All in the mind (podcast)

Subject: Psychology

Type: Podcast

Made by: The BBC

All in the mind bbc radio 4

How long is it?

There are 327 episodes. Each episode is 28-30 minutes long.
 

Is it easy to understand?

You’ll be able to follow it, even if you don’t know much about psychology.
 

Who is it for?

It is aimed at anyone with an interest in psychology or neuroscience. Please be aware that some conversations about mental health may be upsetting or triggering.
 

How recent is it?

All in the Mind began in 2007 and continues to release episodes to this day.
 

1:4 and Stigma

9/11 Guilt

22 the Avenue Phoneline

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

ADHD

ADHD Medication Shortage

Adolescent Brain

Adoption and Social Networking

Ageless Psychiatry

Agreeableness and Money

Aids Orphans

Aircraft Noise and Mental Health

Air Pollution and Mental Health

Airport Security

Alcohol and the Brain

Alexander Morison Archive

Alzheimer’s Disease

Ambiguous Loss

American Presidents

Amnesia Museum

The Anatomy of Kindness

Anatomy of Touch

Anchoring

Anger as a useful emotion

The Anna Freud Centre

Anorexia

Anti-depressants

Antipsychotic Drugs

Anxiety

Anxiety-free Comedy Gigs

APA

Aphantasia and Depression Musical

Aphasia

Archaeology and Mental Health

Arctic Scientists’ Mental Health

Are Bucket Lists a Good Thing?

Are Moods Contagious?

Arson

Art and Psychiatrists

Astronauts

Attitudes to Mental Health

Autism

Autobiographical Memory

Automatic Writing

Avatars and Eyewitness Testimony

Awards to Recognise Outstanding Help and Support in Mental Health

Awareness in Children

Awe

Babble Stimulus

Babies As Jokers

Battlefield Military Mental Health

Battlemind

The Benefits of Keeping Positive Secrets

The Benefits of Snoozing Your Alarm

Big Brain Projects

Bilingualism

Bipolar Disorder

Birdsong and Wellbeing

Black Cab Quotes

Blogging

Blue Health

Blue Light

Board Game

Body Dysmorphic Disorder

Body Image

Boomerang Generation

Boredom

The Boredom of the Drone Operator

Brain Donation

Brain Health in Later Life

The Brain Prize

Brains

Brain Scans for Personality Traits

Breaking Bad Habits

Breastfeeding

Bribery and Corruption

Buildings and Neurodiversity

Bullying

Burma Mental Health

Bystander Effect

Café Conversations

CALMTown

Can Gratitude Change Young People’s Lives?

Canine Jealousy

Can We Fix Mental Health Care?

Can You Imagine Sounds in Your Head?

Care Farming

Carers

Carl Jung

Carl Rogers

The Case of HM

Challenging Antisocial Behaviour

Changing Mindsets

Charisma

Children and War

Children of Parents with Mental Illness

Children Who Kill

Chocolate Cravings

Choices Children Make

Christian Jarrett

Citizen Mental Health Campaign

Citizens UK and Mental Health

Climate Change Psychology

Clio Barnard

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

Cognitive Fatigue in Soldiers

Cognitive Psychology

Comic Strips

Communicating Risk

Community Treatment Orders

Compassion

Complaints Choirs

Compulsive Sexual Behaviour and the Internet

Confidence

Conjoined Twins

Conspiracy Theories

Contingency Management

Corpus Callosum

Correct Vocabulary in Describing Mental Health

Counselling in Later Life

Counter-messaging

Covid

Crying and Lying

Cyber Snooping Your Therapist

Dame Kelly Holmes

The Dangers of Diagnosing Donald Trump

Daniel Kahneman

Dean Burnett

Debt and Mental Health

Decriminalising Drugs

Defeat

Defence

Dementia

Depersonalisation Disorder

The Depressed Cake Shop

Depression

Designer Asylum

Diagnosing Bipolar Disorder

Digital Memories

Directors in Theatre and Film Turn to Psychologists

Disclosing Mental Health Histories

Dishonesty Researcher Accused of Fraud

Doctors in Difficulty

Does Money Really Make You Happy?

