Men's Mental Health Series

Daryl Perry
  • 4.3 (6)
  • Mental Health

Guys having honest conversations around men's mental health and everything tied to it. Daryl also leads solo episodes on his personal experience working through these topics in his life. Nothing you hear on this podcast should be taken as mental health advice. Please advocate your needs in your unique situation, seeking qualified mental health and/or medical professionals when necessary.

  1. 4h ago

    Getting Older Can Be One of the Best Parts of Life

    Sign up for the journal prompts: https://yourlevelfitness.com/mmhs-email Join the live streams: https://yourlevelfitness.com/stream How has getting older changed you? And have those changes been what you expected? At 44 years old, I can tell you that being in my forties feels a lot different than I imagined it would when I was younger. Growing up, I remember thinking that anyone over thirty was getting old. Now, I look at people in their thirties and realize just how much life they still have ahead of them. And when I look at people in their forties, fifties, and beyond, I see something I didn't necessarily appreciate when I was younger. Experience. In this episode, I'm reflecting on how our perspectives change as we get older, why I believe life experience is often undervalued, and how we can develop a greater appreciation for who we're becoming along the way. We spend so much time in a culture that emphasizes staying young, maintaining our appearance, and trying to hold on to earlier versions of ourselves. But what about everything we gain through living? The experiences we've had, the challenges we've navigated, the lessons we've learned, and the different ways we've come to understand ourselves? In this episode, I explore: How my perspective on aging has changed now that I'm in my forties. Why getting older feels different from what I imagined when I was younger. The value of life experience and learning from the things we've been through. How aging can influence our perspectives, temperament, priorities, and emotional awareness. Why our culture's emphasis on staying young can overshadow the benefits of growing older. The importance of handling our responsibilities without taking every part of life too seriously. Something I've come to appreciate is that simply going through life gives us opportunities to learn. That doesn't mean everyone automatically becomes wiser with age. We still have to be willing to reflect on our experiences and learn from them. But I think there's tremendous value in recognizing everything we've navigated to get where we are today. And following our recent conversation about burnout, there's another idea I've been thinking about. Take care of the things that matter, but don't take life so seriously that you forget to enjoy living it. We all have responsibilities, challenges, and situations that require our attention. But I also think there's value in learning which things deserve our energy and which things we can approach with a little more ease. I want you to reflect on how you've changed over the years. Not just physically, but mentally and emotionally. How have your priorities shifted? What experiences have changed your perspective? Are there things that used to bother you that don't anymore? And are there parts of yourself today that you appreciate more than you did ten or twenty years ago? Getting older isn't only about what changes or what we might lose. It's also about recognizing what we've learned and who we've become. You don't have to love every part of aging to appreciate the experiences that have brought you here. Thank you, as always, for listening. I'll talk to you again real soon! Disclaimer: This episode shares personal perspectives and general educational information. It is not a substitute for medical advice, mental health care, diagnosis, or treatment from a qualified professional. If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis in the United States, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. If there is immediate danger, call 911.

