“We’ve medicalised being human” - Dr. Philippa Perry on ADHD and overdiagnosis
Ways to Change the World with Krishnan Guru-Murthy
Channel 4 News
4.6 • 1.1K Ratings
🗓️ 5 September 2025
⏱️ 40 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Philippa Perry has spent years helping people understand their inner lives, but she believes that something fundamental has shifted in the way we connect. Lockdown, she says, left many young people struggling with social confidence, while the dominance of phones and texting has created “fantasy relationships” that don’t prepare us for the realities of face-to-face communication.
In this episode of Ways to Change the World, Philippa joins Krishnan Guru-Murthy to discuss the hidden costs of social media, the pressures of cancel culture, and why we are so easily drawn to bad news. She explores the dangers of overdiagnosis, the challenge of parenting in a digital age, and why building genuine, flexible relationships matters more than ever in an anxious world.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | People have now got a relationship with their computers, with their phones. |
| 0:06.0 | Instead of relating to the person in front of us, we relate with the fantasy we have of that person in our heads. |
| 0:13.0 | And I worry about that. |
| 0:15.0 | You talked about sort of social contagion. |
| 0:17.0 | People seem to want a diagnosis for things or a label to give things. I don't think |
| 0:23.6 | we are any better since we've had this whole plethora of labels. Talking about ADHD and |
| 0:33.8 | what we call neurodiversity. Social anxiety. |
| 0:38.7 | We used to call it shy. |
| 0:45.4 | Hello and welcome to ways to change the world. |
| 0:49.9 | I'm Christian Guru Murphy, and this is the podcast in which we talk to extraordinary people about the big ideas in their lives and the events that have helped shape them. |
| 0:53.9 | My guest today is a psychotherapist, broadcaster, agony, aunt, and best-selling author |
| 0:59.3 | who helps people untangle their inner lives with wit and wisdom. |
| 1:03.3 | You may know Philippa Perry from her bestseller, the book you wish your parents had read, |
| 1:07.2 | her TV appearances alongside her artist husband, Grace and Perry, |
| 1:12.3 | or from her widely read advice columns where she explores everything from family dynamics and emotional resilience |
| 1:16.9 | to the ways we connect or fail to connect, rather, with the people closest to us. |
| 1:22.2 | Philippa, welcome. |
| 1:23.1 | Thank you for having me. |
| 1:24.2 | If you could change the world, how would you change it? |
| 1:30.3 | That's a very big question. You know, when people write to me on my column, they come with very specific questions, like, |
| 1:36.3 | how can I get on with my mother-in-law better? |
| 1:39.3 | And sometimes I think that how we change the world is in these microscopic ways, because |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Channel 4 News, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Channel 4 News and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.