Awesome Human Podcast (Ben Coomber)

Why are men so depressed, frustrated and angry?

So many men struggle with feeling disconnected, low, maybe even depressed, and far removed from their sense of purpose, often facing overwhelm, sadness and isolation. Life can then feel flat, and modern societal pressures only add to this burden. You or your partner might feel stuck and unsure of where to start, and the term ‘crisis of masculinity’ just seems to ring a bell that strikes a chord in us, but one where no music seems to play. 

This show, and this 3 part series, is a journey of understanding male mental health. Men, like everyone else, need to grow, evolve, and connect with their true selves. Society often expects men to suppress emotions and prioritise logic over feelings, leading to profound unhappiness and mental health struggles. This is where I will argue that there is NO crisis of masculinity. 

In this episode, we look to uncover the reasons behind the high rates of depression among men. Could it be a crisis in masculinity, societal changes or physiological factors like declining testosterone levels, increased obesity, and sedentary lifestyles? Or is there much more to this conversation than meets the eye. 

This episode isn't just about understanding the problem; it's about finding solutions.

By the end of this episode you'll understand the factors contributing to healthy male mental health, which of course links to our physical health, and have practical strategies to combat it. 

Men, it's time to challenge what you know and take steps towards a healthier, happier life.

Download the Awesome Human Blueprint here: https://www.bencoomber.com/The-Awesome-Human-Blueprint-by-Ben-Coomber 

What is spirituality? 

18 months ago I’d never really heard the term, it hadn’t crossed my radar, and if it had, I would have assumed it was something to do with religion or yoga or just for the uber ‘woo woo’ crowd. But’ I’ve been cracked open like a nut and sold down the river, and it’s ended up being one of the most rewarding journeys I’ve ever been on, and continues to be on. 

So what is spirituality? What does it mean? Why should you care? 

I’ll be honest, I’m still figuring it all out, but I’ve experienced enough now to share the early part of my journey, and how it has transformed my state of being, my experience of life, and what I now see. 

Links to the books I recommend in the podcast: 

Awareness by Anthony De Mello: https://amzn.to/3Y6CXbc 

The Untethered Soul by Michael Singer: https://amzn.to/3XU8U54 

The Surrender Experiment by Michael Singer: https://amzn.to/4esYjoW 

The Peaceful Warrior by Dan Millman: https://amzn.to/3zKaluO 

Mans search for Meaning by Viktor Frankle: https://amzn.to/4gJi2lP

Download the Awesome Human Blueprint:  https://www.bencoomber.com/The-Awesome-Human-Blueprint-by-Ben-Coomber 

Use the code AH15 as awesomesupplements.com for 15% off

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Men’s testosterone is at an all time low, and is getting lower and lower year on year, but why is this? Why are so many men now needing TRT? What is the science behind this? And how does all of this link to male mental health?

Join me as I interview Dr Robert Stevens on the state of this pandemic. Dr Stevens is my personal doctor for my TRT, and through my research and experience working with him and his clinic, I felt he was the best guest for this podcast episode.

We explore the science of testosterone, why levels are falling, how it links to men’s mental health, how much our environment at play with this issue such as skin care, what toxins are causing the most problems with testosterone levels, when TRT becomes a needed and viable option for a man, why the NHS is not equipped to dig deeper into the issues surrounding men’s testosterone levels, and, if TRT is for life…

Check out Dr Robert Stevens Clinic: https://themenshealthclinic.co.uk/

Follow Dr Stevens online @themenshealthclinic

Follow me @bencoomber

Caffeine is the world's most popular drug, but is it serving us in the way we use it? I’ve gone caffeine free several times, so I’ve tested this a lot, and I’ve now found a sweet spot in my life, which is still very low in caffeine. 

In this show I’ll explore why I think caffeine has a dark side, how it could be negatively affecting your health optimisation efforts, its relationship with stress, why people with heart issues get told to cut down, what's really the issue, what the different types of energy are, and more. 

Download the Awesome Human Blueprint: https://www.bencoomber.com/The-Awesome-Human-Blueprint-by-Ben-Coomber 

Use the code AH15 as awesomesupplements.com for 15% off

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In the UK, 82% of adults drink alcohol, 48% of adults drink once per week, yet it is widely known as a toxin to the body on many levels, and it’s primary action is a depressant. 5% of all deaths worldwide are linked to alcohol, with alcohol related issues rising significantly since the pandemic. 

But, alcohol is a cultural and societal norm, it's everywhere and it’s totally normal to drink it, more normal than any other drug in circulation. It’s used to enjoy yourself, unwind, relieve stress, and escape your problems. 

So the question is, how much is too much, is one drink ok, or are we missing its true effects not just on our physical health, but on our mental health. And if you exercise and drink, is it ok, or holding you back? 

I’ve been particularly interested in this since going alcohol free. It’s been 6 months now, and in this podcast I’ll share my experience, some physiological statistics around alcohol use, how I accidently started this experiment, and my argument for a life without alcohol. With a special guest segment, Ruari Fairbairns from ‘One Year No Beer’. 