  2. 1d ago

    Burnout in Men: Recognizing Mental, Emotional and Physical Exhaustion

    Sign up for the journal prompts: https://yourlevelfitness.com/mmhs-email Join the live streams: https://yourlevelfitness.com/stream What does burnout feel like for you? And more importantly, can you recognize when you're getting close to it before you reach the point of complete exhaustion? I've experienced burnout several times over the last ten to fifteen years, and one of the biggest things I've learned is that it doesn't necessarily happen all at once. For me, it builds gradually. I become more anxious, more irritable, and my mind starts running constantly. My sleep suffers, my thoughts become harder to settle, and eventually I can feel completely drained mentally, emotionally, and physically. In this episode, I'm sharing my personal experiences with burnout, the warning signs I've learned to recognize, and how I've been working to develop a healthier relationship with my responsibilities, ambitions, and mental energy. One of the things I find interesting is that the same mental activity that helps me generate ideas, solve problems, and work on projects can also become overwhelming when I don't give myself enough opportunities to recover. I genuinely appreciate the way my mind works. But I've also learned that I need to recognize when that mental activity is becoming too much. In this episode, I explore: How burnout has shown up in my life through anxiety, irritability, disrupted sleep, and exhaustion. Why burnout can develop gradually without us immediately recognizing the warning signs. The relationship between ambition, productivity, and feeling like there's always more to accomplish. How journaling helps me organize my thoughts and release some of the mental pressure. Why creating structure around my responsibilities has helped me feel more in control. How exercise, creative activities, and therapy have become important parts of my approach to managing stress. Why recognizing your own patterns is an important part of learning to respond before burnout takes over. Something I've worked on changing is the belief that I'll never accomplish enough. There will always be another project, another responsibility, or something else I could be doing. But I've learned that I don't have to carry all of those things in my head at once. Using a project management board has helped me organize my work and better understand what needs my attention. Journaling gives me another opportunity to get my thoughts out of my head and onto paper. And I've also started exploring creative activities, including abstract art, sketching, and coloring, as ways to give myself a different outlet for my mental energy. Taking care of my mental health isn't about becoming perfectly calm or never feeling overwhelmed again. It's about learning to recognize what I need and practicing how to respond. I also talk about the value of having a productive working relationship with a therapist. Therapy has been an important part of my own experience, helping me work through things I've carried over the years while continuing to navigate new challenges. None of these practices means I've figured everything out. I'm still learning, adjusting, and paying attention to how I'm doing. And that's what I want you to consider. What are your personal warning signs of burnout? What changes in your thoughts, emotions, sleep, or physical energy when you're taking on too much? Recognizing those patterns can give you an opportunity to explore what support, adjustments, or recovery you might need. Thank you, as always, for listening. I'll talk to you again real soon! Disclaimer: This episode shares personal experiences and general educational information. It is not a substitute for medical or mental health advice, diagnosis, or treatment from a qualified professional. If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis in the United States, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. If there is immediate danger, call 911.

  3. 2d ago

    Asking for Help Is a Strength, Not a Weakness

    Sign up for the journal prompts: https://yourlevelfitness.com/mmhs-email Join the live streams: https://yourlevelfitness.com/stream For a lot of us, especially men, asking for help can feel uncomfortable. We've spent years believing that we should be able to handle everything ourselves, figure things out on our own, and avoid putting additional responsibilities on other people. In this episode, I'm continuing our conversation about setting boundaries and learning to say no by exploring the other side of communication, becoming comfortable asking for help when we need it. I want you to consider how your relationship with asking for help influences your everyday life, your relationships, and the amount of mental and emotional energy you're spending trying to do everything yourself. One thing I want to emphasize is that being capable of doing something yourself doesn't mean you have to do everything alone. I'm someone who enjoys working, taking on projects, and figuring things out. There are plenty of things I do independently, but there are also situations where I ask for help, delegate responsibilities, or simply recognize that something isn't mine to take on. And I've become more comfortable doing that through practice. You can be capable, independent, and confident while still allowing other people to support you. I also want to encourage you to reflect on how you respond when someone tells you no. Just as we're learning to communicate our own boundaries, we have to respect the boundaries of others. Sometimes someone can help. Sometimes they can't. And the more comfortable we become with those conversations, the easier it can be to ask without placing unnecessary pressure on ourselves or anyone else. One practical tool I encourage you to try is journaling. When I first started journaling, I didn't always know what to write about. So I started with two simple questions. What am I feeling right now? Why do I think I'm feeling this way? Sometimes the answers were only a couple of sentences, but the practice helped me begin exploring my thoughts and connecting them to my experiences. You can use that same approach to reflect on why asking for help feels difficult, what you might be afraid of, and how those feelings influence your decisions. That's also why I create these shorter podcast episodes. I want to introduce an idea, share some of my perspective, and encourage you to explore how it applies to your own life. The journal prompts provide another opportunity to practice that reflection, while the live streams create space for more conversation and personal context. You don't have to figure everything out alone, and you don't have to wait until you're completely overwhelmed before asking for support. We can learn to take care of ourselves, support one another, and become more comfortable having conversations that we may have avoided in the past. Thank you, as always, for listening. I'll talk to you again real soon! Disclaimer: This episode shares personal perspectives and general educational information. It is not a substitute for individualized medical advice, mental health care, diagnosis, or treatment from a qualified professional. If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis in the United States, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. If there is immediate danger, call 911.

