All in the Mind Folgen

Depersonalisation disorder involves feeling completely disconnected from yourself or from reality. It’s among the most common yet under-recognised psychiatric conditions and as such is hard to diagnose. Joe Perkins whose new book Life on Autopilot charts his 14 year experience with the disorder, discusses his long journey on the road to formal diagnosis, the need for innovative treatments, and why this disorder is so little understood or discussed.City-wide air pollution has adverse effects on our heart and lungs, but there is now increasing evidence that air pollution isn’t great for our brain either. Recent research shows that adults exposed to high levels of traffic-related air pollution are more likely to experience anxiety and mild depression. But could it also contribute to the course and severity after the onset of more serious mental illness? Claudia Hammond meets Ioannis Bakolis of Kings College London who in the first study of its kind, has examined the extent to which air pollution exposure leads to a more severe course of illness in people experiencing first episodes of psychotic disorders.And Claudia’s studio guest Professor Daryl O’ Connor discusses a new study into an effective way to counter the way disinformation spreads unchecked, and how inserting a counter-message, just once, into a close replica of a deceptive rival’s message can undercut its persuasive effects.Producer Adrian WashbourneProduced in association with the Open University

Claudia Hammond talks to Daniel Freeman, a clinical psychologist at the University of Oxford about a trial into a new talking treatment for people experiencing persecutory delusions. Called the Feeling Safe programme, the trial has had positive results and has transformed the lives for many of those receiving it, including Joe, one of the trial participants. Claudia talks to Professor Catherine Loveday about the lives and work of psychiatrists Aaron T Beck and Professor Sir Michael Rutter who have both died. She also talks to social psychologist, Fanny Lalot about how different signs at a railway level crossing in Canterbury might influence drivers to turn their engines off while they're waiting for the barriers to lift. Also in the programme, Professor Catherine Loveday talks about a new study looking at how taxi drivers brains help us understand and improve navigational skills. Producer Pamela Rutherford

Many people who were able to work from home have abandoned the office since the start of the pandemic, attending online meetings via social platforms while they balance their home and work lives. We hear from business psychologist Professor Binna Kandola about how his research revealed that although everyone's wellbeing has been affected by the pandemic, women have felt its negative effects most. He believes that this may be because being seen in their homes on Zoom meetings might have reinforced the stereotypical image of women as homemakers, eroding their role as breadwinners. We hear from Lizzie who started a new job at the beginning of lockdown. She's now met some of her colleagues and is enjoying the return to the office rather than working at her kitchen table. Catherine Steele who's an associate professor of psychology at the University of Leicester believes that meeting online falls short of "real-life" experiences - missing a lot of the informal communication which happens naturally in the office or coffee queue, where trust can be built. She says the return to work needs to be managed according to individual needs to get the best out of people. Glenn Dutcher is an experimental economist at the University of Ohio in the United States and his most recent work revealed that people working alone had more ideas than those working in teams of two - though fewer of their ideas were original. Christine Grant from the University of Coventry was studying homeworking long before the Covid pandemic when it was difficult to find people to take part in her research. She found that as well as upsides such as flexibility there were also downsides like working longer hours. As agile or hybrid working becomes more common she advises people to be aware of boundaries and take proper breaks from their office to avoid a "hybrid hangover". And Joe Devlin from University College London has done some research for the rail industry during lockdown on people's attitudes towards commuting. Surprisingly many enjoy the daily journey into the office which provides a "buffer" between home and work - especially if they strike up a conversation with strangers.