During the 1960s the field of psychology focussed on the science of how past trauma creates present symptoms, and how to reduce people’s misery. Professor Martin Seligman wanted to change that focus. He’s become known as the Father of Positive Psychology, and he’s had a profound influence worldwide. In Part 1 of our 2 programs with Martin Seligman, hear him address an exclusive audience in Australia on happiness and human flourishing.

If you’ve ever been depressed you may have wondered—is this the real me? And if anti-depressants work for you, do they get you back in touch with who you really are or make you feel more inauthentic? The findings from a University of Cambridge study suggest that how authentic you feel when being treated for depression may be relevant to your recovery.

Gabby was on an emotional roller-coaster, feeling empty and needy. After lashing out in anger, she’d regret it and say sorry over and over again. Her partner, Eliza, felt like she was walking on eggshells, always fearful of arousing Gabby’s intense emotions. Gabby was diagnosed with the highly stigmatised Borderline Personality Disorder. They share their journey together to a calmer and happier life.

Trigger warning: please note that this interview contains references to self-harm, abuse, and violence

Our guest, Rhonda Macken, tells her remarkable story—a testament to the power of human creativity and resilience in the face of unimaginable childhood trauma. Rhonda created a complex jigsaw of multiple personalities as protection against her harsh reality. Now in her 70s, and after years of intense psychotherapy, she's fully integrated and enjoying the love of her family.

At night our brain can have adventures. Even if they're fully asleep, some people end up sleep walking or even sleep driving! The neuroscience of nightmares and dreaming—and what they can tell us about the workings of our brain.

Anxiety is an essential human emotion—it kicks in to protect us from threats—but sometimes those threats are only perceived. When worries start to become overwhelming, approximately 25 per cent of us experience clinical anxiety. But it is highly treatable. A ten-year-old girl and a 30-year-old man share their anxious thoughts and their strategies to manage them.

Smart people are not only just as prone to making mistakes as everyone else—they may even be more susceptible to them. This idea has been dubbed the Intelligence Trap. It explains the flaws in our understanding of intelligence and expertise, and how the decisions of even the brightest minds and talented organisations can backfire.

When we’re bored time drags, and wouldn’t you swear that time seems to speed up as you get older? Drawing on the latest insights from psychology and neuroscience we explore the mystery of time perception, it’s connection to our sense of self and how we could be the architect of our own perception of time.

Having children can be wonderful but there’s no doubt that parenting can be challenging, especially for women with mental illness. We hear about the lives of mothers diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder—it’s a disorder defined by extreme emotional instability and is surrounded by stigma. The treatment can make a real difference to the wellbeing of families.

Trauma has a deep impact on the lives of survivors. It’s associated with mental and physical health problems, including substance abuse, and neuroscience is showing that a traumatic memory is quite different from a normal memory. Mental health services now realise that early trauma must be taken into account as an essential part of recovery from mental distress.

Psychedelic drugs were banned in the US in the late 1960s, which ended the flourishing research into their potential for treating mental illness. Now a leading professor from Imperial College London is re-visiting the field. He’s convinced that psychedelic therapy offers a new paradigm for mental health. His other passion is treatment for addiction, and to discover why some of us are more vulnerable than others.

Billions of people across the world and throughout time have held strong metaphysical beliefs—whether religious in nature, or more supernatural or spiritual. This year’s World Science Festival dared to ask what science can tell us about religion, spirituality and our belief instinct—without passing judgement.

Are you an optimist or a pessimist? Optimism may protect you from depression. But pessimism could be roughly equivalent to smoking more than 2 packs of cigarettes a day. Known as The Father of Positive Psychology, Professor Martin Seligman continues his talk to an Australian audience about how to promote human flourishing, and positive education.

From old fashioned 'lovesickness' to sex addiction, obsession, and jealousy — how does society decide what's normal in love? Drawing on the latest scientific research into the mechanisms underlying love and romantic attachment, a leading psychotherapist explores the extremes of love.

