All In The Mind

You’re no doubt familiar with 'hostile sexism' – blatantly negative or restrictive attitudes towards women.

But there's another type of sexism it co-exists with - ‘benevolent sexism’ - which is sometimes harder to detect.

Benevolent sexism can be well-meaning and positive – describing women as natural nurturers or brilliant carers.

It's linked to notions of chivalry and romance - research suggests some women even find benevolent sexism attractive.

But these attitudes can still cause major harm to women in the workplace and the home.

Over the past two decades, our cultural understanding of autism and what it means to be autistic has grown - though we have a long way to go. But there are entire generations of people who grew up when the popular conception of autism was a far cry from how it’s now understood.

It meant a whole host of people who grew up feeling like they didn’t fit in, but never quite knowing why.

They were autistic, but undiagnosed. And when a diagnosis did come as an adult – it was often revelatory and life-changing.

On All in the Mind this week, 'hidden histories’ of late-diagnosed autistic adults.

Chris Hadnagy’s job involves breaking into banks. But he’s not after money, gold or jewels. He’s searching for weaknesses – in systems, in security, and in people. 

And he doesn’t use weapons or threats of violence to get past guards and into vaults. He uses a smile - and a few tricks from his toolbox of psychology and social engineering techniques.

Chris is the founder and CEO of Social Engineer LLC and lectures about social engineering around the globe.

On All in the Mind this week, the psychology of influence and what makes some people more vulnerable to being ‘hacked’ than others.

It’s a condition which affects some patients who end up in intensive care …  and can continue after they’re released from hospital.

People often experience paranoia and fear, sometimes believing doctors are trying to kill them or that ghostly figures have visited during the night.

Disrupted sleep, bright lights, the endless beeping of alarms — all are thought to play a role in bringing on the condition.

On All in the Mind this week, delirium in the ICU – and how our hospital system might be redesigned to reduce it. 

Tom Vanderbilt didn’t know how to play chess.

That fact had never bothered him – until his four-year-old daughter decided she wanted to have a go.

Within a couple of months, they’d recruited a teacher and both Tom and his daughter combo were battling it out over 64 squares.

Tom found the experience of being an adult beginner so challenging and interesting he thought he'd give it a proper go - with a range of different skills and hobbies.

Over the next year he embarked on learning multiple new skills, from surfing to singing.

On All in the Mind this week, we hear what Tom learnt from his journey, the benefits of lifelong learning, and how kids and adults learn differently.

More than a year after the novel coronavirus pushed much of the world into lockdown, a generation of new mothers are still coming to terms with having been pregnant - and giving birth - in a pandemic.

And if you consider the uncertainty of the past year, the stress, the isolation - there are lots of reasons to be concerned about the impact that might have had on new mums, as well as their babies.

On All in the Mind this week, we delve into new research on the impact of the pandemic on new mothers, and hear from mums about the trials, and occasional triumphs, of life in a lockdown limbo.

From 2008 to 2018, the prescription of antidepressants in young people grew by 66 per cent. There’s data to suggest that last year, among the lockdowns and anxiety of the pandemic, that figure ticked even higher.

In last week’s episode we looked at how the mental health of teenagers fared through the first year of the coronavirus pandemic. This week, another big issue among teenagers and young people - antidepressant medications.

We hear from young people themselves about their mental health journeys, what it’s like to be on anti-depressants and their hopes for the future. And we cover the findings from a major review into antidepressant use in young people. 

Your teenage years can be tumultuous, but did you know that half of all mental conditions in adulthood emerge by the age of 14?

And on top of regular stressors like school and relationships, teens today have social media to contend with – and a little something called the global coronavirus pandemic.

On All in the Mind this week, we speak to experts – and teens – about how young people fared last year.

There's a condition so bizarre and rare that most doctors haven't even heard of it.

It causes people to hear their own blood moving, bones creaking, lungs breathing -  even eyeballs moving.

Superior Canal Dehiscence Syndrome can have a profound impact on a person's life and mental health... so can it be fixed?

We go into a hospital operating room to learn about this little-known condition.

Warning: this episode contains a description of a surgical operation.

This episode first aired on 29 March 2020.