Searching for Normal: A New Approach to Understanding Mental Health, Distress and Neurodiversity

How should we rethink our understanding of distress and the ways we respond to it?

Diagnoses of ADHD, autism, and other mental disorders are on the rise, especially among young people. But what if some of these behaviours, now seen as symptoms, might be considered entirely normal in other cultures or contexts?

In Searching for Normal, psychiatrist Sami Timimi challenges the medicalisation of human experience, questioning the influence of pharmaceutical companies, the media, and the psychiatric establishment in shaping how we define and treat mental health. He explores how distress has become commodified and asks: when is distress a natural part of life, and when does it truly require treatment?

Drawing on political, cultural, and clinical perspectives, Timimi offers a compassionate, holistic alternative, one that centres the individual’s context, culture, family, and inner resilience. This thought-provoking book calls for a fundamental shift in how we view mental health, offering a more humane and person-centred approach to care.