As ever, come to this show with an open mind….

Follow Ruari @rfairbairns

Download the Awesome Human Blueprint: https://www.bencoomber.com/The-Awesome-Human-Blueprint-by-Ben-Coomber 

Use the code AH15 as awesomesupplements.com for 15% off

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It’s time to let go, stop controlling your life, and achieve happiness and fulfilment! 

In this bonus show I get interviewed by Pete Taylor from The Awakened Man podcast where we delve into the intricate relationship between inner peace, controlling life, and personal fulfilment. We explore the energetic journey of self-discovery, emphasising the importance of letting go and surrendering to the flow of life.

The discussion touches on the transformative power of psychedelics and breathwork, as well as the necessity of creating safe spaces for healing and growth. Throughout this dialogue, we highlight the significance of self-awareness, emotional health, and the journey towards a more authentic self.

We also discuss; Understanding energy, the role of intuition in decision making, releasing trauma and emotional baggage, vulnerability, the importance of community, the balance of masculine and feminine energies, how to find good guides on this journey, and more. 

This is a bonus show as it’s a repost on a long form conversion from another podcast, The Awakened Man, which you can listen to HERE. 

Download the Awesome Human Blueprint: https://www.bencoomber.com/The-Awesome-Human-Blueprint-by-Ben-Coomber 

Use the code AH15 as awesomesupplements.com for 15% off

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Work life balance is something we are all aiming to achieve, and many quote it as not being possible, while many others quote that it needs to be a symbiosis of work and play, yet many people don’t enjoy their jobs, so a job feeling like play isn’t a reality for everyone. I have a different view. 

There are several components to this conundrum. Our work life. Our home life. Our health and what we do to support it. Our responsibilities as parents or partners, then the goals we have for ourselves and the things we want to do with our lives. For all of this to work several things need to happen, we need to have a forever evolving identity that is unattached to certain things for happiness, we need to define what each area of our lives needs to have happen be in optimal function and harmony, we need to ensure we are shifting our perspective and expectations on what something will look like, and we need to be forever evolving our strategy for its time input to actually get the outcome we want. 

I believe we can all be happy, we can all achieve work-life balance, we can have it all, but it's going to take a few shifts in our life practically, and in our mindset. 

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So many people are bored with their life. Life feels the same. Life feels flat. Life feels like it's just not moving in the way you want it to. You might even be feeling really stuck, and have no idea where to start. 

This is the journey of the Awesome Human. You are a human, and we must evolve, we must grow, we must follow our hearts in all that we do. We live in a world where most people are leading with logic and their brain, wrapped in the expectations of their parents, friends, and the world at large. This leads to unhappiness over time, because we are not connected to our truth. We are not honouring WHO we are. 

In this show I get deep, fast, and you need to be ready to challenge everything you know to be true. Otherwise you will never set yourself free. But I’ll end by giving you an 8 step battle plan on how to reignite the fire in all areas of your life. 

The 8 Step battle plan: 

1. Get rid of any negative or unsupportive people in your life, or at least learn how to distance yourself from them so their impact in minimal 

2. Start to spend more time in silence, without the noise of social media, of podcasts, of external education. It's time to start to develop yourself from the inside out, not from the outside in, you can only listen to your truth, by listening to it. Watch less TV. Drive in silence more. Go on walks without your phone. Spend time meditating. Start to truly connect to yourself. 

3. Get all of your physiological baselines catered for, which was the theme of my last show. Make sure you are sleeping well, eating well and moving well so you can set yourself to feeling good. 

4. Remove anything that you rely on as a crutch. Remove alcohol. Remove drugs. Reduce your caffeine intake if you know it's excessive. Remove porn. Anything you lean on for self-care, we need to spend time without it to really lean into the uncomfort, and start to deal with it, rather than papering over it. 

5. Write down what you dislike in your life right now, and be brave and honest. That might be your job, it might even be your partner. Honour that feeling, then write next to it the action that would lead to the solution. This stuff is going to need you to be brave, develop some long term strategies, and start to take action. 

6. Write down a list of all the things that you love and bring you job, and how you can do more of these things / what's getting in the way of you doing more of these things 

7. Get into breathwork, this is the single best thing I have done in the last 18 months. Go find a wim hof ½ day fundamentals course, learn about it, and start to invest in the power of the breath and intentions you have in your life. And over time learn how to be heart led, not head led, and really feel the transformative power of the breath. 

8. Find your new tribe. What group or coach or friend can aid you on this path, and work together to achieve your vision. I have friends and coaches and mentors that all help me with this stuff, this isn’t a solo journey, don’t think you have to walk it alone. 

Links

Website: https://www.bencoomber.com/

Download The Awesome Human Blueprint:  https://www.bencoomber.com/The-Awesome-Human-Blueprint-by-Ben-Coomber 

Welcome to The Awesome Human podcast, with Ben Coomber. Join me as I explore the world of optimal human performance, bringing practical, actionable, evidence based information to your ears in 30 minutes or less every Thursday.

