Julian Dorey Podcast — Episode #365: Dr. K on LIES of Western Med, 3rd Spirituality Layer & Org*sms | Healthy Gamer GG

Guest: Dr. Alok Kanojia ("Dr. K", psychiatrist, streamer, founder of Healthy Gamer GG)
Host: Julian Dorey
Release Date: December 12, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode features an in-depth, free-flowing conversation between Julian Dorey and Dr. K, best known for his work bridging psychiatry and online culture. The discussion delves into the shortcomings of Western medicine, the realities and misconceptions of addiction (with a focus on gaming), the distinction between information and true understanding, the relationship between mind, body, and spirituality, and personal transformation through meditation and Eastern practices. The episode is rich with probing questions, relatable examples, and direct experiential exercises.

Key Topics & Timestamps

• Dr. K's Background and Early Addiction [01:32–09:43]
• Addiction & Emotional Suppression [03:45–08:43]
• Eastern Mysticism vs. Western Medicine [10:06–13:45]
• The Science and Mystery of Meditation and Chi [14:45–30:08]
• Mind-Body Connection & The Gut-Brain Axis [31:25–39:27]
• Why Western Medicine Dismisses Eastern Approaches [41:22–43:19]
• Treatment & Understanding in Psychiatry [46:11–57:45]
• Habits, Willpower, and True Change [55:26–61:32]
• The Nature of Behavioral Change: Understanding vs. Information [63:00–65:01]
• The Role of Catharsis and Spiritual Realizations [93:13–99:15]
• Experiential Meditation Exercises [121:21–128:55]
• Societal Trends, Technology, and Mental Health [160:00–171:09]
• Attachment, Communication, and Dating in Modern Times [171:10–177:26]
• Privilege, Identity, and Purpose [147:00–149:27]
• Epigenetics and Inherited Trauma [184:03–190:51]

Detailed Breakdown & Insights

Dr. K’s Story: Addiction, India, and Transformation

• Dr. K recounts his early struggle with video game addiction, exacerbated by comparative feelings of inadequacy and emotional suppression.

  “I always thought I was bad at sports, but really...I was a year younger. I got into games because games were the only place I could compete.” [02:12] “When I would go to bed, I'd have all these thoughts about how I'm fucking up my life...I would play to the point of absolute exhaustion so I could pass out and not deal with that.” [06:47]

• Family’s attempts to help finally led to Dr. K’s pivotal trip to India.

  “My dad was like, you gotta go to India...He started to think there were problems with the way that we practice medicine. There has to be something better.” [10:06]

The Limits of Western Medicine & The Layers of Reality

• Western medicine, Dr. K argues, is expert at treating measurable disease, but fails to capture deeper truths of consciousness, subjective experience, and the mind-body-spirit connection found in Eastern systems.

  “A lot of meditation takes place...in layers of reality that we don’t really understand or acknowledge. We can measure electrical activity or blood flow—but is that a thought?” [15:58, 16:44] “We have scientific measurements for procrastination, perfectionism, mood, anxiety...but no instrument that measures laziness. That’s because it doesn’t exist, it’s an amalgamation of all kinds of other things.” [54:32]

Habits, Motivation, and Subjective Change

• Dr. K distinguishes between habitual (automatic, non-conscious) behaviors and true change born of understanding (subjective, experiential insight).

  “The more good habits you have, the weaker your mind will get because you’re not using it. It’s all automatic.” [58:48] “Once you understand, you don’t have to exert effort. My favorite example is I had a patient who had a really toxic relationship… The process of psychotherapy there is: Don’t tell me everything she does wrong. Tell me your story.” [65:01]

Ignorance, Suffering, and the Path to Understanding

• Drawing from Eastern philosophy, Dr. K asserts most suffering stems from ignorance ('avidya'), not a lack of willpower or information.

  “Understanding is related to experience, not information.” [89:08] “The reason podcasts like yours and channels like mine are successful is because everyone is looking for information… but understanding is only acquired through experience.” [89:30]

• He illustrates this with vivid anecdotes and exercises (like the “accordion” hand energy test) to demonstrate the difference between perception and thought.

  “A perception is an experience—it’s not a thought and not an emotion… That's why if we use lots of habits, we stop experiencing. Right. We're just—so experience involves a certain amount of conscious awareness.” [129:18–129:55]

Mind, Body, and (Third Layer) Spirit

• Dr. K, through personal and clinical stories, advocates for integrating all layers—physical, psychological, and spiritual—as necessary for health.

  "One of the biggest problems...in the west is we split the mind from the body. This is a huge mistake." [33:04] "There’s a third dimension of spiritual. And I think that’s a real thing." [92:44] He credits his spiritual teacher(s) and rigorous practice with helping him “shut off mind, body becomes inert, and then you’re just left with subjective experience.” [99:15]

Meditation, Hardcore Practices, Yogic Risks

• Dr. K laments the watered-down forms of meditation common in the West, describing advanced and sometimes hazardous yogic practices only attempted under expert supervision.