  4. 3d ago

    Say No Without Feeling Guilty or Selfish

    Sign up for the journal prompts: https://yourlevelfitness.com/mmhs-email Join the live streams: https://yourlevelfitness.com/stream Do you struggle to tell people no, even when you're overwhelmed, exhausted, or simply don't want to do something? Maybe you find yourself agreeing to things you'd rather not take on. Or maybe you avoid answering altogether, hoping the situation will eventually go away. I think both of these responses are more common than we realize, and they can create unnecessary mental and emotional pressure. In this episode, I'm exploring why saying no can feel so uncomfortable, how avoiding difficult conversations can lead to resentment, and why learning to establish boundaries is an important part of taking care of ourselves. One of the things I want you to consider is how often you take on responsibilities simply because you've become accustomed to saying yes. You might genuinely enjoy helping other people. I know I do. There's tremendous value in supporting someone, making their life easier, or stepping in when they need assistance. But there's a difference between choosing to help someone and feeling like you're obligated to say yes every time they ask. In this episode, I explore: Why saying no can feel uncomfortable, especially when you're used to accommodating others. How agreeing to things you don't want to do can lead to frustration and resentment. Why avoiding a response doesn't necessarily make a request or expectation disappear. How people may react when you begin communicating your boundaries differently. Why protecting your mental, physical, and emotional energy matters. How practicing more direct communication can help you become comfortable expressing your needs. Something I find interesting is how easily our communication patterns become part of our everyday lives. When people are accustomed to us saying yes, they may naturally continue asking us to take on more. And when we suddenly start responding differently, they might be surprised. That doesn't necessarily mean they're doing something wrong by asking, or that we're doing something wrong by declining. It means we're changing a pattern. You can care about other people and still decide that something isn't yours to take on. I also want you to remember that learning to communicate differently takes practice. If you've spent years avoiding confrontation, agreeing to things automatically, or struggling to express what you actually want, saying no might feel strange at first. You don't have to become harsh, confrontational, or dismissive. Sometimes a simple, respectful no is enough. And while we can't control how everyone responds to our boundaries, we can become more comfortable communicating them. Ultimately, I want you to have the time, space, and energy to take care of yourself while continuing to show up for the people and responsibilities that matter to you. That requires learning when to help, when to step back, and when to recognize that you've already taken on enough. Setting boundaries isn't about caring less about other people. It's about making sure you're taking care of yourself, too. As you go through your day, think about the situations where you have difficulty saying no. What makes those moments uncomfortable? Are you worried about disappointing someone, creating conflict, or changing how another person sees you? And what might change if you started practicing more direct communication? Thank you, as always, for listening. I'll talk to you again real soon! Disclaimer: This episode shares personal perspectives and general educational information. It is not a substitute for individualized medical advice, mental health care, diagnosis, or treatment from a qualified professional. If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis in the United States, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. If there is immediate danger, call 911.

  5. 6d ago

    How Comfortable Are You With Not Being in Control?

    Get the Journal Prompts https://yourlevelfitness.com/mmhs-email Episode Description In this episode of The Men's Mental Health Series, I want to ask you a question that I think is especially important for those of us who like to feel in control. How comfortable are you with not knowing what happens next? And I'm not talking about just one area of your life. Think about your career. Your relationships. Your health. Your finances. Your plans for the future. Where are you comfortable saying, "You know what, I'll figure it out when I get there"? And where does that uncertainty make you nervous, anxious, or maybe even terrified? I think it's completely natural to want some level of control over our lives. We want certainty. We want to know what to expect. We want to feel like we have some influence over what happens next. And there's nothing inherently wrong with that. But I also think it's important to recognize that our relationship with control isn't necessarily the same in every part of life. You might be comfortable navigating uncertainty at work but find it incredibly difficult in your personal relationships. Or maybe you're flexible with everyday decisions but struggle when something threatens your long-term plans. The first step isn't forcing yourself to become comfortable with uncertainty. It's understanding where you currently stand with it. That's what I want you to explore through this episode. What areas of your life feel relatively easy to navigate when things are unpredictable? Where do you feel the greatest need for control? And what thoughts or emotions come up when you realize you can't know exactly how something will turn out? You don't have to judge those reactions. You don't have to immediately change them. Just start paying attention. I talk a lot about trusting yourself to figure things out, being present, and recognizing that there are plenty of things in life we simply cannot control. But I don't think we get comfortable with those ideas by pretending uncertainty doesn't bother us. We begin by understanding how we actually respond to it. And even as we become more comfortable, there will still be situations that challenge us. There will still be moments when we feel anxious, frustrated, or overwhelmed by not knowing what comes next. That's part of being human. You don't need to know exactly what happens next to trust yourself to navigate what comes next. Take a few minutes to reflect on your relationship with control and uncertainty. You might discover that you're more comfortable with the unknown in some areas than you realized. And in other areas, you may find opportunities to gradually develop more trust in yourself. There's no need to figure everything out today. Start by understanding where you are. Mental Health Support and Crisis Resources If you're struggling with anxiety, uncertainty, or your mental health, confidential support is available. United States - 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: Call or text 988, available 24/7. - Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741. - SAMHSA National Helpline: Call 1-800-662-HELP (4357) for treatment referrals and information. Outside the United States: https://findahelpline.com If you or someone else is in immediate danger, contact local emergency services.