In this intro show I’ll discuss the 5 pillars to being an AWESOME Human, what it means to me to be truly AWESOME, intro you to a new book I’ve written, and get you excited for what's to come. After 10 years as a #1 rated podcaster with my first show Ben Coomber Radio, I’m back after a 2 year break, bringing you a fresh new show, that promised to be… AWESOME. 

Wim Hof has popularised ice baths and cold showers, but his attempts to permeate culture with the power of the breath seems to be falling short, this is my attempt to convince you to invest real time into it. I cannot speak highly enough of the power of breathwork, and the incredible thing is… it's FREE. 

I’ve used it to transform myself over the last 2 years on a very deep mental and emotional level, and I really want others to experience its power. In this podcast I’ll talk you through my journey with breathwork, some of the different types of breathwork, how I’ve used it, the different ways you can learn it, some of the other techniques I've used alongside breathwork on my journey, and more. 

Trust me, after this show, you’ll be doing breathwork, I feel it's THAT powerful.   

Find a fundamentals course at: https://www.wimhofmethod.com/activities/activity-map 

Download the Wim Hof app on the app store. 

Download the ‘Waking up’ app on the app store.

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We are all after the perfect night's sleep, we know how it feeds optimal human performance, and we do most things right most of the time, but for many of us it just doesn’t quite come together enough of the time. In this show we will explore the sleep science basics, what the 25 proven ways are to set yourself up for a good night's sleep, what the key things to avoid doing are, how sleep gadgets can enhance our sleep, what sleep trackers show us, and what supplements might be able to help. 

Get your pen ready, this is another tactical show on all things sleep. 

Download the Awesome Human Blueprint:

https://www.bencoomber.com/The-Awesome-Human-Blueprint-by-Ben-Coomber 

Order Awesome Sleep:

https://awesomesupplements.co.uk/products/awesome-sleep 

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I’m on TRT, and to follow on from last week's show with Dr Robert Stevens I thought I would add a narrative to the statistics and topics discussed with my personal story with going on to TRT. 

What were my levels before getting covid, after suffering with long covid, and what are they now. How has it affected my life? What was the journey going on it like? How did I cope with it physically and mentally? And what do I have to do every day to keep everything in check? 

TRT isn’t a silver bullet, and with its rise in popularity we need to be careful who we listen to as it's not just a case of “shooting a bit of testosterone”. 

TRT was a hard and long road, and it’s not just been about getting on TRT, that it solved all my problems - far from it, but it's been a road worth travelling as a man, here’s my story. 

Get 10% off an ultimate performance blood test by downloading the Awesome Human Blueprint, click here to download it: https://www.bencoomber.com/The-Awesome-Human-Blueprint-by-Ben-Coomber

Follow Me @bencoomber

In this week’s episode, we continue our journey to total human optimisation with Part Two of our deep dive into the 10 science-based nutrition facts to live by

Last week, we covered the foundational principles, including the importance of calorie control, the benefits of the Mediterranean diet, and the power of a high-protein intake.

In today’s episode, we build on these with five more crucial principles, starting with a candid discussion about the effects of alcohol on your body and mind. Learn how extended fasting can give your body the break it needs, why culinary skills are key to long-term healthy eating, and how to identify and eliminate food sensitivities that may be holding you back.

Finally, discover the role of basic supplementation in filling nutritional gaps caused by modern life and farming practices.

Tune in to discover how these principles can ground your nutrition in science, helping you cut through the confusion and live a healthier, more optimised life.

Don’t forget to check out Awesome Supplements and download the Awesome Blueprint to start your journey to optimal health.

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The world of nutrition is one full of mistruths and confusion. Most feel they are forever struggling to get their diet right, their weight healthy, and balance it all with a fun life. But we can lean on science to get this right, it doesn’t have to be complicated. In this show I’ll outline 10 research proven facts in the world of nutrition that we can use to anchor how we eat, to allow us to thrive, perform well, be a healthy weight, and give ourselves a good chance of living into old age in a healthy way. 

Get your pen and paper ready, this one is full of practical, useful take homes. 

Download the Awesome Human Blueprint: https://www.bencoomber.com/The-Awesome-Human-Blueprint-by-Ben-Coomber 

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In the world of high performance we discuss mindset a lot. Have a positive attitude. Think positively, mindset is everything. All phrases you have heard a lot. But what if we are getting the loop of optimisation wrong? I have a theory, that is also shared by great minds such as Tim Ferris, in that we should first focus on our physiological state, which then drives our internal story (or at least puts it on a positive trajectory), which then informs a healthy view over the strategy we need to take. 

This is where the State, Story, Strategy theory comes in. 

Let’s optimise our physical state, which can then drive a health story, in which we can then build a strategy around. But how do we do this practically, and what does that look like? Join me, listen in.

Download 'The Awesome Human Blueprint' here: https://www.bencoomber.com/pl/2148445300