  “Meditation doesn’t work for you because you haven’t been doing it right. You need to do hardcore meditation, my friend.” [124:41] “There are some practices that if you want to learn, you have to cleanse your muladhara chakra...You’ll get hypersexual, and...if there are people around, you’re going to assault them.” [118:46]

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On addiction:

  “You can't separate brain and body...If you look at gut problems, there's a really good chance you have a mental problem, and vice versa.” [35:08]

• On SSRIs and the medical system:

  “Doctors are absolutely incentivized to prescribe medication financially...But that’s not why we reach for pills. We reach for pills because human beings would rather take a pill than do hard work.” [46:24]

• On spirituality and experience:

  “I have new understandings all the time. That’s how human beings work.” [91:56]

• On peace and accomplishment:

  "Achievement doesn't bring peace. Peace is actually independent of accomplishment, which is wild because that means you can be peaceful now." [179:32]

Experiential Exercises [121:21–130:19]

• Dr. K guides Julian (and listeners) through advanced breathing exercises (“4-16-8”, “8-32-16”) and a tactile meditation (“Squishy Pillow/Accordion”)—demonstrating the felt-sense of prana/chi.

  “If you try this, and if you want to try it now, we can...You’ll notice your prana...if you do five breaths, you’ll start to notice all kinds of weird, like—heat and wobbliness and...not localized to physical sensation.” [125:24]

Societal Concerns: Tech, Isolation, Mental Health [160:00–173:20]

• Dr. K describes how technology and post-Covid social changes have shifted social dynamics and dating, resulting in increased isolation—and, in his words, a “natural selection event” where many young people are not developing social skills or forming relationships.

  “Society existed in such a way where it forced me to socially interact and I basically caught up...That doesn’t happen anymore...Now, the late bloomers—their buds are getting picked. They're never blooming at all.” [162:47–166:40] “I think we're under a natural selection event...Some are able to get laid and mate, and some are not. These people become incels and start shooting up schools...” [166:40]

Communication, Confidence, Relationships

• Modern insecurity and "the ick" are, Dr. K explains, empathically transmitted from one’s authentic state, not simply tactical errors.

  “When a girl gets the ick with you, what they're picking up empathically is your lack of confidence.” [175:40] “Communication is the foundation of a relationship. No one ever tells you how to communicate.” [171:09]

Trauma, Epigenetics, and Self-Definition

• Dr. K speaks to the impact of intergenerational trauma, how adaptation to trauma can become maladaptive, and the complexities of healing.

  “Trauma is our survival mechanism, hyperactivated. And it was necessary. But then we live in a world where that adaptation becomes maladaptive.” [194:04] “You lose your sense of identity. Once you lose your sense of identity, you don't have a direction...Purpose is tied to your identity.” [192:18]

• Dr. K describes new research on epigenetics:

  "Most of our genetic code is silent, doesn’t do anything. So epigenetics is what we turn on and off...We know that people will inherit certain qualities, certain kind of lived experiences." [186:49]

Memorable Moments & Humor

• Dr. K and Julian riff with candor on topics from toxic relationships to meditation-induced orgasms, to being the youngest person to travel to Antarctica—balancing vulnerability with irreverent humor throughout.

  “The reason we are all addicted to orgasm is because it induces the state of samadhi. It induces a no mind state, very, very briefly.” [103:31] “Even my desire to become a monk was fucking ego, dude...since I had sucked at life, I was going to rise above life by rejecting it.” [143:44] “People steal your underwear [at the ashram]...I bought a mango, didn't have a knife, tore it apart with my hands, feasted on it like a monkey.” [139:12]

Key Takeaways

• Understanding’s transformative power comes only from direct experience, not from information alone.
• Long-term change (be it with addiction, habits, or trauma) requires more than willpower—it is catalyzed by moments of deep inner realization, often after much unseen subconscious processing.
• Neither mind nor body alone is sufficient for true health—attention must also be paid to the ‘third layer’ of spirituality, which is best accessed through direct, sometimes rigorous practices.
• Much of what ails society’s mental (and physical) health grows from misplaced priorities, technological shifts, and loss of social and spiritual grounding.
• Achievement is not synonymous with inner peace; the path to the latter requires periodic, humble self-examination and renewal.
• Everyone, including the "experts," is always a work in progress.

Select Quotes

• "Avidya is the root of all suffering. Ignorance is the root of all suffering. As you understand, behavior will change naturally." — Dr. K [84:49]
• “Achievement doesn’t bring peace. Peace is actually independent of accomplishment, which is wild because that means you can be peaceful now.” — Dr. K [179:32]
• “Once you start eating food with the same state of mind that you’re doing this, it’s completely different.” — Dr. K [140:15]
• “If you feel ahead in life or behind, both are equally stupid. You just are what you are. All of this relative comparison is relative, but…what difference does it make?” — Dr. K [149:26]
• “When we stop crying, we start dying… Men don’t cry, stop crying, we start dying.” — Dr. K [156:02]

For Further Exploration

• Dr. K’s book: How to Raise a Healthy Gamer [181:39]
• Exercises: Try the “Squishy Pillow” and advanced yogic breath practices (with caution).
• **Watch for Dr. K’s return to discuss more ‘esoteric’ meditative techniques and their spiritual/neuroscientific impacts.

For those seeking honest, multi-layered insight into self-change, Dr. K’s appearance is a masterclass in the interplay of modern medicine, Eastern wisdom, and human vulnerability.