Normal

Aleks Hammo•www.aleks.co

Health & Fitness

Mental Health

You aren't Normal, just like everyone else. New episodes every Wednesday and Sunday.

Last refreshed: July 5th, 2025 at 1:09 PM ⓘ

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Episodes

12. Dissociation, Numbness, Avoidance

Creating distance between oneself and a difficult experience or feeling is a normal coping mechanism. Many of us think that dissociation and related techniques are maladaptive and harmful, but drawing upon some thinking from Dr. Gabor Mate, I consider an alternative explanation which seeks to capture the benefits of dissociation. Normal on Patreon: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/normalpod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠instagram.com/alekshammo⁠⁠⁠⁠ TikTok: ⁠⁠⁠⁠tiktok.com/@alekshammo⁠⁠⁠⁠ Email: ⁠⁠⁠⁠contact@aleks.co⁠⁠...

Jun 30, 2025•20 min

11. The Philosophy of Self-Esteem

For many of us, it's very hard to imagine what it would be like to live without self-esteem complications. I reflect on the relationship between morality and self-esteem, talking about my mental health during the process. Normal on Patreon: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/normalpod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠instagram.com/alekshammo⁠⁠⁠ TikTok: ⁠⁠⁠tiktok.com/@alekshammo⁠⁠⁠ Email: ⁠⁠⁠contact@aleks.co⁠⁠...

Jun 27, 2025•16 min

10. Five Years on Antidepressants: Reflections upon Depression and Anxiety

Some reflections on mental illness, psychiatry, depression, and anxiety to celebrate five (5) years on SSRIs. Normal on Patreon: ⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/normalpod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram: ⁠⁠instagram.com/alekshammo⁠⁠ TikTok: ⁠⁠tiktok.com/@alekshammo⁠⁠ Email: ⁠⁠contact@aleks.co⁠...

Jun 23, 2025•23 min

9. Algorithms and the Loss of Curiosity

I deleted all social media off my phone for three months. It helped me remember how I wanted to spend my idle time, and I found that I was able to connect more deeply the things I care about. Obviously, this all sounds normal and is generally what we expect when unplugging. But since returning to social media I have become harrowingly aware of the way my curiosity dwindles during time spent online. Drawing on some classic philosophy thought experiments, I set out to examine some of the things th...

Jun 20, 2025•19 min

8. Raimond Gaita

Raimond Gaita is a Philosopher , Writer , and Public Intellectual . Raimond is Honorary Professorial Fellow at Melbourne Law School and Emeritus Professor of Moral Philosophy at King's College London. He is a fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities. The University of Antwerp awarded him the degree of Doctor Honoris Causa "for his exceptional contribution to contemporary moral philosophy and for his singular contribution to the role of the intellectual in today’s academic world." His m...

Apr 04, 2025•48 min

7. Ambition and 'Immigrant Logic'

Ambition, for many of us, is a blessing and a curse. Ambition is especially complicated for us immigrant kids. This episode is a reflective one, and reflects on ambition in the context of my life as a first-generation immigrant raised in the West. Normal Patreon Community: ⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/normalpod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram: ⁠instagram.com/alekshammo⁠ TikTok: ⁠tiktok.com/@alekshammo⁠ Email: ⁠contact@aleks.co⁠...

Mar 17, 2025•23 min

6. 28 Life Lessons for my 28th Birthday (Lessons 1–7)

It's my 28th birthday today. So, to celebrate, I went to a cafe and wrote down the 28 least obvious life lessons that I have uncovered over my 28 years on planet earth. Normal Patreon Community: ⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/normalpod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram: ⁠instagram.com/alekshammo⁠ TikTok: ⁠tiktok.com/@alekshammo⁠ Email: ⁠contact@aleks.co⁠...

Sep 15, 2024•43 min

5. ADHD, Anxiety, and Social Media

It's normal to struggle to pay attention. But when do our issues paying attention cross to ADHD? And what are the links between ADHD, anxiety, depression, and social media? In this episode, we dive deep into ADHD, its symptoms, its overlap with other mental health conditions, as well as the role that social media plays in interfering with our attention, and possibly even strengthening it. Normal Patreon Community: ⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/normalpod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram: ⁠instagram.com/alekshammo⁠ TikTok: ⁠tikt...

Sep 24, 2023•21 min

4. The Psychology of Time and Growing Older

It's normal to be puzzled by time and growing older. A few days ago it was my 27th birthday and, naturally, I have been reflecting upon my relationship with time and age. Time tends to move quickly when things are good, and slowly when things are hard. Why is time so elusive? Why do we seek to control time? And what can we do to accept the passage of time, manage our expectations, focus on what is meaningful, and make the most of our... time? Normal Patreon Community: ⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/normalpod⁠⁠⁠...

Sep 17, 2023•24 min

3. Loneliness and Expectations

It's normal to feel lonely. In an age where social media provides us with immediate gratification, it can be hard to fill alone time with anything other than scrolling. But it does not seem that social media can consistently meet our needs and comfort our feelings of loneliness and isolation. In today's episode, I dive deep into the rise of loneliness, its relationship to social media, and I explore ways that we can manage our social lives and expectations to navigate feelings of loneliness. Nor...

Sep 10, 2023•25 min

2. The Psychology of Success

It's normal to feel overwhelmed when thinking about success. Perhaps success reflects something about our true selves, or it may signal our intelligence or ability to be creative, or perhaps it demonstrates our capacity to conform to social norms. But success is one of those concepts that is so hard to define that it seems to be entirely subjective. In today's episode, I look at the psychology and philosophy of success, what it means to be successful, what we can do to make sure we are thinking ...

Sep 03, 2023•23 min

1. The Psychology of Antidepressants

It's normal to be on Antidepressants. They calm down the inner critic, they make depression manageable, they make it easier to get out of bed, and they generally make life feel less overwhelming. But none of us really know how they help, or whether it's worth pushing through some of the side-effects they cause. In this episode, we unpack how the most common antidepressants (SSRIs) work, what side effects we can sometimes experience, as well as potential reasons we may have for starting treatment...

Sep 01, 2023•23 min

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