JCIP #199 - Dr Andrew George Thomas

In episode 199 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with academic Dr Andrew George Thomas. Andrew is currently Senior Lecturer in Psychology at Swansea University, researching in the area of Evolutionary Psychology. Andrew did his BSc in Psychology at Cardiff university but moved to Swansea university for his PhD where he studied with Professor Steve Stewart-Williams. In order to fund his PHD, Andrew worked part-time and then full-time in the private sector before he managed to get his foot in the door in academia and has stayed there for the last seven years. Andrew is also the founder of blog ‘Darwin does dating’ where he writes about dating, relationships and the sexual marketplace through an evolutionary psychology lens. We came across Andrew through one of his tweets which said: “Don't make the mistake of assuming men have a similar experience to women in terms of receiving compliments, affection, touch. Compliment a man who isn't in the top 5% of desirability and chances are you'll have been the first person to do so for months...” In this episode we discuss all of the mental health angles around that tweet, his academic journey, social class, mating strategies, becoming a counsellor and the concept of ‘dysphoric singlehood’. Andrew was also involved in conducting the largest ever study of incels and we discuss what he and his team uncovered. For Andrew’s mental health, we discuss the mental health impact that a previous relationship break-up had on him which ended through his ex-partner being unfaithful as well as two separate but serious bouts of depression and anxiety which took place in around 2012 and 2016 respectively. We discuss those experiences, how he managed them and overcame them AND how he used them to train as a mental health counsellor and his attitude towards therapy and medication. As always, #itsokaytovent You can follow Andrew on social media below: Twitter: https://twitter.com/DrThomasAG You can read Andrew's 'Darwin Does Dating' blog here: https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/darwin-does-dating Support Us: Patreon: www.patreon.com/venthelpuk GoFundMe: www.gofundme.com/f/help-vent-supp...ir-mental-health Merchandise: www.redbubble.com/people/VentUK/shop Music: @patawawa - Strange: www.youtube.com/watch?v=d70wfeJSEvk