Hardiness with Dr Paul Taylor

Latest Episodes:

Counterpunch, reality therapy, and giving young people real tools for life with Mercedas Taaffe-Cooper Oct 16, 2026

Show notes

The biggest mistake in youth mental health? Treating kids like they’re broken instead of teaching them how to move, act, and build resilience. Mercedes Taaffe Cooper reveals why early intervention and education, not endless labels and talk therapy, are changing the game for young people. Paul and Mercedes unpack the deeper problem with the medical model, how normal adolescent struggles get turned into diagnoses, and why that can create more harm than help. Mercedes shares the personal journey that took her from elite boxing and coaching the Irish team to clinical psychology, reality therapy, and ultimately building Counterpunch, a program designed to help kids learn through action, not just conversation.

You’ll discover:

Why reality therapy and choice theory focus on doing rather than overthinking
How the "front two wheels" car analogy helps kids understand thinking, feeling, and behaviour
Why combat sports can be powerful tools for confidence, regulation, and self-awareness
How a 24-week, three-phase program moves kids from connection to leadership
Why peer mentoring is often more powerful than adult advice for adolescents

Mercedes also explains how Counterpunch works in boxing gyms and youth-facing settings, why it’s especially effective for kids who feel isolated, and how the program is now scaling online so more facilitators can deliver it. From goal-setting and embodied learning to social connection and self-efficacy, this episode makes a compelling case for giving young people practical tools before problems become crises. Essential listening for parents, coaches, teachers, and anyone working with young people who wants to create real change, not just another conversation. If you care about building confidence, resilience, and lifelong skills, this one is for you.

Timestamps
(02:11) Mercedas Taaffe Cooper’s background in boxing, coaching, psychology, and moving to Australia
(03:59) Discovering reality therapy and choice theory through research and training
(05:48) Building Counterpunch from pilot program to scalable youth model
(07:56) Reality therapy explained - focusing on action instead of just thinking
(10:19) Why action is the real engine of change for young people
(13:43) Why Mercedas rejected the medical model and built a strengths-based program
(15:05) The harm of overusing labels and diagnoses with kids
(18:05) The original research, the boxing component, and the first curriculum ideas
(20:21) Moving from government pilot to a private program in South Australia
(21:19) Taking the training online and building a replicable system
(23:03) What a Counterpunch session looks like from induction to a 24-week structure
(24:21) VSMART goals and linking values to physical progress
(26:16) The three phases - body awareness, relationships, and leadership
(27:13) Why martial arts and team sport build resilience and confidence
(32:38) Why group connection and peer mentoring matter so much
(34:15) Why combat sports work for youth communication and trust-building
(36:31) Battle in the Hills and using boxing as a progression pathway
(39:03) How embodied learning and physical challenge reinforce psychological tools
(42:11) Why boxing is used as a medium, not the end goal
(43:29) Why combat sports are different from professional violence
(45:49) Respect, manners, and life skills learned through martial arts
(47:15) Who the program is for and how youth-facing professionals can use it
(49:08) How to get involved and the four Ps for potential facilitators
(50:12) Final reflections on skills, not labels, for young people

Quote “The biggest difference between reality therapy and cognitive behavioural therapy is that it very much focuses on the doing rather than the thinking.”

Resources

Website: https://counterpunch.com.au/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mercedas-taaffe-cooper-3b3623117/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/counterpunch_life

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/counterpunchAU/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@counterpunchlife

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REM sleep as Therapy Oct 14, 2026

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Stop Arguing with Reality With Carly Taylor Oct 11, 2026

Show notes

How often do we get caught up in our thoughts, emotions and the stories we tell ourselves about what's happening?

In this week's Mojo Monday, Carly explores how easily we can find ourselves fighting reality, whether it's uncomfortable feelings, other people's behaviour or situations that don't go our way.

Drawing on Japanese Morita Therapy, she shares why acceptance doesn't mean approval or giving up. It's about allowing our feelings to be there, seeing situations as they actually are, and choosing how we respond rather than letting our emotions make the decisions for us.

A simple reminder that we can't always control what happens or how we feel, but we can practise responding with greater awareness and intention.

Carly is a counsellor and coach who specialises in building psychological hardiness, which is the ability to navigate challenge, stay engaged, and take meaningful action under pressure. Her work integrates modern psychology with Eastern and Stoic approaches, helping people build resilience, live with purpose, and respond to life’s challenges with greater clarity, courage and steadiness.

