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Tim Gray speaks with Stephen Manderson, known as Professor Green, about mental health, gut health, stress, sleep, fatherhood, men’s emotional avoidance, and what it actually costs the body to keep functioning while falling apart inside.
They explore why the gut and the mind cannot be separated, why men find their way to therapy only when things are already critical, and why the most regulated thing Stephen does for his own health is show up honestly for his son.
In this episode, we explore:
➡︎ Why survival mode can feel completely normal Stephen shares how growing up with pyloric stenosis, OCD, IBS, anxiety, and an unstable home environment meant stress was his baseline from birth, and how long it took to recognise that.
➡︎ How the gut and mental health create a self-perpetuating loop Tim and Stephen discuss how antibiotics, microbiome disruption, serotonin production, and psychological stress all compound each other in ways conventional medicine still tends to separate.
➡︎ Why men only seek help at crisis point Stephen reflects on his work with the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy and the research showing 70% of men won’t seek therapy unless they are already at breaking point, and why that timing makes everything harder.
➡︎ How seemingly healthy behaviours can be avoidance Stephen explains how exercise, biohacking, and constant doing can all become sophisticated ways of not sitting with how you actually feel.
➡︎ Why safe relationships can feel boring to a dysregulated nervous system Tim and Stephen discuss how growing up with chaos means calm can feel unfamiliar, and how that shapes the partners and dynamics people unconsciously seek out.
➡︎ What fatherhood taught Stephen about emotional regulation Stephen shares how watching himself about to repeat patterns he never had modelled became the most powerful motivation to actually do the inner work.
Connect with Professor Green here:
Resources Mentioned:
BACP research on crisis point culture in men
Dr Richard Wiseman’s newspaper experiment on luck (The Luck Factor, 2003)
Books:
The Way of the Superior Man by David Deida
A massive thank you to IM8 for sponsoring this episode!
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This is the Health Optimisation Podcast with your host, Tim Gray, the UK’s Leading Biohacker. This podcast brings you the latest in health optimisation, featuring experts and breakthroughs in nature, biohacking, technology, and longevity research. Join us to discover actionable advice for living longer and healthier.
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