All in the Mind

Hamish Barclay was a teenager when he was given steroids to treat kidney problems and experienced a rare side effect of psychosis. Now 29, he's lived with a diagnosis of schizophrenia for ten years and thanks to support from his mother Josephine he's been able to return to making music. His sister Maudie helped him to nominate their mum for an All in the Mind Awards - and she's now reached the finals. The family talk candidly to Claudia Hammond about the stigma around schizophrenia - they sometimes avoid using the word because they know it can put people off playing music with him in bands. Maudie says their mum shows incredible patience and love by driving him to London from Somerset and sitting in his classes, so he can study music and play his beloved guitar. The voices - or auditory hallucinations - which Hamish hears make it hard for him to write songs - but the medication he takes is helping to push them into the background. We hear some of Hamish's compositions he's recorded with other students at his college - and about how much difference writing music has made to his mental health and wellbeing.

A good bedside manner is a wanted quality in healthcare professionals. But as is performing procedures that can be painful or uncomfortable. As medical students train to become doctors, they can experience changes in their levels of empathy; the ability to resonate with how others feel. Learning long lists of diagnoses and pathologies, the human body starts to resemble more of a machine. But how detrimental is this? Claudia Hammond asks Jeremy Howick, director of the Stoneygate Centre for empathic healthcare at the University of Leicester, who is training healthcare professionals to express more patient empathy to improve health outcomes and reduce burnout. Lasana Harris, professor of social neuroscience at UCL, describes how too much empathy might be a cause of burnout, and medics should toggle empathy on and off depending on context. Medical students from the University of Bristol express how they feel empathy should come into their future roles. The finalists of the All in the Mind Awards continue to be announced. This week, we hear from Terri, who went through a huge period of loss at the same time as her foster child. During this time, foster care consultant Pam knew just want to say. She could help Terri see how her child was expressing her grief and also gave her permission to acknowledge the good job she was doing. Catherine Loveday, professor of cognitive neuroscience at the University of Westminster, joins Claudia and describes how nostalgia can help with route remembering and how easy it is to implant childhood memories. Produced in partnership with the Open University. Producer: Julia Ravey Content producer: Dan Welsh

Ground-breaking discoveries in neuroscience, psychology and mental health are shared in scientific journals. And this gives them a stamp of approval. Before publication, articles go through rigorous checks by other experts in the field to assess if methods are watertight and the science stacks up. But sometimes, that might not be the case... Claudia Hammond investigates an unsuspecting vehicle for misinformation: articles that look just like those used to share new discoveries but instead contain content which might not be up to scratch. In fact, some have previously been shown to accept complete fiction. Bradley Allf, PhD candidate at North Caroline State University, explained how he tested the boundaries for getting fabricated data published online, and science journalist, Ruairi Mackenzie, recounts his experience attending a scientific conference which seemed a bit bizarre. We hear from one of the groups who have reached the final of the All in the Mind Awards 2023. After losing her son Finn to miscarriage in late 2021, Anna hid. She felt like no one would understand the grief she was feeling, which was exacerbated by PTSD. But one grey morning, she left the house for the first time to go to her local park and meet Chelsie from Matilda’s Mission. This charity, set up in 2022, aims to help individuals who have experience baby or child loss by organising a range of events for parents, grandparents and siblings. Chelsie experienced the loss of her first daughter Matilda in 2019, and wanted to bring people together with similar lived experience in the Lancaster area. Could brains of people who feel lonely see the world in a different way? That is the question a new study tried to answer. Daryl O’Connor, professor of health psychology at the university of Leeds, gives an insight into how this processing might increase loneliness risk and also describes how mindfulness and compassion focused therapy may help refugees with symptoms of PTSD and depression. Produced in partnership with the Open University.Producer: Julia Ravey

Sian is a compassionate daughter who supported her mother Myra through bipolar disorder challenges. The duo shares their inspiring story of love and resilience, even during tough moments. Maddie Leslay, an artist and judge, resonates with their journey, highlighting the importance of familial bonds in overcoming adversity. The conversation also touches on the complexities of aphasia recovery post-stroke, showcasing how neuroplasticity and intensive speech therapy can help regain communication skills. Finally, an intriguing food experiment reveals how dish color influences taste perception.

