have the story of a survivor of child sexual abuse, who fell apart when a weekend away triggered memories of what had happened to him. He went to the police, and eventually his abuser was sent to prison. But the process of doing that destroyed his coping mechanism – to lock it away and ignore it. He tells us how the Salford-based charity We Are Survivors helped him put his life back together. He now encourages abuse survivors to seek help. Details of other organisations that can provide support are available at bbc.co.uk/actionline.And do you have an old friend you’ve lost touch with? Why don’t you get back in touch? New research shows that we’re often reluctant to do so. Claudia and Daryl dig into the detail and wonder whether it could even help us stop languishing.Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Ben Motley Content Editor: Holly Squire Production Coordinator: Siobhan Maguire

On this podcast, Claudia Hammond discusses how gardening helps cope with grief and features a unique garden space for conversations on loss. The episode delves into the role of objects in memory and coping mechanisms. They also explore summer seasonal affective disorder and anxiety in older individuals post-pandemic, shedding light on societal stereotypes impacting mental health.