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PODCAST

The Thinking Mind: Mental Health & Personal Growth

Dr. Alex Curmi MD

"If you are interested in your mind, emotions, sense of self, and understanding of others, this show is brilliant."Learn something new about the mind every week - With in-depth conversations at the intersection of psychiatry, psychotherapy, self-development, spirituality and the philosophy of mental health.Featuring experts from around the world, leading clinicians and academics, published authors, and people with lived experience, we aim to make complex ideas in the mental health space accessible

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All Episodes

62:20

E189 | Psychiatry Treats Mental Disorders: But What...

The Thinking Mind: Mental Health & Personal Growth ·

2026/10/08

We talk constantly about “mental health”, but do we actually know what it is? Psychiatry is very good at defining mental disorders: depression, schizophrenia, ADHD, anxiety and many others. But that raises a more fundamental question: what does a mentally healthy person actually look like? In this episode, Dr Alex is joined by philosopher and psychotherapist John T. Maier, author of the forthcoming book The Minds We Want: A Theory of Mental Health. They discuss whether mental health is...

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13:26

The “Nice Guy” Problem at the Heart of Obsession (Key...

The Thinking Mind: Mental Health & Personal Growth ·

2026/10/01

In this clip from E184 of the podcast, Dr Alex Curmi explores the psychology of the “nice guy” through the film Obsession (2026). He examines the difference between genuine kindness and niceness, and why suppressing desire, anger and assertiveness can have unhealthy (even dangerous) consequences. Listen to the full episode released on July 24th 2026 for the full analysis of Obsession. Presented by Dr. Alex Curmi. Dr. Alex is a consultant psychiatrist and a UKCP registered psychotherapis...

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14:36

How Amphetamines Changed Our Understanding Of...

The Thinking Mind: Mental Health & Personal Growth ·

2026/09/24

How did amphetamines help shape the dopamine hypothesis of schizophrenia? In this clip from From E185 of The Thinking Mind Podcast, Dr Alex speaks with Professor Justin Garson about the experiments that helped transform psychiatry’s understanding of psychosis and schizophrenia. They discuss how amphetamine-induced psychosis led researchers to focus on dopamine, how Solomon Snyder’s work helped establish the dopamine hypothesis of schizophrenia, and why this became such an influential turning...

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9:02

Update: Major Changes Expected for ADHD Diagnosis in...

The Thinking Mind: Mental Health & Personal Growth ·

2026/09/21

This is a shorter Thinking Mind update on a developing story - our usual long-form episodes will continue as normal. Dr Alex discusses reports that a forthcoming government review could significantly change how ADHD is assessed and supported in England. He explains the proposed shift toward a more "needs-based system", why it is being considered, and the potential implications for people seeking diagnosis and treatment. Dr Alex also highlights three concerns about how such a system might work...

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28:11

E188 | Why The 70Up Documentary Feels Like Years of...

The Thinking Mind: Mental Health & Personal Growth ·

2026/09/17

Why does watching the 70 Up documentary feel like years of therapy? Watching lives unfold over six decades can make you reconsider your own: what you’re chasing, what you’re postponing and what really matters. In this episode Dr. Alex explores ITV’s 70 Up from his perspective as a psychiatrist and therapist. Through the participants’ ambitions, relationships, disappointments and everyday joys, we examine four uncomfortable questions: • Why don’t we always prioritise what matters most? • How m...

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29:41

E187 | Can Psychiatrists Predict the Unthinkable? |...

The Thinking Mind: Mental Health & Personal Growth ·

2026/09/10

The Lindsay Clancy case has prompted an enormous debate about postpartum psychosis, criminal responsibility, psychiatric treatment and whether severe mental illness can ever be reliably predicted. In this episode Dr. Alex examines the case not to deliver a verdict on Lindsay Clancy, but to explore what it reveals about the realities and limitations of psychiatry. The episode looks at Lindsay Clancy’s psychiatric deterioration after the birth of her third child, her treatment for anxiety, depr...