All in the Mind returns for our 72nd series.An experience hard to put into words but felt by many is the phenomenon of 'presence'. Claudia Hammond hears an account of a fearful-turned-friendly presence from Luke Robertson, an adventurer whose prolonged period of isolation whilst trekking across Antarctica led to continual run-ins with a non-existent figure. The potential neuroscientific and psychological theories behind these sensations are explained by Ben Alderson-Day, associate professor at Durham University and author of "Presence: The Strange Science and True Stories of the Unseen Other".The All in the Mind Awards are back and this year, we received almost a thousand entries. Over the upcoming series, we will be hearing from our nine finalists who share their stories of how they have been helped in their hardest times. This week we hear from Vicki, who had a psychotic episode after juggling incredibly stressful events. After pausing her studies to care for her father with terminal lung cancer, the pandemic broke her normal confidence in being able to predict how the world worked. At this point, Vicki met Nikki, her care co-ordinator, who helped show Vicki that her situation was normal given all her stresses, and helped her confidence return.Professor Catherine Loveday from University of Westminster joins Claudia to discuss whether there is a simple way to spot a liar and if botox injections can impact how the brain processes emotions. Produced in partnership with The Open University.Producer: Julia Ravey and Clare Salisbury

Many people say that knitting or crochet helped ease their anxiety during the Covid-19 lockdowns - but what is it about these repetitive, absorbing and creative hobbies that soothe the mind? Claire Anketell set up free Yarn for Mental Health courses in Northern Ireland a year ago and Gemma was one of the first to attend. She says crochet has helped to reduce her stress levels and she's graduated to making blankets. Esther Rutter's book This Golden Fleece: A Journey through Britain's Knitted History aims to unpick what textiles mean to us - including how they became part of the treatment for mental health problems. Learning a skill by following a pattern, connecting with other people and being distracted from everyday worries tick some of the boxes which we associate with wellbeing. But it's hard to pin down exactly which elements can boost our mood. Dr Sarah McKay author of The Woman's Brain Book: the Neuroscience of Health, Hormones and Happiness assesses whether we need hard evidence to carry on casting on. The charity Fine Cell Work has been teaching prisoners embroidery, needlepoint and quilting for 25 years. CEO Victoria Gillies says the idea is to rehabilitate prisoners and ex-prisoners as they sew high-quality elaborate cushions and footstools. We hear about the difference it's made to stitchers like Ben and how crafting can cut the reoffending rates of ex-prisoners who work in their Hub in London.

Fergal Keane describes living with PTSD. For thirty years, Fergal covered some of the most brutal wars for the BBC, including Rwanda, Iraq and Ukraine.Despite having PTSD, he kept going, taking more and more risks until witnessing a massacre in Sudan, he realised he couldn't do it anymore, that for him going to war had become an addiction. He talks to Claudia about his ongoing work, recovering from PTSD.Professor Daryl O'Connor's new research finds that people who got Covid-19 early in the pandemic were twice as likely to experience depressive symptoms than those who didn't.And Dr Gillian Sandstrom on why men ask 2.4 more questions than women at conferences.

Professor Jon Stone, a neurologist from the University of Edinburgh, shares insights on the alarming rise of tics in teenagers during the pandemic. He clarifies the difference between functional tics and Tourette's, emphasizing the impact of psychological stress rather than social media alone. Beth, a patient, recounts her journey with tics, beginning with abdominal spasms. The discussion highlights the importance of family support and treatment options, revealing a generally positive outlook for recovery as teens learn to cope and find community.

Mental health awareness campaigns have reduced stigma and changed attitudes to mental illness, but has the messaging also led to unintended consequences? With the help of a panel consisting of mental health campaigner James Downs, the former director of Time to Change England Sue Baker, psychologist and author Lucy Foulkes and Katja Pavlovna of the Lives not Labels (sorry my mental illness isn't sexy enough for you) website, bring their own experiences of mental health problems and expertise in their fields to debate with Claudia the nuanced implications around increasing awareness and what they would like to see in the future.

With busy lifestyles many turn to devices for aide memoires. Claudia discusses new findings with Dr Sam Gilbert who studies so called ‘offloading’ and gives tips on how best to remember the important things. And a visit to Manchester’s Turn it Up exhibition reveals what psychological research can tell us about the safest music to drive to; while guest Professor Catherine Loveday unpicks this year's trend, 'Dopamine Gifting'.