All In The Mind

Developmental paediatrician Dr Billy Garvey is returning to All in the Mind and we'd love to ask him your questions! Billy is an expert on kids' mental health — last time he was on the show we discussed what's really going on with kids who are labelled "bad"; including insecure attachment, separation anxiety and emotional difficulties.  He co-hosts Pop Culture Parenting and is the author of Ten th...

The siren has sounded. The scores are even. A footy player has one final chance to kick an easy goal to get his team into the finals. He's right in front of the goals. He lines up. Kicks. Misses. The pressure of such a moment was phenomenal, and the player choked under it. So what happens in the brain during such intense periods? Why can some people remain calm while others can't handle it? This e...

40 years ago, NASA experienced one of its most devastating disasters. The Challenger space shuttle disintegrated just 73 seconds after launch, killing all seven crew members. How had this happened? And did the culture of NASA have anything to do with it? In this episode, we dig into a concept called 'normalisation of deviance', which has been touted as an explanation for this incident, as well as...

Renowned psychotherapist Esther Perel is coming to All in the Mind! And we'd love to ask her some of your questions. Esther Perel is an internationally recognised couples therapist. You might know her as the author of Mating in Captivity and The State of Affairs . Family, sex, intimacy, friendship, betrayal - Esther covers it all.  So if you have any thorny relationship questions you'd like to ask...

Slow walkers. Unmelted cheese in a toastie. Bad formatting in documents.  If these small annoyances make you weirdly mad, you're not alone (in fact, you're human). But when little pet peeves add up, they can contribute much bigger problems like chronic stress. So what can you do about it? Today: why small annoyances have such an outsized impact; why judging yourself doesn't help; and how elements...

When Blake's dad died by suicide, it came as a complete shock. Overwhelming grief, combined with confusion and guilt — it uprooted his life. The loss made him rethink his own mental health, and eventually, channel that into the community — fundraising and taking on three world records. Today, we're talking about suicide bereavement; how it can affect family and friends, its long lasting impacts on...

Simon considers himself a calm, conscientious, conflict-avoidant type of person. But in the car, his personality flips — and it scares him. It can be hard to admit, but many of us do experience road rage. So what is it about being in the driver's seat that makes us so quick to anger? And does the type of car a person drives have anything to do with their propensity for aggression? Today, we're tal...

Over years of practice, clinical psychologist Dr Mary Anderson started to notice a peculiar pattern across her many clients. Despite being impressive high achievers on the outside, inside they were struggling with burnout, imposter syndrome, anxiety and self-criticism. So she set out to develop a guide for these high achievers. A framework to support their success ... without sacrificing their men...

Many of us have felt self loathing at some point in our lives — maybe when you've failed at an important task at work, or lost an important relationship. But some people hate themselves all the time — their inner monologue is a constant drumbeat of self-criticism and self-loathing.  Where does this kind of all-encompassing self-hate come from? And is there a way to unlearn it? We speak to psychiat...

Be honest, how many times have you checked your notifications in the last hour? Or opened a new, totally unrelated tab? Or stopped what you're doing even though you really need to do it? Distractions are everywhere. And whether they're self-imposed or coming from our environment, it can be hard to focus. Today, we explore the ramifications of our rapidly shrinking attention spans, debunk some myth...

Have you ever experienced "the ick"? It's that sudden, visceral feeling of being put off by someone you're dating. Maybe it's their hat, a hobby or even the way they laugh. Stories of the ick are prolific online, but it leaves us with a question - what causes it?  To separate red flags from disgust, we get into the psychology of the ick - why you might feel icky, if it should be a deal breaker, an...

Developmental paediatrician Dr Billy Garvey has seen a lot of kids with behavioural issue over the years, and there are ten things he wishes all parents understood about their kids mental health. From insecure attachment to separation anxiety to emotional difficulties – he gives us the low down on why kids get labelled ‘bad’ – and what’s really going on (usually). You can catch up on more episodes...

