All in the Mind

Sleep paralysis; Exploding head syndrome; Robot therapy; Mental health awareness


Listen Later

Claudia Hammond talks to Professor Christopher French from Goldsmiths, University of London about the strange phenomenon of sleep paralysis. As many as 1 in 20 people will experience vivid hallucinations while falling asleep or waking up while also completely unable to move. People also describe a very powerful sense of fear and the feeling of being crushed or that an intruder or something supernatural is there with them. Despite being relatively common, this sleep anomaly is little understood. Even less well known or understood is the frightening experience of 'Exploding Head Syndrome' where someone perceives abrupt and very loud noises when going to sleep or waking up.

Also can a robot deliver therapy via your smartphone? Claudia talks to Alison Darcy - Stanford University researcher who's created Woebot - an artificially intelligent chatbot designed to treat depression. Woebot, uses cognitive-behavioural therapy and is available via Facebook messenger. Alison explains how it works and that it's not a replacement for traditional therapy, but it's the first tech based treatment to have been properly scientifically tested and peer reviewed..

Simon Wessley, outgoing president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, and Paul Farmer, chief executive of the mental health charity MIND discuss mental health awareness campaigns with Claudia. Do they overload already stretched mental health services? Or are they vital to helping people understand their own mental health and are they changing the wider landscape of how these conditions are understood, talked about and de-stigmatised?

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

All in the MindBy BBC Radio 4

  • 4.5
  • 4.5
  • 4.5
  • 4.5
  • 4.5

4.5

57 ratings


More shows like All in the Mind

View all
In Our Time by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time

5,412 Listeners

The Documentary Podcast by BBC World Service

The Documentary Podcast

1,842 Listeners

Woman's Hour by BBC Radio 4

Woman's Hour

392 Listeners

Global News Podcast by BBC World Service

Global News Podcast

7,909 Listeners

Thinking Allowed by BBC Radio 4

Thinking Allowed

308 Listeners

Health Check by BBC World Service

Health Check

86 Listeners

6 Minute English by BBC Radio

6 Minute English

1,782 Listeners

Learning English Conversations by BBC Radio

Learning English Conversations

1,050 Listeners

Inside Health by BBC Radio 4

Inside Health

84 Listeners

More or Less: Behind the Stats by BBC Radio 4

More or Less: Behind the Stats

901 Listeners

Lives Less Ordinary by BBC World Service

Lives Less Ordinary

586 Listeners

The Food Programme by BBC Radio 4

The Food Programme

269 Listeners

The Infinite Monkey Cage by BBC Radio 4

The Infinite Monkey Cage

1,925 Listeners

Newshour by BBC World Service

Newshour

1,081 Listeners

The Life Scientific by BBC Radio 4

The Life Scientific

248 Listeners

BBC Inside Science by BBC Radio 4

BBC Inside Science

403 Listeners

CrowdScience by BBC World Service

CrowdScience

480 Listeners

Sliced Bread by BBC Radio 4

Sliced Bread

134 Listeners

13 Minutes Presents: The Space Shuttle by BBC World Service

13 Minutes Presents: The Space Shuttle

4,121 Listeners

Americast by BBC News

Americast

742 Listeners

You're Dead to Me by BBC Radio 4

You're Dead to Me

2,985 Listeners

Just One Thing - with Michael Mosley by BBC Radio 4

Just One Thing - with Michael Mosley

238 Listeners

Life Changing by BBC Radio 4

Life Changing

104 Listeners

Young Again by BBC Radio 4

Young Again

71 Listeners

What's Up Docs? by BBC Radio 4

What's Up Docs?

116 Listeners