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12:23

How AI Shapes Our Beliefs (Key Moment w/ Dr. Tom Pollak)

The Thinking Mind: Mental Health & Personal Growth ·

2026/09/03

How do you arrive at your beliefs? In this clip from E182 of the podcast, Dr Alex speaks with consultant neuropsychiatrist Dr Tom Pollack about what AI-associated delusions may reveal about human belief itself. Rather than treating belief as something purely rational (a simple matter of evidence, logic or facts) they explore how beliefs are also shaped by emotion, meaning, charisma, relationships and narrative. They also discuss how psychiatry should adapt to the arrival of this revolutionary...

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8:21

Update on Channel 4's: The Great ADHD Myth?

The Thinking Mind: Mental Health & Personal Growth ·

2026/08/27

In this update to last week’s episode, Dr Alex reflects on the response to Channel 4’s The Great ADHD Myth? and on an important new development. He also discusses what that means for the documentary, the wider ADHD debate, and the importance of discussing complex mental health issues without stigma, contempt or oversimplification. Presented by Dr. Alex Curmi. Dr. Alex is a consultant psychiatrist and a UKCP registered psychotherapist. Website: alexcurmitherapy.com Check out The Thinki...

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29:04

E186 | Channel 4’s New ADHD Documentary Missed a Huge...

The Thinking Mind: Mental Health & Personal Growth ·

2026/08/20

In this episode of The Thinking Mind Podcast, Dr. Alex responds to Channel 4’s new documentary The Great ADHD Myth? Presented by psychiatrist Dr Max Pemberton, this film asks whether ADHD is really a neurodevelopmental disorder, and whether ADHD diagnosis and medication have gone too far. He discusses this documentary and examines where it raises important questions, and where its conclusions go beyond the evidence. The episode explores the evidence as to whether ADHD is a neurodeve...

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62:22

E185 | How Psychiatry Became Fixated on Chemical...

The Thinking Mind: Mental Health & Personal Growth ·

2026/08/13

What if one of psychiatry’s most influential ideas began with LSD, amphetamines and a handful of experiments that would be difficult to imagine today? In this episode, Dr. Alex speaks with philosophy Professor Justin Garson about his new book, The Madness Pill: One Doctor’s Quest to Understand Schizophrenia. They explore the remarkable story of neuroscientist Solomon Snyder, whose work helped establish the dopamine hypothesis of schizophrenia and contributed to psychiatry’s shift towards a mo...

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13:59

Why Tradwife Content Feels Dangerous (Key Moment w/...

The Thinking Mind: Mental Health & Personal Growth ·

2026/08/06

Is being a tradwife really just about baking bread, homemaking and traditional femininity, or is there something deeper going on? This clip is an except from E181 of the Thinking Mind Podcast. In this episode, Dr Alex is joined by Dr Rosy Blunstone to explore the psychology of the tradwife phenomenon: why tradwife content has become so popular online, what it offers women psychologically, and why it may also be more complicated (and less traditional) than it first appears. This conversati...

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3:10

Podcast Announcements & Housekeeping!

The Thinking Mind: Mental Health & Personal Growth ·

2026/07/31

The Thinking Mind is taking a short break, but there is plenty happening behind the scenes. In this quick update, Dr Alex shares what listeners can catch up on now, what is coming next, and why the podcast is making a move towards YouTube. There are also new episodes on meditation, doing difficult things, schizophrenia and more already in the works. If you want to support the show like, comment and subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@thinkingmindpodcast Dr. Alex is a co...

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10:52

What the Manosphere Gets Wrong About Evolutionary...

The Thinking Mind: Mental Health & Personal Growth ·

2026/07/30

In this exceprt from E179 of the Thinking Mind Podcast, Dr Paul Eastwick explains the “EvoScript” — the popular version of evolutionary psychology that many people have absorbed from online dating advice, red pill content, the manosphere and social media. Dr Eastwick argues that while “mate value” can matter in first impressions, the idea that your romantic fate is determined by looks, height, money, status or fixed desirability is deeply misleading. Attraction is not just about static trait...

