All in the Mind

Claudia Hammond is joined by mental health campaigner, Marion Janner to discuss some of the entries to the All in the Mind mental health awards. She hears from one pair of finalists, Helen and Lin. Helen nominated her mental health nurse, Lin in the professional category. Helen explains the difference Lin's help made and how she believes she saved her life. Also in the programme in World War I the Craiglockhart hospital near Edinburgh was a military psychiatric hospital treating shell shocked soldiers. Claudia travels to the hospital to see recently discovered editions of The Hydra - a magazine produced by patients and edited by Wilfred Owen with poems by Siegfried Sassoon who were both patients. Claudia hears how the magazine didn't talk directly about treatment or how soldiers were ill, referring instead to someone feeling a little seedy or not at the top of their game. And while the celebrated poets have made the magazine famous she finds out that the other contributions from regular soldiers are as equally moving.

Claudia Hammond reports on a mental health triage scheme being run by Leicestershire police force, which has led to a decrease in the number of people with mental illness being detained under Section 136 of the Mental Health Act.Praising children with low self-esteem may seem like a good way to boost their confidence, but a new study by psychologist Eddie Brummelman of Utrecht University suggests that this can backfire and make them less likely to take on new challenges.Scott Stossel describes himself as "a twitchy bundle of phobias, fears and neuroses". He has a fear of heights, flying, public speaking and vomiting and nearly couldn't attend his own wedding. In his new book "My Age of Anxiety" he describes how until thirty-five years ago, anxiety did not exist as a diagnostic category, yet all through history descriptions have existed and each age thinks they are uniquely anxious. Scott explores the theories surrounding anxiety, including the potentially positive sides of the condition.

Claudia Hammond asks whether the use of physical restraint in mental health services should be eliminated. She's joined by Jimmy Noak, director of nursing at Broadmoor Hospital, and by service user consultant, Jane McGrath, to find out what restraint involves, when it's used, when it goes wrong and why some people even ask for restraint for themselves when they are in crisis. Also Claudia talks to Sophie Forster from Sussex University about her research into mind wandering and asks whether mind wanderers are less happy than others. And what are the challenges of starting a new business when you have a serious mental health problem? Claudia talks to one listener about her journey to self employment.

Claudia Hammond finds out why your exercise regime could be hindered if you have been taxing your brain too much. She talks to Professor Samuele Marcora from the University of Kent about his research on why the chemical by products of being mentally exhausted can actually make physical exercise much harder. He discusses his new research with the Ministry of Defence where he is finding that soldiers can be trained to resist the overwhelming effects of cognitive fatigue. Also in the programme the moral distress experienced by nurses and more results from the BBC Stress test and what it reveals about mental well-being.

Claudia takes a musical journey inside the brain looking at the very latest neuroscientific research on everything from how we notice patterns in music to why the beat can be so powerful.We're not born with musical ability, but the brain is an efficient machine that lets us learn the rules. But what about the people who can't understand music? And how can our emotional responses to music be used therapeutically?When it comes to understanding the mind and the brain, the beauty of music is that there are so many dimensions to it - there's pitch, rhythm, melody, our memories and that all-important emotional element. These are rich pickings for those using it to try to understand the workings of the mind better and to develop new therapies.

Why rituals like blowing out candles on a birthday cake table before eating it can improve the taste. Claudia Hammond talks to Michael Norton from Harvard University about his new research on the powerful effect of rituals on food and how it can work for chocolate and even carrots. Why people with an extraordinary ability to remember every details of their life and the events going on years ago are still susceptible to false memories. What does this reveal about how our memories work? More on the All in the Mind 25th anniversary mental health awards with awards judge, Marion Janner. What are the rules for people on medication for a mental health condition who want to give blood? Claudia talks to Jennie Naylor from NHS blood and transplant. Also in the programme why a meaningful life might not be a happy one and Claudia is joined by cognitive neuroscientist and blogger, Christian Jarrett to bust the myths about the differences between male and female brains.

Claudia goes behind the scenes of the Science Museum's new psychology exhibition, Mind Maps.How do you change teenagers' negative body images? Psychological strategies can help young people defend themselves against unrealistic expectations and stop them "fat talking". Claudia Hammond reports on a new study by Dr Helen Sharpe of Kings College LondonLast week All in the Mind launched its 25th anniversary Awards scheme. This week clinical psychologist and All in the Mind Award judge Guy Holmes explains what makes a good therapeutic group.Learning complicated dance steps can be challenging, as the celebrities on BBC One's Strictly Come Dancing discover every week. New research by Professor Margaret Wilson has shown that one technique used by dancers known as marking can improve performance. Claudia cha cha challenges her two left feet with Strictly star Robin Windsor.

For its 25th anniversary All in the Mind launches 3 new awards to recognise outstanding help, support or advice in the field of mental health. Claudia Hammond explains the categories and how to nominate. Also in the programme, a new look at one of the most famous and controversial psychology experiments ever. In 1961 Stanley Milgram ran a series of experiments where unwitting volunteers were ordered to give increasing electric shocks to a man they'd never met under the guise of research into memory. Many gave a series of increasing shocks up to 450 Volts despite hearing screams and calls for help from the unseen 'victim'. But it was a set up. The shocks were fake and the victim was an actor. The results of Milgram's obedience research caused a worldwide sensation. Milgram reported that people had repeatedly shocked a man they believed to be in pain or even dying and he linked his findings to Nazi behaviour. But was his version of the results really what happened? Claudia Hammond talks to Gina Perry who has researched Milgram's unpublished papers and spoken to those who took part in the experiment. Her findings reveal a story far from Milgram's own version of his obedience research.

In this special anniversary programme Claudia Hammond looks at developments in neuroscience and how our understanding of the brain has changed.In 1988 scientists predicted that new techniques of scanning the brain would lead to exciting innovative treatments for diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. Researchers were enthusiastic about the possibilities of seeing what went on in the brain. Many had high hopes that this would help us understand how and why mental health problems develop. But how much progress has been made?Professor Irene Tracey, Director of the Oxford Centre for functional magnetic resonance imaging of the brain, and Professor Sophie Scott, from the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience at University College London, discuss with Claudia the major advances in this fast growing field. They also take a sceptical look and ask whether with highly ambitious big brain studies the science is still promising more than it delivers.

The first ever edition of All in the Mind was broadcast 25 years ago. In the second of three anniversary programmes Claudia Hammond and guests look back at archive editions of the programme to examine what impact psychology research has had on our lives over the last 25 years. How does evidence-based psychology affect policy decisions? Is psychology just 'proving the obvious' or has it offered insights into ourselves which we could never have guessed?