Trust Me, I'm An Expert

A growing body of research is drawing a link between mental and physical health – and the connection is much stronger than you might realise.

Simon Rosenbaum, a senior research fellow in school psychiatry at UNSW, had been researching the role of exercise in mental health treatment for years when he teamed up with a colleague, Ruth Wells.

Wells is a PhD candidate in clinical psychology at the University of Sydney and a research fellow at the school of psychiatry at UNSW, and her research expertise focuses on the mental health of refugees.

Late last year, the pair flew to Gaziantep in southern Turkey, where about one in four people are Syrian refugees. They wanted to explore what role exercise might play in improving the mental health of Syrian refugees.

Today on Trust Me, I’m An Expert, we hear from Simon Rosenbaum and Ruth Wells on what they found when they got there; how exercise might fit with existing treatments for refugees with PTSD and other conditions; and how exercise can help people anywhere who are trying to improve their mental health.

We’d love you to listen to the whole episode, but we’ve included a few snippets below to get you started.

What does the science say on exercise and mental health?

Simon Rosenbaum teaches the Syrian refugee women how to do a push-up.

The work Ruth Wells and Simon Rosebaum have been doing in Gaziantep has come out of years of collaboration with their partners in the field, including Rania Said Yousef and Raiya Al Said. So a special thanks goes out to them, as well as Omar Said Yousef, Dr Ammar Beetar and the organisation Syria Bright Future.

Raiya tells us that music, exercise and dance can help depression.

For support, call Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636, Lifeline on 13 11 14 or visit Headspace, which has information for schools, young people, and family and friends.

If you’re interested in more information about, or donating to, the women’s gym that Simon and Ruth are working with, you can find their contact details here and here.

Trust Me, I’m An Expert is out at the start of every month. Find us and subscribe in Apple Podcasts, Pocket Casts or wherever you get your podcasts.

Kindergarten, Unkle Ho, from Elefant Traks

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You’ve had an x-ray before but have you had an n-ray? Of course not, because they’re not real.

But people used to think they were. Scientists had shown they were. And the weird history of n-rays, explored in today’s episode of Trust Me, I’m An Expert, tells us a lot about people’s willingness to believe wrong information – but also how well-designed studies can debunk myths, reveal important truths and bring good evidence to the surface.

Today, we’re bringing you stories on the theme of evidence. We’d love you to listen to the whole thing, but here are a few snippets to get you started.

Richard Matthews, an expert on forensic identification, was given photos from the phones of two Conversation editors. It was unsettling how much information he was able to unearth from the metadata hidden in these photos.

We talk with a woman who was part of a randomised controlled trial on how a new treatment called transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) might affect people with depression. And Laurent Billot, a biostatistician and an expert on study design, explains how everyone can benefit when people volunteer to participate in a randomised trial.

Andrew Leigh, the federal member for Fenner and Labor’s shadow assistant treasurer, was a professor of economics in a previous life.

Today he’s talking with Fiona Fidler, an expert on the history of science and the replication crisis, about some of the ideas he explores in his new book Randomistas: How radical researchers changed our world.

Conversation editor Madeleine De Gabriele tells us about a form of radiation “discovered” in 1903: n-rays. Later debunked as myth, the n-rays case tells us a lot about how much people are influenced by what they believe to be true. She spoke to Will Grant, who researches public awareness of science.

We’re ending today’s show with Professor Colleen Loo, who shares with us some of the promising results from the transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) study we mentioned earlier:

For support, call Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636, Lifeline on 13 11 14 or visit Headspace, which has information for schools, young people, and family and friends.

Trust Me, I’m An Expert is out at the start of every month. Find us and subscribe in Apple Podcasts, Pocket Casts or wherever you get your podcasts.

Kindergarten, Unkle Ho, from Elefant Traks

Free Music Archive, Ghost Science by Teeth Mountain

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