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34:08

E184 | Thinking Films: Obsession (2026)

The Thinking Mind: Mental Health & Personal Growth ·

2026/07/24

Can we really love another person, or only the version of them we have created in our minds? Today Dr Alex explores Obsession, directed by Curry Barker, a psychological horror film about desire, consent, fantasy and the darker side of romantic love. Using the film’s central premise (a young man wishes for the woman he loves to become completely devoted to him) Alex examines the difference between love and obsession, the dangers of projection and limerence, and why genuine intimacy depends on ...

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62:59

E183 | Finding Your Life's Meaning (w/ Dr. Joel Vos)

The Thinking Mind: Mental Health & Personal Growth ·

2026/07/16

This week Dr Alex speaks with psychologist and philosopher Dr Joel Vos about what it really means to live a meaningful life. They explore why modern culture can leave people feeling distracted, disconnected and overly focused on external goals, and how existential psychotherapy can help people reconnect with what matters most to them. The conversation also examines the relationship between meaning, mental health and radicalisation. Lastly, they discuss Transactional Analysis, and under discus...

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13:10

Key Moment: What We Get Wrong About Depression (and...

The Thinking Mind: Mental Health & Personal Growth ·

2026/07/15

This is an excerpt from E178 of the Thinking Mind Podcast. In this clip, Alex speaks with neuroscientist and author Dr Dean Burnett about whether depression should really be understood as a disease. They discuss the disease model of mental health, why depression is more complicated than a simple biological fault, and why mental health problems cannot always be treated in the same way as physical illnesses. Dean explains why calling depression a disease can sometimes help people take it serio...

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60:19

E182 | Can AI Cause Psychosis? (w/ Dr. Tom Pollak)

The Thinking Mind: Mental Health & Personal Growth ·

2026/07/09

Today Dr Alex speaks with consultant neuropsychiatrist and immunopsychiatry researcher Dr Tom Pollack about one of the strangest and most urgent questions emerging in mental health today: can AI chatbots contribute to delusions, psychosis, conspiracy thinking and changes in belief? They discuss the rise of so-called “AI psychosis” or AI-associated delusions, and how prolonged conversations with tools like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini can sometimes drift into troubling territory. They also as...

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7:21

Key Moment: How To Break the Habit of Negative Thinking

The Thinking Mind: Mental Health & Personal Growth ·

2026/07/08

This is an excerpt from E175 of the Thinking Mind Podcast. In this episode, Alex is joined by Professor Kalina Christoff Hadjiilieva, Professor of Psychology at the University of British Columbia and one of the world’s leading researchers on the neuroscience of thought. We explore why our relationship with thought may be one of the most important factors in our wellbeing. Kalina explains why spontaneous thought — mind-wandering, daydreaming, creativity and even dreaming — is far more import...

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54:43

E181 | Are Trad Wives Feminists? (w/ Dr. Rosy Blunstone)

The Thinking Mind: Mental Health & Personal Growth ·

2026/07/02

Is being a tradwife really just about baking bread, homemaking and traditional femininity, or is there something deeper going on? In this episode, Dr Alex is joined by Dr Rosy Blunstone to explore the psychology of the tradwife phenomenon: why tradwife content has become so popular online, what it offers women psychologically, and why it may also be more complicated (and less traditional) than it first appears. This conversation examines whether tradwife culture is a harmless aesthetic, a gen...

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6:10

Key Moment: The Three Faces of Self-Hate

The Thinking Mind: Mental Health & Personal Growth ·

2026/07/01

This is an excerpt from: E177 - Why You Must Deal With Self-Hate. Low self-esteem doesn’t always look like insecurity. In this clip, Dr. Alex explains three patterns of low self-esteem and self-hate: becoming aggressive, becoming submissive, or becoming avoidant. Drawing on Karen Horney’s ideas in *Neurosis and Human Growth*, he explores how poor self-esteem can show up as narcissism, people-pleasing, dependency, cynicism, avoidance, difficulty with criticism, and trouble taking risks. Low ...

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277 results

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