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Preventive cardiology, exercise, nutrition, stress, and longevity with Dr. Ross Walker Oct 09, 2026

Show notes

This podcast explores practical ways to protect your heart and support healthy aging. Dr. Paul Taylor talks with preventive cardiologist Dr. Ross Walker about the everyday habits that shape cardiovascular health, how to make sense of cholesterol and other risk markers, and where tests, medication, and supplements can help. Together, they cut through common health claims and discuss exercise, stress, diet, and emerging approaches to preventing heart disease.

The conversation focuses on practical prevention rather than late-stage treatment, with an emphasis on how much heart disease risk can be reduced before medication is considered. Ross explains what he thinks about cholesterol, coronary calcium scoring, statins, LP(a), MTHFR, and the future of cardiovascular medicine. It’s a wide-ranging, practical discussion for anyone interested in health span, not just lifespan.

Key topics

Dr. Ross Walker shares his background as a cardiologist of 47 years who shifted into prevention about 30 years ago after seeing repeated cardiac surgeries without lifestyle change.
The pair discuss his 80/10/10 model: 80 percent lifestyle, 10 percent orthodox medicine, and 10 percent evidence-based supplements.
Dr. Ross Walker outlines his five keys to health:

No addictions
Good-quality sleep
Simple nutrition
Regular exercise
Happiness and relationships

Five categories of stress
1. Emotional stress
2. Mental stress
3. Physical stress
4. Pharmacologic stress
5. Infective stress
Metabolic syndrome markers
- High triglycerides
- Low HDL
- High blood pressure
- Belly fat
- Insulin resistance or diabetes tendency
Exercise is presented as one of the strongest interventions for heart disease, dementia, diabetes, depression, osteoporosis, and healthy aging.

Timestamps

(00:59) From 47 years in medicine to a prevention-first career
(02:31) The moment he realized surgery without prevention was not enough
(03:54) Why his 80/10/10 approach puts lifestyle first
(04:23) The five keys to health: sleep, food, exercise, happiness, and no addictions
(06:22) Why relationships and social connection matter for longevity
(07:46) Why exercise may be the most important topic in the whole discussion
(09:10) Sarcopenia, frailty, grip strength, and resistance training in older adults
(10:37) Exercise as an antidepressant and the brain benefits of training
(11:15) The Dallas bed rest study and how fast the body deconditions
(12:42) Why aging is a disease process and exercise must be adjusted over time
(14:29) How much exercise is too much and the risk of overdoing it
(16:12) Vasodilation, dementia, and why exercise helps the brain
(17:38) Viagra, Cialis, and the vasodilation conversation
(18:35) Why extreme athletes can develop more coronary calcification
(19:05) Genes load the gun, environment pulls the trigger
(20:32) Why genetics can be overridden by phenotype and lifestyle
(21:55) The brain’s “challenge muscle” and why hard things matter
(23:55) Stress appraisal, challenge versus threat, and cardiovascular effects
(25:07) The five categories of stress and how each affects the heart
(27:00) Drugs, marijuana, cocaine, caffeine, and cardiovascular risk
(30:11) Alcohol, coffee, and why context matters more than single ingredients
(32:00) Infective stress, COVID, and cardiovascular complications
(33:26) Chronic inflammation and the plaque formation process
(35:21) LDL particle size, ApoB, LP(a), and better risk markers
(36:19) Why coronary calcium scoring is central to Dr. Walker’s approach
(39:43) Statin side effects, real-world experience, and individual decision-making
(41:39) A case study: lifelong high cholesterol, zero calcium score, and no statin
(42:09) Statins versus PCSK9 inhibitors and when each makes sense
(44:29) What statins do and don’t reduce, and the unfinished LP(a) story
(46:09) Why calcium score should guide statin decisions more than cholesterol alone
(47:45) Why CT coronary angiograms and plaque analysis may change risk assessment
(49:14) Radiation risk, age, and the value of imaging after 50
(50:13) Nutrition basics: eat less, eat more natural food
(51:48) Processed food and reading labels
(52:18) Saturated fat, the PURE study, and why fear of fat is overblown
(54:17) Ancel Keys, sugar, and the history of bad nutrition advice
(55:48) Triglyceride-to-HDL ratio, insulin resistance, and metabolic syndrome
(56:56) Genetic insulin resistance and why some populations are more vulnerable
(58:09) What the MTHFR gene does and why folic acid can be a problem
(60:39) Activated folate, folinic acid, and personalized supplementation
(63:27) Why supplements need to be individualized and evidence-based
(64:01) The future: gene therapy, vaccinations against heart disease, and transcatheter valves
(65:23) Blue zones, movement, community, and the real drivers of longevity
(66:26) Stem cells, cardiac regeneration, and what may still be years away
(68:12) Why the five keys still matter more than any future technology

“The best treatment of heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer’s, osteoporosis, diabetes is not to get them in the first place.”

