All in the Mind

Have you ever lost a loved one who was still a part of your life in some way? Did it leave you feeling confused or frozen about how to continue with life? Claudia Hammond examines the distressing phenomenon known as ambiguous loss – the enormous challenge of dealing with a loss when you aren’t sure what’s happened, leaving you searching for answers, unable to move on. The All in the Mind 2021 mental health awards have just been launched, where you can nominate the person or group who has a made a difference to your mental health. Claudia catches up with some of the finalists from the past to see what’s happened to them since, and what the awards have meant for them.What has the pandemic done to our memories? Anecdotally many report they keep forgetting things they’re sure they would have remembered before. Claudia’s studio guest, Professor Catherine Loveday of the University of Westminster examines the new emerging evidence behind this phenomenon.Our brains are in two halves and they are linked by a structure known as the corpus callosum. But some babies are born without a corpus callosum linking the brain's two sides. A quarter of these babies grow up with serious developmental difficulties, while others have no difficulties at all, suggesting that somehow the brain is compensating,. A researcher at the University of Geneva. Dr Vanessa Sifreddi, has scanned the brains of children aged between 8 and 17 and has found that for some children the two halves of their brains succeed in communicating.Producer Adrian Washbourne

Claudia Hammond launches the 2021 All in the Mind Awards – a chance for anyone who has received help for a mental health problem to recognise the people and organisations who have gone above and beyond the call of duty.1 in 3 of us will experience problems with our mental health at some time in our lives. Help and support from people around us can make all the difference in how we cope day to day and set us on the road to recovery. Between now and the end of January 2021 the Radio 4 All in the Mind Awards are seeking listeners’ experiences of brilliant mental health care and will recognise the people – the unsung heroes - who helped make the difference. There are 3 categories for the awards, the individual, professional or project: Individual Award : An individual family member, friend, boss or colleague who offered significant support. Professional Award: A mental health professional whose dedication, help and support made a really significant difference to you. This could be a psychologist, psychiatrist, social worker, nurse, volunteer or other professional. Project Award: A mental health project or group you took part in, either in person or online, which made a big difference to your recovery or the way you cope. The winners of the awards will be announced during a ceremony to be held in London in June 2021.Have you ever wondered what therapists are thinking while people sit opposite them telling them their innermost thoughts? Psychotherapist Philippa Perry discusses her graphic novel Couch Fiction which describes what actually happens during therapy. This can help many of us to understand the therapeutic process better.And we hear of a really simple way of raising achievement levels in teenagers in disadvantaged groups – by giving them three short writing exercises, taking just 15 minutes each. It might sound a little too simple. But preliminary research by Ian Hadden at the University of Sussex suggests it could have a profound effect.Producer Adrian Washbourne

Can one person’s story of their struggle with, and recovery from, mental health difficulties help other people with their own mental health difficulties? Claudia Hammond talks to Mike Slade from Nottingham University who is running the Neon trial into recovery stories to find out. Are you more open, less conscientious or more neurotic than you used to be? It used to be thought that personality was fixed in adulthood but it can and does change. Psychologist Eileen Graham has studied data from thousands of people and explains how and which traits are likely to increase or decrease. Also, why are people who’ve had a Covid-19 diagnosis more likely to get anxiety or depression in the three months that follow their diagnosis? Paul Harrison, psychiatrist at Oxford University who led the research, explains.Professor Catherine Loveday from the University of Westminster is Claudia's studio guest. Producer: Pam Rutherford

Fake news can travel faster and lodge itself deeper in the mind than the truth. Fact-checking comes too late and lies have already spread like a virus. Claudia Hammond investigates a new approach to pre-bunking misinformation via social media by inoculating the mind through exposing people to a mild dose of the methods used to disseminate fake news.How underrated is humour? According to Stanford Business School researchers Jennifer Aaker and Naomi Bagdonas, authors of Humour Seriously, the frequency at which we laugh or smile drops rapidly from the age of 23 and the workplace is to blame. But as a tool for resilience and success at work, humour has some surprisingly powerful effects on the mind that we should all embrace.People with anxiety or depression are increasingly being prescribed spending a certain amount of time in nature. But are so called Green Prescriptions right for everyone? Mathew White of Exeter University discusses his new research that reviews 166 studies which suggest that for some, a walk in nature may be more of a chore than a joy. Could the strong psychological beneficial effects be achieved with a dose of virtual reality instead?Claudia Hammond’s guest is Daryl O’Connor, Professor of Psychology at the University of Leeds.Producer Adrian Washbourne

