All In The Mind

Five years of unpaid taxes. Homework handed in on the last day of an extension. Some people are champion procrastinators.Why? And what does task paralysis (sometimes called ADHD paralysis) have to do with it?Today: the personality traits that make you more prone to procrastination, the types of tasks we're most likely to put off, and what to do if your to-do list sends you into fight-or-flight...

If you opened up a magazine in the 2000s, you'd likely be met by countless images of celebrities on their worst days. And the conversation accompanying those images? Pretty toxic.We've come a long way in how we talk about mental health since then, but how did we get here? What changed?Today, we reflect on the cruelty of tabloid culture and how the internet shifted the narrative about mental...

When was the last time you decluttered? Was it a satisfying process, or did it fill you with dread?Where you sit on the clutter spectrum differs person to person, so today, we investigate if decluttering is worth the hype. Why can it be so hard for some people? Could there be a way to reduce clutter before it builds up?And what's the relationship between hoarding disorder and clutter? If you want...

Can serial killers ever learn empathy? Is their psychology similar to mass shooters? Why are they almost always men?Welcome to All in the Mind’s first ever ‘mailbag’ episode!These are just some of the many questions you sent us after our recent episode on serial killers, called Where have all the serial killers gone?Forensic psychiatrist Dr Rajan Darjee is back on the show, answering these...

Have you ever felt like things were not quite real?That you were no longer connected to your body or didn’t know who you were?Nathan Dunne felt this way for years. And it’s never quite stopped affecting the way he sees himself or the world around him.Today, depersonalisation disorder — and what we know about its symptoms, causes and treatments.And a heads up, this episode discusses heavy topics...

Love it or hate it, there are reasons you might read your star sign and relate to what it says about you as a person.We all fall into cognitive traps — but if we’re aware of them, is it such a bad thing to indulge in your daily horoscope, or a tarot card reading?Today, we delve into the occult, to understand why some people seek messages from the universe, and if it can play a role in therapeutic...

The backpacker killer. The Claremont killer. Ted Bundy. The crimes serial killers commit linger in our memories for decades.But when was the last time you heard about an active serial killer in the news?In our final episode of Criminal Psychology, we probe the lead-crime hypothesis, find out about 'chemical castration' and ask — where have all the serial killers gone?And a heads up that this...

What drives some people to steal compulsively?This week, as part of our special four-part series Criminal Psychology, we're talking about kleptomania and the impact it can have on a person's life.We speak to someone who’s been diagnosed with kleptomania about their experiences; from their urges to steal, to the guilt and shame they feel.We also chat to a psychiatrist about what treatment looks...

Australians know the devastation of bushfires all too well. So why would anyone deliberately light a fire?In this episode of Criminal Psychology, our new four-part series on unusual crimes and unusual minds, we're exploring the psychology of arson.Answering questions like, how does it relate to pyromania? What do we know about the profile of a typical arsonist? And how do investigators track down...

Why would any parent lie about their child's health? Or worse, intentionally make their child sick?In episode one of Criminal Psychology, our new four-part series on unusual crimes and unusual minds, we dive into a disorder that’s long been sensationalised in the media: Munchausen by Proxy – and ask: how do these parents get away with their lies? Can their behaviour ever be reformed?Guests:Brenda...