All In The Mind

Spicy food, scary movies, BDSM … why do humans sometimes chase painful experiences and how are they linked to pleasure?

Frontotemporal dementia, or FTD, is tricky to pick up at the doctor's office and impossible to cure.

And for those who live with the condition, their families and their carers, the situation can be very challenging.

On All in the Mind this week, we hear from those people and a researcher who has spent decades working on the condition.

What happens when we let our most destructive emotion dominate?

On All in the Mind this week, we explore why we get angry, how you might control aggression and whether it can ever be ... useful.

We're urged to stay positive and keep up a cheerful disposition ... but sometimes things are just awful, aren’t they?

On All in the Mind this week we look at why we engage in toxic positivity, why it's so damaging when we do and whether something called 'tragic optimism' could be the antidote.

Most of us have an inner voice – it reminds you to pick up milk on your way home, helps problem solve, or rehearse what you’re going to say.

But there are times that helpful voice veers into harmful chatter.

You’ve heard of adrenaline, oxytocin and cortisol, but what about glutamate and GABA?

And how much do you really know about the chemicals coursing through your brain?

On All in the Mind this week, we take a whistle stop tour through your brain to learn how various chemicals influence our behaviour.

Having a baby is supposed to be a joyous time, despite the sleep deprivation and constant crying.

But for many women, it can be a dark time. We know one in six suffer post partum depression, but there's another condition that affects women during this period that you may not have heard of.

It's called post-partum psychosis. It's rare, but for those who get it, it can be utterly debilitating.

This episode was first broadcast on 25 April 2021.

How would you describe your parents?

Nobody's perfect, of course, but some parents leave more of a mark than others.

On All in the Mind this week, we look at the life-long impact of having 'emotionally immature' parents.

This episode was first broadcast on 30 May 2021.

Have you ever tried a self-help book? Did it… well, help?

On All in the Mind this week, why self-help sometimes falls short ... and the problem with pop psychology more generally.

One spring weekend a few years back, around 15 people gathered in a south Melbourne office space.

They were mostly neuroscience and maths types and there for something super niche and somewhat nerdy — the Australian Memory Championships.

Anastasia Woolmer was a first time competitor — but she’d go on to win.

On All in the Mind, she explains the techniques memory athletes use, and how you can apply them to everyday life.

This episode was first broadcast on 30 May 2021.