Does Working in the Office Boost Well-being?

Do Lonely Brains See the World Differently?

Doomsday Prophets

Dreams and Dreaming

Drug Side Effects

Drug Trials

DSM-5

Dyslexia

Early Life Stress and Catching Cold

Earworms

Eating Disorders

Ecotherapy

The Effect of Live Music

Electronic Mental Health Records

Elegy

EMDR

Emodiversity

Emotional Brain Training

Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder

Empathic Cars

Employment and Mental Illness

Engine Idling

English Riots

Entitlement and Bad Luck

Epilepsy

Estimating Body Size

The Everyday Effect of Unconscious Bias

The Evidence for ‘Green Therapy’

Evolutionary Prejudice

Exam Revision

Exams and the Mental Health of Children

Exercise

Exploding Head Syndrome

Extrovert Listening

Eyes That Betray Personality

F1 Drivers

Fabricated or Induced Illnesses

Facial Mimicry

Fake News

False Alarm Crowd Panic

The Feel Good Garden at Chelsea Flower Show

Feeling an Unseen Presence

Film Cuts and Attention

Financial Strain and Pain

First Impressions

Fraud in Psychology

Freud

The Future of Mental Health Care

Gambling and Superstition

Gaming Addiction

Gardening for Mental Health

Gaydar

The Gender Citation Gap

Gender Stereotyping in Babies

Geo-magnetic Fields

Girls’ Mental Health?

Global Mental Health

A Good Cry?

Green Exercise

Green Prescriptions a Joy or Chore?

Grief

Guantanamo

Gut Bacteria and the Mind

Happiness and Optimism

Heart Failure

Heroes

HMP Grendon

Hoarding Disorder

Honesty Within Adoption

How Children Learn

How Children Think About Maths and Time

How Mad Are You?

How Maths Ability Might Relate to Ball-Catching Skills

How Much Empathy Should Doctors Have?

How Nightmares Link to Real-life Fears

How to Be Invisible

How to Cope when Your Child Can’t

How to Find Help for Your Own Mental Health

How to Help Friends

How You Can Feel Less Lonely

Humour Seriously

Hypermobility

Hypnotism

Hypocrisy

Hysteria

Images of Psychiatry

Imitation in Newborn Babies

The Impact of Bad News

The Impact of Psychology Research

The Importance of Play in Childhood

Imposter Syndrome

Improving Personal Growth

Incivility of Politicians

Increasing Humility

Insanity Law

Insiders’ Guide to Mental Health

Insomnia

Intensive Care

Interoceptive Skills

Intoxication of Power

Intuition

Invisible Smile

IQ Tests

Iraq Mental Health Services

Is Wisdom a Trait or a State?

