The Thinking Mind Podcast: Psychiatry & Psychotherapy

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 seriously, but can also be misleading if it makes us think there is always one clear biological cause and one simple cure.

The conversation also explores the relationship between mental health and physical health, the brain-body connection, how stress and depression affect the immune system, and why the line between illness, adaptation and normal human suffering is often blurry.

They also discuss antidepressants, SSRIs, how often they help, why they are commonly prescribed, possible side effects, withdrawal effects, and why antidepressants should be understood as one tool among many rather than a perfect solution or something to dismiss entirely.

Dr Dean Burnett is the author of The Idiot Brain, The Happy Brain and several other books exploring neuroscience, psychology and the weird ways our brains shape our lives.

They discuss why the brain is not the perfect machine we often imagine it to be, why intrusive thoughts don’t define who you are, why anxiety and self-sabotage are often normal features of the mind, and why happiness is not something we are designed to feel all the time.

Dean also explains what we do and don’t know about depression, antidepressants, SSRIs, brain chemistry, neuroplasticity, withdrawal effects, and why mental health is far more complicated than simple slogans like “chemical imbalance” or “just think positive”.

Interviewed by Dr. Alex Curmi. Dr. Alex is a consultant psychiatrist and a UKCP registered psychotherapist.

Check out The Thinking Mind Blog on Substack: https://thinkingmindblog.substack.com/

If you would like to invite Alex to speak at your organisation please email alexcurmitherapy@gmail.com with "Speaking Enquiry" in the subject line.

Alex is not currently taking on new psychotherapy clients, if you are interested in working with Alex for focused behaviour change coaching , you can email - alexcurmitherapy@gmail.com with "Coaching" in the subject line.

Give feedback here - thinkingmindpodcast@gmail.com Follow us here: Twitter @thinkingmindpod Instagram @thinkingmindpodcast

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 ask deeper questions such as: what does AI reveal about human belief itself? Dr Alex and Dr Pollack discuss motivated reasoning, charisma, loneliness, meaning-making, spirituality, folie à deux, archetypes, and why humans may be more vulnerable to persuasive technologies than we like to think.
Lastly they consider who may be most at risk, and what psychiatrists, therapists, families and users should be paying attention to as AI becomes increasingly embedded in everyday life.
BBC Documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arx-sqtggdU
Interviewed by Dr. Alex Curmi. Dr. Alex is a consultant psychiatrist and a UKCP registered psychotherapist in-training. Dr. Blunstone is a registrar psychiatrist and psychotherapist working in North London. 
Check out The Thinking Mind Blog on Substack: https://thinkingmindblog.substack.com/
If you would like to invite Alex to speak at your organisation please email alexcurmitherapy@gmail.com with "Speaking Enquiry" in the subject line.

Alex is not currently taking on new psychotherapy clients, if you are interested in working with Alex for psychological coaching , you can email - alexcurmitherapy@gmail.com with "Coaching" in the subject line.
Give feedback here - thinkingmindpodcast@gmail.com Follow us here: Twitter @thinkingmindpod Instagram @thinkingmindpodcast

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 important than modern productivity culture often allows.

We discuss  the difference between healthy mind-wandering and repetitive rumination, and what happens in the brain seconds before a thought enters conscious awareness. We also explore meditation, the unconscious mind, creativity, habits of thought, the cost of avoiding the past, and how we can begin to build a better relationship with our own minds.

Interviewed by Dr. Alex Curmi. Dr. Alex is a consultant psychiatrist and a UKCP registered psychotherapist in-training. Website: alexcurmitherapy.com

Check out The Thinking Mind Blog on Substack: https://thinkingmindblog.substack.com/

If you would like to invite Alex to speak at your organisation please email alexcurmitherapy@gmail.com with "Speaking Enquiry" in the subject line.

Alex is not currently taking on new psychotherapy clients, if you are interested in working with Alex for focused behaviour change coaching , you can email - alexcurmitherapy@gmail.com with "Coaching" in the subject line.
Give feedback here - thinkingmindpodcast@gmail.com Follow us here: Twitter @thinkingmindpod Instagram @thinkingmindpodcast

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 genuine lifestyle choice, a reaction against burnout and modern feminism, or a romanticised fantasy shaped by influencer culture.
Interviewed by Dr. Alex Curmi. Dr. Alex is a consultant psychiatrist and a UKCP registered psychotherapist in-training. Dr. Blunstone is a registrar psychiatrist and psychotherapist working in North London. 
Check out The Thinking Mind Blog on Substack: https://thinkingmindblog.substack.com/
If you would like to invite Alex to speak at your organisation please email alexcurmitherapy@gmail.com with "Speaking Enquiry" in the subject line.

Alex is not currently taking on new psychotherapy clients, if you are interested in working with Alex for psychological coaching , you can email - alexcurmitherapy@gmail.com with "Coaching" in the subject line.

Give feedback here - thinkingmindpodcast@gmail.com Follow us here: Twitter @thinkingmindpod Instagram @thinkingmindpodcast

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 self-esteem is not just about feeling bad about yourself. It can shape what you tolerate, what you avoid, who you choose, and whether you feel able to act in your own best interests.
Presented by Dr. Alex Curmi. Dr. Alex is a consultant psychiatrist and a UKCP registered psychotherapist.
If you would like to invite Alex to speak at your organisation please email alexcurmitherapy@gmail.com with "Speaking Enquiry" in the subject line.

Alex is not currently taking on new psychotherapy clients, if you are interested in working with Alex for focused behaviour change coaching , you can email - alexcurmitherapy@gmail.com with "Coaching" in the subject line.
Check out The Thinking Mind Blog on Substack: https://substack.com/@thinkingmindpodcast

Give feedback here - thinkingmindpodcast@gmail.com Follow us here: Twitter @thinkingmindpod Instagram @thinkingmindpodcast