Difficult people are everywhere. Maybe you're one of them, or maybe you're about to sit through an awkward holiday situation with someone you REALLY don't know how to handle. This week, clinical psychologist Rachel Samson returns to answer all your questions on challenging people from the All in the Mind mailbox. How do I deal with my coworker who's crossing boundaries? Should I try and make peace...

From the prohibition era in the US, to gun control in Australia, bans have been used throughout history to change behaviour.  Sometimes they work, sometimes they don't. Sometimes, they lead to a whole lot of unintended consequences. With the social media ban for under-16’s taking effect this week, we uncover the three factors that can determine whether a ban is more likely to succeed or fail – and...

When bad things happen, do you berate yourself or treat yourself with compassion? Do you journal, meditate, or listen to music? Growing up, Sabrina McKenzie always turned to music to help her through her worst moments. As she got older and began studying psychology, she realised what she felt when she listened to sad or angry songs ... was self-compassion. In the field of positive psychology there...

We've come a long way in how we talk about mental health. But while diagnoses like depression and anxiety can empower people to seek help and support — they also influence how we see ourselves and how others might see us, too. Today, we investigate 'concept creep.' It's the idea that the labels we use to describe mental health are expanding and being applied to an ever-wider array of human behavio...

You've probably experienced intrusive thoughts — bizarre, fleeting, sometimes inappropriate thoughts that cross your mind without warning. Although these can be weird to experience, they're totally normal. But for people with obsessive compulsive disorder these thoughts can become inescapable — leading to worry, compulsions and shame. Today we're talking about OCD, because it's often quite differe...

According to consumer psychology, there's a recipe for being cool. And surprisingly, the ingredients are similar across a bunch of countries and cultures. So today, we explore the concept of cool: what it says about our values and how it influences us. But be warned — if you try too hard to be cool, it might unravel your attempt before you even get there. You can catch up on more episodes of the A...

You know how certain people are just… difficult? Maybe they're prickly to be around, don't take feedback well, or act like a narcissist? Today we're learning how to handle relationships with difficult people; from setting boundaries, to understanding the role of attachment and temperament on behaviour. Plus, is it ever the right time to cut someone off completely? And what's a 'highly sensitive pe...

Extreme emotional turmoil, fears of abandonment, huge amounts of stigma… These factors can make navigating a career when you have borderline personality disorder really tricky. But Rosie and Enya are making it happen. Today, how to navigate your working life when you have BPD. We hear from Enya, a listener who works on fishing boats while receiving treatment for her BPD, and Rosie, a teacher and a...

Long before Sarah's daughter Chloe Hayden became an award-winning actress starring in Netflix's Heartbreak High, she was a kid facing immense struggles. Chloe was sensitive to smells, lights and foods; she had no friends; she hated school. Sarah never suspected Chloe was autistic, but that’s only because her idea of what autism looked like came from the film Rain Man. Sarah is now a social worker...

We've all dreamt of lobbing our smartphone into the ocean and going off grid. So what happens when you follow through with it? For the final episode of Brain Rot, we speak to the people who decided they'd had enough. From a French village, to Gen Z 'luddites' in New York City and a group of parents in regional Victoria, there are clubs, campaigns and even laws dedicated to a smartphone-free life....

Plenty of people will say they are addicted to the internet. But how well-recognised, scientifically, is an addiction … to your screen? In episode four of Brain Rot, we dig into how behavioural addictions work. And we hear from self-described internet addicts about the treatment programs helping them manage their relationship with technology. This episode originally aired on  Brain Rot , a series...

We're trusting tech with more tasks than ever — including the ones our brains once did. We're Googling things we used to know, taking screenshots of things we'll instantly forget, and hoarding all kinds of data we'll never check again. On this episode of Brain Rot: is tech giving your brain a holiday, or putting it out of a job? You'll also meet a guy who's turned the tables, by using AI to help r...

Whether it’s social media, the omnipresent smartphone or AI companions, in recent decades the way we relate to each other has been completely up-ended. In episode two of Brain Rot, we explore the potential implications that tech poses to human relationships. Worldwide estimates suggest there are around one billion users of AI companions — people using software or applications designed to simulate...