A dad of eight turns late-night lyrics into lifelines while caring for a partner living with bipolar, BPD, chronic pain, and severe asthma.

How do you hold a household together when the carer is running on empty? John—dad of eight, full-time carer, and aspiring songwriter—opens up about school bullying, quiet grief, and the strain of supporting a partner through bipolar disorder, BPD, chronic pain, and severe asthma. We talk men’s mental health, the pressure of social media, and why ten minutes of courage—calling a friend, walking into a group, or hitting record—can change a family’s future. John also shares how AI-assisted songwriting helps him process the ache and celebrate the fragile wins. This is a conversation about resilience, creativity, and the small rituals that keep us here.

Email: onlydanlawrence@gmail.com

• Caring on empty: diabetes, fatigue, and the hidden cost of being “the strong one.”
• Bullying’s long tail: what schools miss, and how to push for real interventions.
• Living alongside bipolar, BPD, chronic pain, and severe asthma—what helps and what harms.
• Men’s mental health: why bottling up backfires, and simple check-ins that actually work.
• Grief in the background: when songs heal you—and undo you.
• Making music at midnight: how AI tools help John write, produce, and breathe.
• Parenting on purpose: choosing presence over presents and building memory rituals.
• Building a support network when you are “not a talker.”

If this helped you: subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who needs a nudge to check in—or to finally speak up.

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What happens when the thing that saved you becomes the thing you have to leave behind?

At six years old, Matt Power was told he’d never ride a bike. Instead, he fought his way into the world of combat sports — MMA, K1, Muay Thai, and boxing — chasing televised highs, adrenaline, and purpose. But one fight changed everything: a brain injury, small vessel disease, and a year spent mostly in bed.

Without the gym’s rhythm, the silence got loud — loss, gaslighting, and PTSD turned sleep into a battlefield. Yet two anchors held: a brother who never stopped showing up and a father who flew him to Spain and cried at the airport.

In this unfiltered, powerful conversation, Matt opens up about:

• Growing up with dyspraxia and learning resilience through stubborn practice
• Switching between fighting styles and redefining what “strength” means
• Surviving trauma, isolation, and emotional abuse
• The diagnosis that ended his career — and the therapy that saved his life
• How EMDR, family, and love rebuilt his identity and hope

Now, as a partner and stepdad, Matt shares what it really takes to rebuild:
Resilience as a trainable skill, boundaries that protect healing, and the power of chosen family to bring light back into dark places.

This episode is raw, honest, and life-giving — perfect for anyone navigating men’s mental health, PTSD recovery, or life after sport.

🎯 If it hits home, please share, subscribe, and leave a review. Every listen helps others find stories that remind them they’re not alone.

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A “bad back” that wasn’t. A silent diagnosis that changed everything.
In this powerful episode, Martin opens up about surviving two cancer battles — testicular cancer in his early twenties and later lymphoma that reached his spine — and how each fight reshaped his understanding of strength, masculinity, and mental health.

He speaks honestly about the first surgery he told no one about, the loneliness that followed, and why the hardest part wasn’t treatment — it was breaking years of silence. Martin recalls the moment he trusted his gut, demanded scans, and likely saved his own life.

From there, the conversation expands into generational masculinity, mental health in the trades, co-parenting, and the evolution of support on building sites — where leaflets, trained foremen, and simple text lines are making it easier for men to reach out.

Martin shares how Andy’s Man Club became his turning point — the place where talking stopped feeling like weakness and became survival. With a partner who spots the signs early and asks the right questions, he now recognises his triggers and prevents spirals before they start.

Then came a new chapter: building a business rooted in purpose, hiring a team, and setting goals that align with his values. Together, we explore how to spot health changes early, manage pressure, navigate online hate, and protect your mind while pursuing success.

If this story moves you, tap follow, share it with a mate, and leave a review — your support helps more men find the courage to speak up. Sometimes, your message is the one that saves a life.

Episode Highlights

• First diagnosis in his twenties — and telling no one
• Loneliness, drinking, and the pressure to appear fine
• Back pain, missed warning signs, and a brutal spinal procedure
• Trusting instincts and pushing for life-saving scans
• Why men still struggle to open up — and how to start
• Mental health resources now appearing on building sites
• Andy’s Man Club as a turning point
• Handling online trolls and protecting your peace
• Partner support, asking twice, and recognising signals
• Turning pain into purpose — and building a thriving business

“Get yourself a quote. What have you got to lose, eh?”

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It starts in a garage. Not the cool, Top Gear kind — more the “don’t touch that wire or you’ll see Jesus early” kind. One flickering light, a half-working soundboard, and a host trying to sound professional while his neighbour starts a leaf blower. Welcome to Definitely Not Therapy, where deep chats meet dodgy electrics.