Resources

Website - https://www.drrosswalker.com/

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-ross-walker/?isSelfProfile=false

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/DrRossWalkerCardiologist

Website - https://wlife.co/

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Here's how to make your carbs healthier - Wisdom Wednesdays Oct 06, 2026

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Calm Your Nervous System With This Short Breathing Technique With Carly Taylor Oct 04, 2026

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From Trauma to Resilience: The Stress Continuum and the Power of Reappraisal, with Dr Eamonn McCarthy Oct 02, 2026

Show notes

This conversation explores how early life stress shapes the brain, why complex trauma is different from a single traumatic event, and how people can build resilience over time. Dr Paul Taylor speaks with Dr Eamonn McCarthy about forensic psychology, trauma work, performance psychology, and the practical ways therapy, exercise, sleep, and mindset can support change.

Stress can break you—or build you into someone stronger than you thought possible. Dr Eamonn McCarthy reveals why some people unravel under pressure while others turn hardship into resilience, and how trauma, recovery, and reappraisal shape that outcome. Paul and Eamonn trace the full stress continuum, from early life adversity and complex trauma to elite performance psychology. They unpack why uncertainty is so corrosive, how hyper arousal and hypo arousal show up in real life, and why the brain’s survival strategies can be both brilliant and heartbreaking.

They also discuss Larita Academy, a program helping disadvantaged young people unlock their potential, and Mind Your Monkey, which applies resilience and performance principles to executives and high performers.

You’ll discover:

Why adverse childhood experiences can rewire stress responses long into adulthood
The difference between hypervigilance, freeze responses, and emotional numbing
How reappraisal turns shame and trauma into post-traumatic growth
Why resilience is more like a muscle than a trait
How exercise, sleep, nutrition, and even creatine can support psychological change
Why trigger warnings and over-labelling mental health can backfire for some people

Time Stamps

01:47 - From undergraduate psychology to forensic practice
02:36 - Moving from adult offending to childhood trauma
04:27 - Child protection, youth justice, and executive leadership
05:43 - Transference, countertransference, and emotional protection
07:26 - Concerned detachment and what clients actually need
09:54 - The lasting impact of traumatic work on the clinician
11:25 - Why black humour can fail in child trauma settings
12:37 - Why social status changes stress biology
14:03 - Early life stress, the womb, and adverse childhood experiences
15:34 - Complex trauma versus single-event trauma
17:25 - Caregivers as both source of safety and danger
19:02 - Predictability, uncertainty, and survival adaptations
20:54 – Hyper arousal, hypo arousal, and the window of tolerance
24:59 - Stress inoculation, recovery, and building resilience
28:12 - Genes, environment, and why people respond differently
30:11 - How resilience can be trained over time
32:09 - Challenge mindset and self-belief under stress
34:00 - Stress as a muscle and the case against overprotection
35:55 - Why trigger warnings can worsen hypervigilance
38:19 - Mental health versus mental illness
41:37 - Helping people reframe childhood trauma in adulthood
45:02 - Reappraisal and post-traumatic growth
47:17 - Lifestyle, neuroplasticity, and psychotherapy support
49:49 - SSRIs, exercise, and why combined approaches may work better
51:39 - Severe depression, low cortisol, and burnout patterns
52:52 - How Larita Academy was founded and what it does
57:48 - Why Mind Your Monkey was created
59:57 - What “forensic” means in this business context
60:46 - Who the typical client is now

Resources

Website:mindyourmonkey.com.au

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-eamonn-mccarthy-7705aa221/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mind_your_monkey_/

Website: https://www.larita.com.au/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/larita_academy/

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Are you growing microbial cannibals in your gut? Wisdom Wednesdays Sep 29, 2026

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Your Fear Isn't the Truth With Carly Taylor Sep 27, 2026

Show notes

Most of the fear we live with isn't physical. It's the old thinking we carry from past experiences: the fear of criticism, of not being good enough, of getting it wrong. In this Mojo Monday, Carly explores how fear becomes our reality when we're on autopilot, and how becoming the observer of our conditioned responses creates space to choose what happens next.

Drawing on Krishnamurti and Morita Therapy, Carly looks at fear and desire as two sides of the same coin, and how turning that coin over shifts your focus to what you really want.

