All In The Mind

Meditation has a lot of benefits, but could it also have risks?
Over the past decade, meditation and mindfulness have been promoted to reduce stress and increase relaxation.
But there is another story of meditation that rarely gets told... one that involves anxiety, insomnia — even psychosis.
Today, how one person went from being an evangelical mindfulness meditator, to a leading researcher on the adverse effects of meditation.
Guests:
Willoughby BrittonAssociate professor, Brown University Medical School and director of the Clinical and Affective Neuroscience Lab
Pawan SharmaAssistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the Pattan Academy of Health Sciences School of Medicine
Pierce SalgueroProfessor of Asian History and Health Humanities at Penn State University
Credits:
Presenter: Sana Qadar
Reporter/producer: Fiona Pepper
Senior producer: James Bullen
Producer: Rose Kerr
Extra information:
Defining and measuring meditation-related adverse effects in mindfulness-based programs
Prevalence and 20-year trends in meditation, yoga, guided imagery and progressive relaxation use among US adults from 2002 to 2022
Prevalence and predictors of meditation use in Australia and New Zealand: results from a nationally representative survey
Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy improves polysomnographic and subjective sleep profiles in antidepressant users with sleep complaints
Meditation-induced psychosis: a narrative review and individual patient data analysis
Psychiatric Problems Precipitated by Transcendental Meditation
The varieties of contemplative experience: A mixed-methods study of meditation-related challenges in Western Buddhists
Cheetah House
To explore more great episodes from the award-winning psychology podcast All in the Mind with host Sana Qadar, download the ABC Listen app (Australia) or search 'ABC All in the Mind podcast' wherever you get your podcasts. There you'll find more episodes on mental health, trauma, attachment theory, wellness hacks, and family relationships. You'll also hear interviews with experts like Esther Perel, Billy Garvey and Ethan Kross. All in the Mind is created for ABC's Radio National by specialist journalists and reporters at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Closure can feel like the ultimate solution to help us heal. But is it all it's cracked up to be?
Today, we learn about ambiguous loss — the type of grief that comes without closure. 
We know navigating uncertainty is tricky, so what practical steps can we take to process this kind of loss?
A heads up, this episode touches on some heavy topics around loss and trauma.
Guests:
Carly DoberPsychologist
Dr Pauline BossProfessor emeritus, University of MinnesotaAuthor, Myth of Closure: Ambiguous Loss in a Time of Pandemic Author, Change and Ambiguous Loss: Learning to Live with Unresolved Grief
Credits:
Presenter/producer: Sana Qadar
Senior producer: James Bullen
Producer: Rose Kerr
Sound engineer: Roi Huberman
More information:
The psychology of closure — and why some need it more than others
Motivated closing of the mind: "seizing" and "freezing"
Beyond dogmatism: The need for closure as related to religion
Need for cognitive closure, tolerance for ambiguity, and perfectionism in medical school applicants
Ambiguous loss
To explore more great episodes from the award-winning psychology podcast All in the Mind with host Sana Qadar, download the ABC Listen app (Australia) or search 'ABC All in the Mind podcast' wherever you get your podcasts. There you'll find more episodes on mental health, trauma, attachment theory, wellness hacks, and family relationships. You'll also hear interviews with experts like Esther Perel, Billy Garvey and Ethan Kross. All in the Mind is created for ABC's Radio National by specialist journalists and reporters at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Nature is good for our wellbeing. But how much green space does a community need, before you can see a wellbeing boost?
And how do we encourage people to spend more time outdoors?
This episode first aired in September 2023.
In celebration of National Science Week, make sure to vote in ABC Radio National's poll for Australia's most amazing wildflower.
Guests:
Belinda McCawleyFounder, Mindful in Nature
Dr Xiaoqi FengProfessor of Urban Health and EnvironmentSchool of Population Health,University of New South Wales (UNSW)Founding Co-Director of PowerLab
Josh BrownCo-founder, Deadly Ed
Credits:
Presenter: Sana Qadar
Reporter/producer: Rose Kerr
Sound engineer: John Jacobs
To read the transcript for this episode, head to its original webpage.
To explore more great episodes from the award-winning psychology podcast All in the Mind with host Sana Qadar, download the ABC Listen app (Australia) or search 'ABC All in the Mind podcast' wherever you get your podcasts. There you'll find more episodes on mental health, trauma, attachment theory, wellness hacks, and family relationships. You'll also hear interviews with experts like Esther Perel, Billy Garvey and Ethan Kross. All in the Mind is created for ABC's Radio National by specialist journalists and reporters at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Since the days of gladiator battles and public hangings, dark tourism — our attraction to places linked to death and despair — has been a part of human behaviour.
But there's something in the 21st century that's causing debate… Selfies.
Digital media isn't all bad though. It's also creating opportunities for authentic storytelling.
Today, we examine what dark tourism is, if it's ethical, and when it is (and isn't) appropriate to snap a selfie.
This episode first aired in June 2024.
Guests:
Dr Craig Wight, Associate Professor, Business School, Edinburgh Napier University
Dr Nicole Basaraba, Assistant Professor, School of Languages, Literatures and Cultural Studies and Centre for Digital Humanities, Trinity College Dublin
Dr Mariko Smith, Head of First Nations Collections & Research, First Nations Division, Australian Museum
Credits:
Presenter/Producer: Sana Qadar
Producer: Rose Kerr
Senior Producer: James Bullen
Sound engineer: Beth Stewart
Other information:
The Australian Museum's Unsettled exhibitionTo read the transcript from this episode, head to its original webpage.
To explore more great episodes from the award-winning psychology podcast All in the Mind with host Sana Qadar, download the ABC Listen app (Australia) or search 'ABC All in the Mind podcast' wherever you get your podcasts. There you'll find more episodes on mental health, trauma, attachment theory, wellness hacks, and family relationships. You'll also hear interviews with experts like Esther Perel, Billy Garvey and Ethan Kross. All in the Mind is created for ABC's Radio National by specialist journalists and reporters at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Why is gaming addictive? How do you know if it's a problem? And what should parents do if they're worried about their kids' gaming habits?
This week, psychiatrist and author Dr Alok Kanojia (Dr K) unpacks gaming addiction.
Long before Dr K was the co-founder of Healthy Gamer, he had his own story of addiction — playing for 20 hours a day and failing out of uni. How did he turn his own struggles into a global online community supporting gamers?
And what practical advice does he have for gamers (and the parents raising them) who want to find a balance?
Guest:
Dr Alok Kanojia (Dr K)PsychiatristAuthor, How To Raise A Healthy GamerCo-founder, Healthy Gamer
Credits:
Presenter/producer: Sana Qadar
Senior producer: James Bullen
Producer: Rose Kerr
Sound engineer: Roi Huberman
More information:
Inside Perth's gaming addiction clinic — the first in a public hospital in AustraliaTo explore more great episodes from the award-winning psychology podcast All in the Mind with host Sana Qadar, download the ABC Listen app (Australia) or search 'ABC All in the Mind podcast' wherever you get your podcasts. There you'll find more episodes on mental health, trauma, attachment theory, wellness hacks, and family relationships. You'll also hear interviews with experts like Esther Perel, Billy Garvey and Ethan Kross. All in the Mind is created for ABC's Radio National by specialist journalists and reporters at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.