Ivan Lewis

Junk Food Adverts

Ketamine

Kevan Jones MP

Kindness

A Knitting Prescription

Languishing

Laughter

Law for Emotion

Lawyers’ Wellbeing

Learning and Taking Breaks

Learning Disabilities

Learning to Dance

Learning to Hope

Left Handedness

Lie Detector

Life After Being a Carer

Life in and out of Asylums

The Light Triad

The Lipstick Effect

The Listening Place

Lockdown Easing and Mental Health

Lockdown Resilience

London Bombings

London’s East End Baby Language Lab

The Loneliness Experiment

Looking Inside the Minds of Our Pets

Louis Wain Exhibition

Magicians

Magnetic Seizure Therapy

Male Friendship

Manifestation

MDMA for Alcohol Dependence

Media Portrayals of Mental Health

The Me Generation

Memorising Art

Memory

Mental Health Awareness

Mental Health in Hong Kong

Mental Health in Prisons

Mental Health in the City

Mental Health Liaison Officers

Mental Health Manifestos

Mental Health Myths

Mental Health of Young Children

Mental Health Policies

Mental Health Support in Community

A Mental Health Triage Scheme

Mental Illness

Metaphors

Milgram Revisited

Mind-wandering and Happiness

Mindfulness

Mind Wars

Minister Paul Barstow

Mirror-pain

Mirror Neurons

Misophonia

Money and Motivation

Money for Medication

Mood Phone Apps

Moon & Madness

MPs Guide to Mental Health

Musical Hallucinations

Music Therapy

Mystery Mental Health Shoppers

Myths About Van Gogh’s Mental Health

NDAs

The Need for Possessions

Negative Thoughts

Negotiating a Crisis

Neuromyths

The ‘Neuro-novel’

Neuroscience and the Law

New Approach to Spider Phobia

New Drugs for Psychosis

New Lockdown Jobs

New MPs on Mental Health

A New Play About Mental Health Services

News Consumption and Wellbeing

NHS Acute Bed Shortages

The “Nudge” to Good Behaviour

Nuremberg Code

The Nurse Who Went the Extra Mile to Help Her Cancer Patient

OCD

Optical Illusions

Organophosphates

Ostracism

Our Visual Experience: Perception of Colour and Eye Contact

Overconfidence

Owls and Larks

Oxytocin and Kindness

Pain and the Brain

Panic Attacks

Paranoia

Parapsychology

Parasites and Entrepreneurship

Parenting

Pathological Demand Avoidance

Patient Case Histories

Paul Broks

Pen or Keyboard for Notetaking?

The Perfection Trap: Do You Feel ‘Good Enough’?

Perinatal Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Persecutory Delusions

Personality Change

Personality Traits and Spending Behaviour

Personal Space

Persuasion

Phonagnosia

Photos in Textbooks

Physiognomy

Pink Drinks Make You Run Faster

Placebo Power

Polonium-210

Polygraph Testing for Sex Offenders

Post-Olympic Blues

Post-Pandemic Mental Health

The Power of Expectation

Predicting the Future

Preferring Our Own Ideas

Preventing Flashbacks

Pride

Prisoner of War Diaries

Professional Boundaries

Professor James Fallon’s Self-discovery

Psychiatrist Shortage

Psychics

Psychoanalytic Film Festival

Psychogenic Seizures

Psychological Enjoyment of Wine

The Psychological Impact on Her Children of Her Ex Husband’s Sexual Offences

Psychologist for Referees

Psychologists Tackling Poverty

Psychology of a Mars Mission

Psychology of Autonomous Cars

The Psychology of Awkwardness

The Psychology of Courage and Bravery

The Psychology of Hope

The Psychology of Motivation and Procrastination

The Psychology of Online Dating

The Psychology of Regret

The Psychology of Secrets

The Psychology of Voting

The Psychology of Whistleblowing

Psychology Replication Crisis

Psychosis

PTSD

Putting Yourself in Someone Else’s Shoes

Race

Radicalisation

Radio Drama Changing Attitudes

Rapport

Raw Sounds Music Project

Recipe of Life

Recognising Dog Expressions

Recovery

Refugee Doctors

Refugee Mental Health

Religious Terrorism

The Remote Psychiatrist

Reporting Neuroscience

Rest and Slothfulness

Restraint in Mental Health Hospitals

Rewriting the Psychiatrists’ Bible

Risk Tolerance in the Brain

Roald Dahl’s Marvellous Medicine

Robin Ince

Robot Therapy

Romanian Orphans

Rowing the Atlantic in the Name of Science

Safe Music for Driving

Savant Syndrome

The Scent of Fear Makes Us More Observant

Schadenfreude

Schizophrenia

The Science Behind Screentime

The Science of Attraction

The Science of Meetings

Screen Time for Young People

The Search for Meaning in the Modern World

Seasonality

Self-Care

Self-Driving Cars and the Pedestrian

Self-Harm

The Self-help Craze

Sexual Abuse by Clergy

Should Therapists Cry?