More than two-thirds of adults in the UK have reported feeling somewhat or very worried about the effect Covid-19 is having on their life. The most common issues affecting well-being are worry about the future, feeling stressed or anxious and feeling bored. So what does the data say about what has really happened to the nation’s mental health during the pandemic? Claudia Hammond hears about the short and potential long-term impacts, possible ways to address the effects, and examines the psychological tools to get through an uncertain winter from so called Awe-Walks to the technique of Decentering.With contributions from: Tim Dalgleish, Professor of Clinical Psychology University of Cambridge Til Wykes, Professor of Clinical Psychology and Rehabilitation at King's College London. Daisy Fancourt, Associate Professor of Psychobiology & Epidemiology University College London Virginia Sturm, UCSF Centre for Psychophysiology and Behaviour James Downs, mental health and eating disorders activistProducer Adrian Washbourne

Can touch be replicated digitally? What devices exist already and how likely are we to use them? Michael Banissy co-creator of the Touch Test, neuroscientist David Eagleman and researcher Carey Jewitt look at the possibilities for touch technologies in the future. David has developed a wristband that translates sound into touch for deaf people, Carey looks at the ethics of digital touch and Michael reveals the attitudes from the Touch Test towards digital technologies and if we could replicate the feeling of holding a loved ones hand in hospital would it really be the same?

Left isolating in London during lock down, flatmates B and Z came up with a plan to stay healthy with a 6 0’clock hug. Hugging releases a mix of anti-stress chemicals that can lower the blood pressure, decrease anxiety and help sleep. Researchers Michael Banissy, Tiffany Field and Merle Fairhurst look at the evidence for the health benefits of touch and Claudia asks whether 25 seconds is long enough?

At the Pink Diamond Martial Arts Club Hasina teaches Luton women from all cultures to defend themselves physically. This form of touch helped Hasina overcome the bullying of her childhood. But how do early experiences and cultural influences shape how you feel about touch? Stereotypes abound for different nationalities, for example, the reserved British person complete with a stiff upper lip or the ebullient Italian. Michael Banissy from Goldsmiths University of London, writer of the Touchstone Tales, Sudha Bhuchar and Juulia Suvilehto from Linkoping University in Sweden look at the results of the Touch Test and ask if attitudes to touch are more nuanced than outdated stereotypes.

Campaigner and activist Amy Kavanagh is partially sighted and on her daily trip to work receives much unwanted touch. Some touch from strangers is well meaning but without her consent, while she is also subject to abusive and violent touch. In Anatomy of Touch Dr Natalie Bowling from Greenwich University and co-creator of the BBC Touch Test looks at what the results tell us about touch between strangers. Where do people find it acceptable for strangers to touch them, what are the differences between men and women, how would most people like to be greeted by their boss and is it OK for your boss to kiss you at a party?The study looked at attitudes around consent and Joanna Bourke Professor of History at Birkbeck University looks at issues of consent and entitlement. And while it might seem that social distancing would prevent unwanted touch, evidence suggests that there is a transfer of the abuse online. Meanwhile for Amy she isn’t travelling to work anymore because Covid means she can’t see who is around her and the risk of catching Covid is too high. But she does have a campaign ready for when she can travel again which is #JustAskDon’tGrab.

In Anatomy of Touch Claudia Hammond asks whether people have enough touch in their lives and what has been the impact of Covid-19. Covid-19 and social distancing have changed how most people feel about touch but even before Covid-19 there was a concern about the decrease of touch in society. Michael Bannissy of Goldsmiths University of London discusses the results of the BBC Touch test and leading researchers reveal their findings about the lack of touch.Claudia meets John, who, growing up during the Second World War, endured a lack of touch in his childhood and discovers how in adult life he overcame this absence of touch and why touch remains so important to him. And we discover solutions to touch hunger and simple ways to compensate for the lack of touch.