Tanya Byron presents BBC show The Truth About Improving Your Mental Health

Clinical psychologist Professor Tanya Byron will be presenting BBC One’s The Truth About Improving Your Mental Health alongside footballer Alex Scott – in this one-off episode, they investigate how new discoveries in science can help with some of the most common mental health issues.

Even in normal life, an average of 1 in 4 people suffer from mental health difficulties. Last year, Imperial College London teamed up with the BBC to survey the mental health of over 350,000 people across the UK and discovered that the pressure of living through the Coronavirus pandemic has sent numbers soaring, with everyone’s mental health under unprecedented strain. This unique study provides a snapshot before and during the pandemic, revealing its shocking impact.

One of biggest issues during this pandemic has been increased feelings of social isolation - more than 50% of people reported disconnection from family and friends during lockdown. Research shows that a chronic lack of social connection can be as dangerous for our health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. In this episode, Tanya looks at an innovative method called social prescribing which is being used to help people overcome issues of loneliness and social isolation.

The episode will air on Wednesday 20th January at 9pm on BBC One and iPlayer.