Sibling Rivalry

Siblings with Mental Health Problems

Skin Disorders

Sleep

Sleep Paralysis

Smell Blindness

Smoking

Solitary Confinement

Space Therapy

Space Travel’s Impact on the Brain

Spatial Navigation

Sports Participation

Spring

Stalking

Star Wards

Statutory Regulation

Steven Pinker

Stories of Loss and Hope

Street Therapy

Stress

The Sudden Rise in Teenagers Developing Tics During the Pandemic

Suicide

Summer Seasonal Affective Disorder

Superforecasters

Supertaskers

Swine Flu

Synaesthesia

Talking Therapies

Talking to Strangers

Talking to the Dying

Tasers

Taste and Music

The Taste of Food

Taxi Drivers

Technology to Replace Exams

Teenage Relationships

Teenagers’ Brains

Testosterone and City Traders

Tetris As Therapy

Therapeutic Design

Think Ahead Scheme

Time Standing Still

Toxic Positivity

Traditional Healers

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation

Transient Amnesia

Trauma

Treatment for Arsonists

‘Treating’ Homosexuality

Tribute to Anthony Clare

Trigger Warnings

Turn-taking in Conversation

Twenty Four Hour Memory Loss

The Unconscious Mind

Understanding the Brain

Unfitness to Plead

Untranslatable Words

Urban Rewilding for Wellbeing

USA Racist Killings and Mental Health of Black Americans

US Elections and Mental Health

Use of You

The Victorian ‘Mad Doctor’

Viewing Bodies

Viktor Frankl’s Search for Meaning

Visual Neglect

Visual Overload

Voices & Personality

West Park Psychiatric Hospital

What Mastermind Can Tell Us About Blinking

Who Do You Think You Are?

Wind Farms

Witnessing Rudeness

Work Capability Test

Worrying

Wound Healing & Expressive Writing

Yawning

Yoga in Prisons

Young Offenders

My thoughts…

I chose a handful episodes of All in the Mind to listen to and I’ve written my thoughts on a few of the topics discussed. These episodes intrigued me the most:

  • Compassion and Faith – Junk Food Adverts – Magicians

  • 30/10/2012

  • Sibling rivalry, Prisoner of war diaries, Inflammation and depression

 
The power of compassion in improving mental health

I think what makes compassion such a useful tool in improving mental health is that it’s a skill that anyone can learn. Although compassion-focused therapy is a good way to go about it, we can also become more compassionate by practicing it as we go about our lives. 

It’s important to note that compassion isn’t just about showing empathy and kindness to others, but that it’s something we can show to ourselves as well. For those with anger issues, practicing outward compassion is very important, but I think it’s probably more common that we are uncompassionate to ourselves. For people with eating disorders or people who have experienced abuse, self-compassion plays a crucial role in rebuilding their self-worth. It can help them realise that their negative emotions are not their fault, so they don’t need to feel ashamed of them. In this way, people who struggle to love themselves can give themselves permission to change their attitudes and behaviours. As well as this, I think if we can all work on compassion, and ask ourselves why we find it difficult, the world would be a better place.


Why guilt can be a useful emotion

I think that guilt is a sign of being conscientious, which can be a very useful personality trait. For example, the feeling of responsibility that comes with being guilt-prone could make people more co-operative and better leaders. As well as this, feeling guilty about having made a mistake could make you better at making amends for it and preventing it happening again. The discomfort of the feeling of guilt also motivates us to avoid it. For these reasons, I think guilt is a useful emotion, although it can be unpleasant


The benefits of growing up with a sibling

Growing up with a sibling can feel incredibly frustrating, but I think it can actually help us develop important skills. For example, children with siblings learn how to argue in a way that doesn’t sacrifice the approval of their parents. In addition, children with younger siblings, who learn that being helpful and caring wins them their parents’ attention, can become more nurturing. 

I think one of the greatest benefits of having a sibling is that they are someone who shares many of your childhood memories and experiences, which is incredibly special. The relationships we have with our siblings are usually longer than those with the majority of our friends, which is why I think they are such important relationships.