  6. Oct 29

    Men Struggle to Grieve and Process Loss

    Get the Journal Prompts https://yourlevelfitness.com/mmhs-email Episode Description In this episode of The Men's Mental Health Series, I want to ask you a question that only requires a yes or no answer, but it might be one of the most difficult questions we've explored. Do you give yourself permission to grieve? And when I talk about grief, I'm not just talking about losing someone you love. Grief can come from losing a relationship, a career opportunity, a part of your identity, or even time you feel like you'll never get back. There are so many different kinds of loss that we experience throughout life. But how often do we actually give ourselves permission to feel those losses? Or do we just keep going? I've been thinking about this quite a bit because I've experienced a lot of change and loss over the last few years. Within the past year, I lost my dad after his battle with ALS. I've also experienced the loss of a work opportunity and other changes that I've been trying to process. And I'll tell you, I'm still learning how to grieve. I'm better at it than I used to be, but I'm nowhere near where I'd like to be. For much of my life, my tendency was to keep moving forward. Keep working. Keep doing things. Keep trying to figure everything out. But I've been learning that grief doesn't necessarily disappear because we stay busy or avoid thinking about it. Sometimes the things we haven't allowed ourselves to process have a way of catching up with us. And grief isn't always something that shows up when we expect it. Sometimes it comes in waves. You might feel okay for a while, then suddenly find yourself overwhelmed by something you thought you'd already worked through. I've experienced that myself. And when you've spent a long time packing those feelings away, allowing yourself to experience them can be especially difficult. That's also why I think developing a productive relationship with a therapist can be incredibly valuable, particularly when navigating grief and significant life changes. You don't have to figure all of this out by yourself. But today, I'm not asking you to solve anything. I'm asking you to notice something. Do you give yourself permission to grieve, or do you feel like you always have to keep moving? Answer that question for yourself. Then give yourself a little time to sit with whatever comes up. Maybe that's thirty seconds. Maybe it's longer. You don't need to force yourself to feel anything or figure out what every emotion means. And you certainly don't need to put a deadline on your grief. I think one of the most important things we can begin doing for ourselves is recognizing that the losses we've experienced deserve acknowledgment. Even the ones that other people might not understand. Even the ones we've convinced ourselves shouldn't bother us anymore. You are allowed to grieve what you've lost. And giving yourself that permission can be a meaningful place to begin. Mental Health Support and Crisis Resources If you're struggling with your mental health or grief, confidential support is available. United States - 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: Call or text 988, available 24/7. - Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741. - SAMHSA National Helpline: Call 1-800-662-HELP (4357) for treatment referrals and information. Outside the United States: https://findahelpline.com If you or someone else is in immediate danger, contact local emergency services.

  7. Oct 28

    What Past Failures Are You Still Carrying With You?