Conditions such as depression, anxiety, obesity, diabetes, and gut problems are common in Australia. British TV presenter Dr. Michael Mosley, who’s known for his Fast diet and exercise programs, says there are effective preventive measures which highlight the crucial connection between body and mind. He shares knowledge from experts and those with lived experience on how to reset your health.

Loneliness is a growing issue around the world, and a recent national survey reveals that 1 in 4 Australians are lonely. Research also shows that loneliness can have a profound impact not just on our mental health but on our physical health as well. In fact, it could be as bad for our bodies as smoking. What’s causing this social pain and how can we reconnect with each other?

Is an enlightened planet possible? Co-writers of a new film and book called The Portal say it is—through the power of collective meditation. They share personal stories of inspiring individuals who have come through adversity by reflecting inwards, using meditation.  Hope for humankind may lie in the cumulative effect of individual meditation and whether mindfulness can promote empathy.

Some surprises from the updated results of a famous psychological test involving marshmallows—and, when it comes to mood and happiness, teens of today may be on the brink of a mental health crisis—due to the widespread use of smart technology.

The connection between our minds and bodies determines our health and well-being, and the rate at which our cells age and die can be influenced by lifestyle choices. We hear about keeping our genes in good order by protecting our telomeres—a buffer zone at each end of our chromosomes. We'll also hear about a mindfulness-based intervention which could really help millions of extremely traumatised displaced people around the world.

Empathy is the power of understanding other people, which in turn allows societies to co-operate and function. But a leading British media executive is concerned that it’s lacking in today’s society, and that the arts and popular culture can bridge the gap.

There’s more and more scientific evidence that climate change is having a major impact on our planet. Recently more than 11,000 scientists across the world declared a climate emergency, and many of us are experiencing grief, anxiety and powerlessness about the future. We discuss the connection between climate change and mental health, and the strategies we need to maintain hope and take action.

What we see, hear, and feel as a child affects us later in life—and our brain is changed by childhood traumas. A leading Canadian psychiatrist is working to understand how childhood harm can impair brain development and affect mental health, in the hope of effective treatment. And we hear about an intervention which can improve educational outcomes for vulnerable children.

Even when it gets the go-ahead, research on sex and the brain is still highly stigmatised—yet there is still so much to learn. Sometimes a brain injury or disease causes hypersexuality, or a change of sexual preference; orgasm can cause a brain aneurysm to rupture, and the latter becomes more likely if it’s sex with someone other than your usual partner.

The trauma of war and displacement has a negative impact on the mental health of hundreds of thousands of refugees around the world. Australian researchers recently travelled to a large refugee camp in Bangladesh* where around 500,000 Rohingya people are living. The researchers found that sports and exercise programs make a huge difference to these refugees' physical and mental health, and to their well-being.

*There are around 900,000 Rohingya refugees now living in Bangladesh

In English there's no single word to describe an anxiety about how much aeroplane flight is damaging our environment. But in Swedish the word for this anxiety is 'flygskam'. And perhaps, having a word for this specific emotion may change the way we think about it  Come on our tour of culture and language to explore some strange destinations and untranslatable emotions.

Our guest, Rhonda Macken, tells her remarkable story—a testament to the power of human creativity and resilience in the face of unimaginable childhood trauma. Rhonda created a complex jigsaw of multiple personalities as protection against her harsh reality. Now in her 70s, and after years of intense psychotherapy, she's fully integrated and enjoying the love of her family.

Is an enlightened planet possible? Co-writers of a new film and book called The Portal say it is—through the power of collective meditation. They share personal stories of inspiring individuals who have come through adversity by reflecting inwards, using meditation.  Hope for humankind may lie in the cumulative effect of individual meditation and whether mindfulness can promote empathy.

The Big Anxiety festival uses the arts and lived experience to re-imagine mental health. Through creativity and innovative technology, empathy replaces fear and stigma. Virtual reality worlds open up to an optimistic future and offer insight from ancient indigenous stories.

