Hardiness with Dr Paul Taylor

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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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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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
Emotional stress
Mental stress
Physical stress
Pharmacologic stress
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/

Support the Podcast
If you found this conversation valuable, consider subscribing and leaving a review on your preferred podcast platform. Your feedback helps us continue to bring you insightful discussions on important health topics.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.