We kick off with laughs — bad dad jokes, worse life choices — before rolling straight into the heavy stuff: grief, co-parenting, and that glorious myth of the “proper job.” You’ll hear how one guest kept filming from a Travelodge after his house literally burned down, why co-parenting should come with hazard pay, and how sometimes the bravest thing you can do is not post when your kids are watching.

Social media doesn’t escape either. We unpack how brands say they love “authenticity” until you actually show feelings, why virality is a liar, and what it takes to rebuild when the algorithm ghosts you harder than your ex. Expect dark humour — the kind that gets you through the worst days, not cancels you — and some unfiltered truth about mental health, trauma, and trying to stay kind in a comment section full of chaos.

Then we zoom out: schools that kill creativity, jobs that still think Wi-Fi is witchcraft, and a system that loves stats about “kids from care” but not the actual kids. The punchline? We’re still here. Still creating. Still proving that success doesn’t always wear a tie or come with HR approval.

So if you’ve ever laughed through pain, cried in the car park, or tried to make a podcast in a garage that smells like WD-40 and regret — this one’s for you.

👉 If it made you laugh, think, or shout “same,” hit follow, leave a review, and send this to someone who needs to know they’re not the only one hanging on by a dodgy extension lead.

Got a story that’s messy, raw, or just too real for polite company?
📧 Email: onlydanlawrence@gmail.com

📸 Instagram: @DanLawrenceComedy

🎧 Podcast: @DefinitelyNotTherapyPod

📘 Facebook: Dan Lawrence

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🎧 Sneak Peek – Out Now!
What happens when The Smithy Family trade viral fame for a flickering light and a half-working soundboard?
Welcome to Garage-Level Real Talk — laughs, chaos, and confessions you’d never see on the highlight reel.

They talk grief, co-parenting, creative burnout and what it’s really like when real life crashes through your feed.
It’s raw. It’s real. It’s definitely not therapy.

🔥 Full episode drops tomorrow! 10am
📩 Got a story too real for social media? Email onlydanlawrence@gmail.com

📸 Follow: @DanLawrenceComedy
| @DefinitelyNotTherapyPod

#TheSmithyFamily #GarageTherapy #DefinitelyNotTherapy #DanLawrence #MensMentalHealth #UKPodcast #RealTalk #FunnyPodcast #CoParenting #Fatherhood #PodcastLife

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A breakup two days before Christmas.
A father on the floor as paramedics burst through the door.
A man left staring at the ceiling, wondering what comes next.

This is Wayne’s story — and it’s not clean, polished, or packaged for comfort. It’s the story of a man who fell hard, and then slowly, painfully, built something worth standing on again.

In this episode, Dan sits with Wayne to unpack what happens when the floor disappears — and how you find your footing again through honesty, music, and movement.
Together, they talk about the unspoken corners of men’s mental health, the quiet battles of co-parenting, and the reality of being a “good dad” when systems, calendars, and distance all work against you.

Wayne doesn’t sugar coat it. He shares what it’s like to lose contact with three of his five daughters, how he still celebrates their wins from afar, and the festival moment that stopped time — DJing shoulder-to-shoulder with his teenage daughter, music bridging everything words couldn’t.

This isn’t a redemption story with a soundtrack and neat ending. It’s a survival manual built from lived experience — the small, stubborn actions that keep your head above water:

• Seeing time as acceptance, not a cure
• Choosing sobriety over escape
• Turning shame into strength
• Using sea-front walks and simple routines to rebuild peace
• Learning how to be present, not perfect
• Remembering that memories beat material things every time

If you’ve ever smiled in public while breaking in private, been told to “man up” when you were just trying to breathe, or wondered how to show up when everything feels lost — this episode is a quiet hand on your shoulder.

It’s about finding life in the leftovers.
It’s about showing up for your kids, even when they can’t see it.
It’s about staying human in the mess.

🎧 Listen, share, and tag someone who needs to hear this.
Leave a short review with one thing you’re taking from Wayne’s story — because your words might be the reminder someone else is waiting for.

💬 Talk to Dan

If you’re going through your own storm — a breakup, co-parenting battle, grief, or that heavy silence that no one sees — come and talk about it. This space is for you.

📩 Email: onlydanlawrence@gmail.com

📱 Instagram: @DanLawrenceComedy
| @DefinitelyNotTherapyPod

📘 Facebook: Dan Lawrence

Because sometimes, talking about it isn’t weakness — it’s the start of healing.
This isn’t therapy. It’s something realer.

Support the show

This episode includes open conversations about suicidal thoughts, emotional abuse, and traumatic brain injury.
If you are struggling, please reach out for support.
In the UK, contact Samaritans on 116 123 or visit samaritans.org. You are not alone.

What happens when the thing that built your identity — your body, your sport, your fight — is suddenly gone?