Gabby was on an emotional roller-coaster, feeling empty and needy. After lashing out in anger, she’d regret it and say sorry over and over again. Her partner, Eliza, felt like she was walking on eggshells, always fearful of arousing Gabby’s intense emotions. Gabby was diagnosed with the highly stigmatised Borderline Personality Disorder. They share their journey together to a calmer and happier life.

Trigger warning: please note that this interview contains references to self-harm, abuse, and violence

When Tim was 11 years old he created his own superhero. Laser Beak Man now appears in colourful artworks showing Tim’s unique sense of humour connected to his literal understanding of language. And when Oakley was 5 years old he drew a pirate, inspiring his mother to write a kids’ book to raise understanding about autism and difference.

Meet an Australian philosopher and cultural analyst who spent 20 years of his life addicted to just about every drug you could imagine. His best work was done when he was enveloped in haze of cannabis smoke, he prowled local pharmacies to score large doses of codeine, and drank until he lost consciousness. Amazingly he lives to eloquently share his insights into the thought processes of an addict.

Anxiety is an essential human emotion—it kicks in to protect us from threats—but sometimes those threats are only perceived. When worries start to become overwhelming, approximately 25 per cent of us experience clinical anxiety. But it is highly treatable. A ten-year-old girl and a 30-year-old man share their anxious thoughts and their strategies to manage them.

The art of talking and listening in therapy can be powerful and transformative. The talking cure has changed since Freudian psychoanalysis, but evidence is building that the therapeutic relationship can have deep and lasting benefits. Two leading psychotherapists reveal the common dynamics that can interrupt our sense of well-being, through characters based on real-life case studies.

Our perception of the world is significantly affected by the language we speak. Indigenous languages from around Australia pose a vastly different perspective of the world than that of English. We explore how these languages influence perceptions of self, kinship and the natural world.

Are you paying attention? It’s not as simple as it sounds because our focus is constantly being pulled in different directions. Good attention skills are crucial for the development of other cognitive abilities, but a concerning number of children have difficulties to a clinical level, such as those seen in ADHD and autism. The common treatment is medication but there are training interventions which are proving effective.

Watson and Crick saw the structure of DNA in a spiral staircase, and Newton understood gravity in the falling of an apple—but all human beings regularly experience flashes of inspiration, seemingly out of nowhere. Insight researchers want to know more about the nature of the so-called ‘a-ha moment’, so they are setting us a citizen science challenge. Find out what they know already, and how you can contribute to the science of creativity. And we hear from a neuroscientist whose recent research shows that the most creative people have superior connectivity between three distinct brain regions.

The connection between our minds and bodies determines our health and well-being, and the rate at which our cells age and die can be influenced by lifestyle choices. We hear about keeping our genes in good order by protecting our telomeres—a buffer zone at each end of our chromosomes. We'll also hear about a mindfulness-based intervention which could really help millions of extremely traumatised displaced people around the world.

In 1966, as a reaction to disturbing reports of people having bad trips, the psychedelic drug LSD was banned in the U.S. Now some scientists are seeing promising results from studies into the therapeutic benefits of using psychedelic drugs to treat mental illness.

Turn on, tune in, and drop out … that was the catchcry of U.S. psychologist Timothy Leary in the 1960s. By 1966 psychedelics were demonised and banned, but now—in controlled scientific settings—there's a psychedelic 'renaissance' in mental health therapy. Early research on the use of ecstasy in the treatment of stress disorders looks promising.

Picture this—an Australian journalist sitting near a squat toilet under the only light in the prison cell he shares with 140 others, writing pages of notes about happiness. After 15 months in a notorious Cambodian prison, for a crime he denies, James Ricketson shares his insights into his personal experience in Prey Sar prison—and his new reflections on the state of happiness.

Please note that this episode contains a small amount of strong language