In this episode:

Why fear and the truth are not the same thing
How past experiences shape perfectionism and the fear of not being good enough
Becoming the observer of your conditioned response
Fear and desire as two sides of one coin
Doing what needs to be done while the fear runs its own course

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Mitochondria, Fertility, Menopause, and The Hidden Biology of Hormones with Dr Leah Hechtman Sep 25, 2026

Show notes

This conversation with Dr Leah Hechtman explores how mitochondria influence far more than energy production, including fertility, aging, brain health, and hormone regulation. It also unpacks the differences between male and female reproductive biology, the effects of hormonal contraception, and what hormone replacement may mean for longevity. Leah brings a rare mix of clinical experience, genetics training, ovarian biology research, and fertility expertise, making this a practical and provocative discussion for anyone interested in reproductive health and healthy aging.

Key topics

Leah explains why mitochondria are far more than the “powerhouse of the cell” and describes them as central regulators of physiology, aging, and even signalling patterns tied to trauma and emotion.
We discuss maternal inheritance of mitochondria and why the egg, not the sperm, carries the major mitochondrial legacy that shapes offspring health.
Leah breaks down how the oocyte actively selects sperm, using signalling, electrical charge, and mitochondrial function to influence which sperm succeeds and what genetic material is accepted.
The discussion covers declining sperm counts, including the claim that global sperm quality has fallen sharply over recent decades, along with the challenge of changing reference ranges and assay variability.
Leah shares why semen analysis can function as an early longevity marker for men, reflecting health roughly 2.5 to 3 months earlier and sometimes revealing issues long before other markers do.
The conversation explores the aging trajectory in women and men, including how ovarian mitochondrial loss contributes to menopause and how men experience a slower decline in testicular function and testosterone production.
We discuss hormonal contraception, especially starting the pill too early, and Leah outlines concerns about disruption of the brain-ovary axis, amygdala changes, and effects on mood, perception, and identity.
Leah and Paul examine menopause, andropause, and hormone replacement therapy, including why timing, formulation, and individual context matter more than one-size-fits-all messaging.
The episode also covers DHEA, testosterone, cholesterol, stress, and why hormone decline can open the “gates” to disease processes that hormones were helping keep in check.
Leah explains how microbiome health, environmental toxins, nutrition, hydration, and lifestyle all affect reproductive health in both men and women, including sperm quality, implantation, and miscarriage risk.
The conversation closes with Leah’s excitement about emerging research in embryology, reproductive biology, and the growing recognition that men’s health needs more attention.

Timestamps

04:09 - Why mitochondria are much more than cellular “powerhouses”
06:04 - Maternal inheritance of mitochondria and why mum matters so much
07:04 - How the oocyte selects sperm and what the egg is “looking for”
11:17 - Sperm count decline and why reference ranges can mislead
12:36 - Semen analysis as a longevity marker for men
15:05 - Why sperm testing reflects health from months earlier
17:41 - Female mitochondrial aging and the crossover into menopause
19:11 - Male mitochondrial and testicular decline with age
20:09 - Why regular ejaculation may improve sperm quality
21:18 - How starting the pill too early may disrupt the brain-ovary axis
22:15 - The amygdala, mood changes, and the effects of hormonal contraception
25:35 - Bioidentical versus synthetic hormones and why it matters
27:22 - Hormonal contraception and mate selection, smell, and genetics
29:00 - What menopause and andropause look like biologically
33:35 - HRT myths, timing, and the importance of body-identical hormones
36:19 - How women and men produce testosterone, estrogen, and progesterone
38:29 - Testosterone therapy in men and its fertility implications
40:49 - Why some clinicians are considering testosterone earlier in men
42:27 - DHEA, energy, stress, sleep, and the hormone cascade
44:08 - Why baseline testing around 35 can be useful for both sexes
45:24 - How stress, hydration, and even the blood draw setting affect hormone results
48:41 - The Y chromosome, aging, and why men feminize over time
50:52 - Environmental toxins, nutrition, and sperm health
55:03 - Microbiome health and its role in fertility, implantation, and miscarriage
56:14 - Caesarean birth, microbiome transfer, and downstream health effects
58:14 - What Leah is most excited about in the next wave of research

“The mitochondria is how we transmit emotional patterns, neurological patterns, trauma patterns.”

Action items

If you are trying to conceive, consider both partners’ health, not just the woman’s.
Treat semen analysis as a meaningful health marker, not only a fertility test.
Pay attention to sleep, hydration, stress, nutrition, and environmental exposure before testing hormones or sperm.
For women, avoid assuming all contraceptive or hormone decisions are biologically neutral.
For men, think about testosterone, DHEA, and semen quality as part of broader longevity planning.

Resources

Website - https://drleahhechtman.com/

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-leah-hechtman-phd-7828607/?isSelfProfile=false

X - https://x.com/lhechtman

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/LeahHechtman

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCR07U_vqfe8Haa7GO7AEDpA/playlists

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/drleahhechtman/

Support the Podcast

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