This week, we meet Matt, whose story redefines what strength really means. Diagnosed with dyspraxia at six, he pushed through ridicule, coordination challenges, and school labels to build a name in MMA, K1, and boxing. He chased adrenaline, discipline, and control — until one brutal moment in the ring changed everything. A brain injury, white-matter damage on the scan, legs that stopped responding… and a silence that hit harder than any punch.

Then came the harder fight — the one inside his own head. We go deep into the quiet aftermath: the depression, the isolation, the emotional abuse and gaslighting that left him questioning reality itself. Matt opens up about losing touch with family, facing suicidal thoughts, and the night he finally reached breaking point.

But this story isn’t about collapse. It’s about what holds you when everything falls apart — a brother who refused to leave, a father who flew him to Spain to get him safe, and the power of therapy to bring life back into focus. Through EMDR, Matt learned to quiet the noise, ease the flashbacks, and rebuild from the inside out. Slowly, he began to find peace — and love — with Shannon, whose patience and belief helped him rediscover trust, purpose, and hope.

If you think resilience is about roaring comebacks and perfect endings, this conversation will show you another kind: slow courage, honest vulnerability, and tiny, defiant steps toward light. Matt’s journey reminds us that true strength isn’t in the fight — it’s in the recovery.

Stay with us to the end for an unfiltered reflection on masculinity, online hate, validation, and gratitude — and how healing can start with something as simple as laughter around the dinner table.

🎧 If this story moves you, follow, rate, and share the show. It could be the thing that helps someone else believe that healing is still possible.

🔹 Episode Highlights

• Dyspraxia diagnosis at six and the battle to fit in
• Losing his granddad, family fractures, and finding the gym
• Early fight wins, brutal losses, and the moment that changed everything
• The brain injury: white-matter damage, losing mobility, and the mental crash
• Emotional abuse, manipulation, and the quiet terror of gaslighting
• Isolation, despair, and the night suicidal thoughts took over
• The moment that changed it — a father’s rescue flight to Spain
• Discovering EMDR: rewiring trauma, calming the body, finding sleep
• Meeting Shannon, becoming a stepdad, learning love again
• Rebuilding life with dyspraxia and PTSD through patience and teamwork
• Masculinity, validation, and the truth about being “a strong man”
• Gratitude for the small, ordinary moments that prove you’re alive

🩹 Content Note

This episode includes open discussions about brain injury, emotional abuse, and suicidal thoughts.
If you are struggling, please reach out for help.
In the UK, contact Samaritans at 116 123 or visit samaritans.org.
You are not alone.

📢 Short Description (for apps / previews)

When a brain injury ended Matt’s fighting career, everything stopped — his body, his purpose, his identity.
This is the story of rebuilding from rock bottom: dyspraxia, gaslighting, PTSD, EMDR therapy, and finding love and safety again.

Support the show

A breakup two days before Christmas.
A father on the floor as paramedics burst through the door.
A man left staring at the ceiling, wondering what comes next.

This is Wayne’s story — and it’s not clean, polished, or packaged for comfort. It’s the story of a man who fell hard, and then slowly, painfully, built something worth standing on again.

In this episode, Dan sits with Wayne to unpack what happens when the floor disappears — and how you find your footing again through honesty, music, and movement.
Together, they talk about the unspoken corners of men’s mental health, the quiet battles of co-parenting, and the reality of being a “good dad” when systems, calendars, and distance all work against you.

Wayne doesn’t sugarcoat it. He shares what it’s like to lose contact with three of his five daughters, how he still celebrates their wins from afar, and the festival moment that stopped time — DJing shoulder-to-shoulder with his teenage daughter, music bridging everything words couldn’t.

This isn’t a redemption story with a soundtrack and neat ending. It’s a survival manual built from lived experience — the small, stubborn actions that keep your head above water:

• Seeing time as acceptance, not a cure
• Choosing sobriety over escape
• Turning shame into strength
• Using sea-front walks and simple routines to rebuild peace
• Learning how to be present, not perfect
• Remembering that memories beat material things every time

If you’ve ever smiled in public while breaking in private, been told to “man up” when you were just trying to breathe, or wondered how to show up when everything feels lost — this episode is a quiet hand on your shoulder.

It’s about finding life in the leftovers.
It’s about showing up for your kids, even when they can’t see it.
It’s about staying human in the mess.

🎧 Listen, share, and tag someone who needs to hear this.
Leave a short review with one thing you’re taking from Wayne’s story — because your words might be the reminder someone else is waiting for.

💬 Talk to Dan

If you’re going through your own storm — a breakup, co-parenting battle, grief, or that heavy silence that no one sees — come and talk about it. This space is for you.

📩 Email: onlydanlawrence@gmail.com

📱 Instagram: @DanLawrenceComedy
| @DefinitelyNotTherapyPod

📘 Facebook: Dan Lawrence

Because sometimes, talking about it isn’t weakness — it’s the start of healing.
This isn’t therapy. It’s something realer.

Support the show