    Get the Journal Prompts https://yourlevelfitness.com/mmhs-email Episode Description In this episode of The Men's Mental Health Series, I want to ask you a question that might seem simple but could lead to some pretty meaningful reflection. What failure are you still carrying with you? We hear a lot of motivational messages about failure. Forget about it. Learn from it. Move forward. Don't look back. And while there's value in those ideas, I think they sometimes overlook something important. We all collect experiences throughout our lives, and some of those experiences stay with us much longer than we realize. Sometimes they're things we perceive as failures. Sometimes they're situations where we genuinely fell short of what we were trying to accomplish. Sometimes they're mistakes we've made, opportunities we've missed, or decisions we wish we'd handled differently. And sometimes we're still carrying those experiences years or even decades later. I don't think the answer is necessarily to tell yourself to forget about them and move on. I think the first step is simply recognizing what you're holding on to. What happened? When did it happen? Why do you think that experience still carries so much weight? And here's another question I want you to spend some time considering. What do you think it would take to let go of it? I'm not asking you to let go of anything today. You might not even know the answer to that question yet. That's okay. The purpose of this exercise isn't to solve something in a few minutes or force yourself to feel differently about an experience that may have affected you deeply. It's to become more aware of how that experience continues to show up in your life. Sometimes, simply identifying something we've been carrying can help us recognize that we may not need to hold on to it the same way anymore. Other times, the experience is much more complicated, and working through it takes patience, reflection, and potentially additional support. Both are worth acknowledging. This is one of the reasons I encourage journaling throughout The Men's Mental Health Series. You can write down a thought today and return to it next week, next month, or whenever you're ready to explore it further. You don't need to figure everything out immediately. And you don't have to criticize yourself for still being affected by something that happened in your past. Awareness doesn't resolve everything, but it gives you a place to begin. Take a few minutes to consider what failure you've been carrying, why it's stayed with you, and what letting go might eventually look like. You might be surprised by what you discover. Mental Health Support and Crisis Resources If you're struggling with your mental health, confidential support is available. United States - 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: Call or text 988, available 24/7. - Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741. - SAMHSA National Helpline: Call 1-800-662-HELP (4357) for treatment referrals and information. Outside the United States: https://findahelpline.com If you or someone else is in immediate danger, contact local emergency services.

  8. Oct 27

    Men, Work and Burnout, Learning to Separate Identity From Career

    Get the Journal Prompts https://yourlevelfitness.com/mmhs-email Episode Description In this episode of The Men's Mental Health Series, I want to ask you a question that I think is worth spending some time with. How much of your identity comes from your job and the work you do? And if you took your career out of the equation, how would you describe yourself? I've spent much of my professional life working in sales and marketing, and those experiences have shaped how I think about success, productivity, and my own identity. In sales, there's always a number you're trying to reach. You know the expectations, you know the targets, and you generally know where you stand. When I transitioned into marketing after about ten years in sales, I found myself entering a different environment, right as hustle culture was becoming increasingly popular. Work harder. Grind longer. Keep pushing. And don't stop until you've accomplished what you're working toward. Now, I actually believe there's value in being able to focus intensely, work through challenges, and dedicate yourself to something important. The problem starts when being productive becomes the foundation of your identity. I've experienced burnout more times than I'd like to admit. There were periods when I was already exhausted but continued pushing because I felt like I needed to catch up. Part of that came from changing career paths after spending a decade in sales. Another part came from something much earlier in my life. I was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at two years old because I wasn't meeting developmental benchmarks. That feeling of being behind became something I carried with me. And when that mindset collided with the pressure to constantly produce and accomplish more, it became difficult to recognize when enough was enough. But there's always more work to do. Always another project. Another goal. Another responsibility. And if our identity depends entirely on our ability to keep up, what happens when we burn out, lose a job, change careers, or simply need to slow down? I also talk about how cerebral palsy has influenced my relationship with work and traditional expectations of masculinity. I grew up in a blue collar family, where being able to work with your hands, repair things, and provide practical solutions was part of everyday life. Because of how cerebral palsy affects my body, there are physical tasks I can do, some I need to adapt, and others that simply aren't realistic for me. Learning to appreciate myself without measuring my value against those expectations has been part of my own journey. Your career can be an important part of your life without being the thing that defines your worth. Your values, relationships, outlook on life, interests, experiences, and the way you treat people are all part of who you are. And those things deserve attention too. I encourage you to reflect on where your identity comes from, how work influences the way you see yourself, and whether you've given yourself permission to appreciate the person you are outside of your professional accomplishments. You can take pride in your work while recognizing that you're much more than what you do for a living. Mental Health Support and Crisis Resources If you're struggling with your mental health, confidential support is available. United States - 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: Call or text 988, available 24/7. - Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741. - SAMHSA National Helpline: Call 1-800-662-HELP (4357) for treatment referrals and information. Outside the United States: https://findahelpline.com If you or someone else is in immediate danger, contact local emergency services.

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4.3
out of 5
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About

Guys having honest conversations around men's mental health and everything tied to it. Daryl also leads solo episodes on his personal experience working through these topics in his life. Nothing you hear on this podcast should be taken as mental health advice. Please advocate your needs in your unique situation, seeking qualified mental health and/or medical professionals when necessary.

Information

  • Creator
    Daryl Perry
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2026
  • Episodes
    161
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Daryl Perry
  • Show Website
    Men's Mental Health Series

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