All in the Mind

Claudia Hammond chats to All in the Mind Awards judge, writer and former doctor Adam Kay. Adam shares his mental health first aid kit, the importance of saying thank you and why you should nominate someone for an Award.
Plus, how do you judge another person’s emotions? New research suggests that children and adults use different information to reach a conclusion on how someone is feeling.
And Claudia is joined by Kavita Vedhara, professor of health psychology at Cardiff University. Kavita shares how stress can scramble your internal GPS and how the brain may have evolved from two separate systems.
If you would like to nominate someone for the All in the Mind Awards, then head to bbc.co.uk/allinthemindawards. You’ll find the terms and conditions and the privacy notice on the website, and you must be over 18 to send in a nomination. You have until 1pm on Friday the 8th of January 2027 to enter.
Presenter: Claudia Hammond
Producer: Sophie Ormiston
Editor: Ilan Goodman
Studio Manager: Mary Stone
Production coordinator: Jana Holesworth

Have you ever had a partner or friend suddenly stop all communication without any explanation?
This week we're talking all about the psychology of ghosting.
Is ghosting another person ever acceptable? And if we want to reject someone, how can we do it more kindly?
And Claudia visits a unique canal boat project supporting people who have experienced psychosis, where she hears stories of recovery, connection and hope.
What difference can early intervention in psychosis make to someone’s recovery?
Presenter: Claudia Hammond
Presenter's friend: Dr Bruce Clark
Producer: Gerry Holt
Production coordinator: Jana Holesworth
Sound engineer: Tim Heffer
Details of organisations offering help and support with mental health are available at bbc.co.uk/actionline, or you can call for free, at any time to hear recorded information on 08000 155 998.

The All in the Mind Awards are back for 2027, and nominations are open now!
Claudia Hammond hears from previous finalists on what the Awards mean to them – and Sir Stephen Fry sends in a special note on why the Awards are so important.
Also, how can music make a difference to life with Parkinson’s disease? We investigate prompted by one of our listeners, and hear how even just imagining music could have an impact.
And Claudia is joined by Daryl O’Connor, professor of psychology at the University of Leeds, who shares new research on how listening to music calms our brains. Plus, Claudia and Daryl try some slow-paced breathing in the studio to help lower stress levels.
If you would like to nominate someone for the All in the Mind Awards, then head to bbc.co.uk/allinthemindawards. You’ll find the terms and conditions and the privacy notice on the website, and you must be over 18 to send in a nomination. You have until 1pm on Friday the 8th of January 2027 to enter.
Presenter: Claudia Hammond
Producer: Sophie Ormiston & Gerry Holt
Assistant producer: Tabitha Taylor Buck
Editor: Ilan Goodman
Studio Manager: Tim Heffer
Production coordinator: Jana Holesworth

Most of us have experienced difficult feelings like grief or stress or sadness – but are we too quick to label these feelings as a mental health problem?
Clinical psychologist and author of You Are Not a Diagnosis Tanya Byron thinks we are – and we should also stop saying things like, “I’m traumatised”, “totally triggered” or “I’m so OCD”.
So why does the language we use matter - and why does Tanya feel she's seeing a rise in self-diagnosis?
Catherine Loveday, Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience from the University of Westminster, also joins us in the studio to give her take on the debate.
Plus, we tackle a listener's question about why some sounds can make us feel spine-tinglingly good and why are we ticklish?

Presenter: Claudia Hammond
Producer: Gerry Holt
Content editor: Ilan Goodman
Production coordinator: Jana Holesworth
Studio engineer: Steve Greenwood
Details of help and support with some of the issues raised are available at bbc.co.uk/actionline

Are you an extrovert or an introvert? A type A or a type B? Or maybe you don't care about the categories but you would like to be less shy or more organised? Claudia Hammond and her panel of experts discuss personality in front of a live audience at Cheltenham Science Festival.
Professor Kathryn Paige Harden from the University of Texas at Austin discusses how much of our personality is down to our genes and how much is down to environment. And she explains why children can end up with such different personalities from their siblings and parents despite sharing so many genes.
Professor Anu Realo from the University of Warwick describes how important personality is for wellbeing and health, and how cultural differences in personality traits are not as pronounced as we might think.
And Professor Vincent Deary from Northumbria University has spent many years running a clinic for people who are chronically ill and who can sometimes find that their illness changes who they are. He makes the case for working to accept ourselves as we are before we think about changing.
Producer: Lorna Stewart
Content Editor: Ilan Goodman
Technical Producers: Emma Harth & Gayl Gordon
Production Coordinator: Jana Holesworth