All in the Mind

← All in the MindNuevo · 28 min

Are we too quick to label ‘normal’ distress?

Are we too quick to label ‘normal’ distress?Nuevo28 min

Most of us have experienced difficult feelings like grief or stress or sadness – but are we too quick to label these feelings as a mental health problem?

Clinical psychologist and author of You Are Not a Diagnosis Tanya Byron thinks we are – and we should also stop saying things like, “I’m traumatised”, “totally triggered” or “I’m so OCD”.

So why does the language we use matter - and why does Tanya feel she's seeing a rise in self-diagnosis?

Catherine Loveday, Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience from the University of Westminster, also joins us in the studio to give her take on the debate.

Plus, we tackle a listener's question about why some sounds can make us feel spine-tinglingly good and why are we ticklish?

Presenter: Claudia Hammond

Producer: Gerry Holt

Content editor: Ilan Goodman

Production coordinator: Jana Holesworth

Studio engineer: Steve Greenwood

Details of help and support with some of the issues raised are available at bbc.co.uk/actionline