SURVIVAL MODE, TRAUMA RECOVERY & MEN'S MENTAL HEALTH

Why do you still feel unsafe when the danger is already gone?

In Raw Minds Season 2 Episode 109, host Erick McManus sits down with Joseph Okoroji, author of A Mark in the Sand, to explore survival mode, trauma recovery, emotional resilience, and the psychology of change.

What if the habits that once protected you are now holding you back?

When you've spent years expecting the worst, trusting nobody, suppressing emotions, or handling everything alone, those behaviours can become part of your identity.

But what happens when you no longer need them?

Joseph explores how survival responses can continue after difficult experiences, why accepting help can feel uncomfortable, and what it takes to move beyond the person you had to become to survive.

THIS CONVERSATION EXPLORES:

• Why survival mode can outlast the danger

• Trauma recovery and emotional resilience

• Why men struggle to ask for help

• How past experiences affect relationships

• Hyper-independence, trust, and vulnerability

• The difference between surviving and living

• Self-sabotage and unhealthy coping patterns

• Personal accountability and setting boundaries

• Rebuilding identity after trauma

• How to move forward without abandoning your past

ABOUT JOSEPH OKOROJI

Joseph Okoroji is an author, coach, and entrepreneur whose work focuses on identity, resilience, responsibility, and personal change.

His book, A Mark in the Sand, explores the practical lessons that emerge when life forces us to adapt.

Get Joseph's book:

https://a.co/d/087BxwYj

Contact Joseph:

joseph.okoroji@googlemail.com

ABOUT RAW MINDS

Raw Minds is a men's mental health podcast hosted by Erick McManus. We have honest conversations about mental health, trauma, addiction, recovery, relationships, fatherhood, and rebuilding your life.

Nobody's coming to save you. But that doesn't mean you have to fight alone.

For the ones we never meet.

CONNECT WITH RAW MINDS

Website: https://rawminds.ca

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

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

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@rawmindspodcast

Email: rawmindspodcast@gmail.com

SUPPORT RAW MINDS IN TOP HOST

Vote for Erick:

https://tophost.org/2026/erick-mcmanus

If this conversation helps you understand survival mode, trauma, or emotional healing differently, subscribe to Raw Minds and share this episode.

QUESTION FOR THE COMMENTS:

Have you ever realized that something you learned to survive was now holding you back?

#MensMentalHealth #TraumaRecovery #SurvivalMode

PLEASE HELP ME WIN TOP HOST 2026!

Raw Minds is competing for Top Host 2026, and I need your support.

If you believe in real conversations, men's mental health, and giving people a voice, please take a moment to vote.

VOTE FOR ERICK:
https://tophost.org/2026/erick-mcmanus

Every vote matters. Thank you for helping Raw Minds reach more people.

59 DAYS ALONE AT SEA. THEN HE STARTED HEARING VOICES.

What happens to your mind when you're alone in the Atlantic Ocean for 59 days?

In Raw Minds Podcast Season 2, EP. 108, Erick sits down with Alan Fortuin, a former British Army captain who spent 59 days rowing solo across the Atlantic Ocean in the World's Toughest Row.

After 35 years in the British Army, Alan took on an extraordinary challenge at 67 years old.

He spent six years preparing for a 3,000-mile ocean crossing, despite having no previous ocean rowing experience.

But nothing prepared him for what happened at sea.

Violent storms. A capsized boat. Three terrifying knockdowns. Failing steering equipment. Broken satellite communications. Complete isolation.

Then he started hearing voices.

Alan began talking to his equipment and giving personalities to everyday objects to cope with the loneliness. His automatic steering system became a companion. A tennis ball became his Wilson.

Through fear, exhaustion, uncertainty, and isolation, he continued rowing.

This conversation explores men's mental health, psychological survival, resilience, discipline, aging, finding purpose, and overcoming adversity.

Sometimes survival comes down to one decision.

One stroke at a time.

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 Introduction to Alan's incredible journey
06:35 The Old See Dogs and Guide Dogs charity
07:27 Alan's military background
15:19 The desire to keep challenging himself
21:38 Planning an Atlantic rowing adventure
22:36 Six years of preparation
25:01 Training for complete isolation
27:29 Entering the World's Toughest Row
32:14 Staying motivated through setbacks
34:44 Preparing for ocean survival
45:00 The dangerous Atlantic crossing begins
49:15 Fighting to reach open water
51:45 The reality of rowing alone
53:30 Hearing voices in the Atlantic
58:00 Losing satellite communications
1:00:00 Talking to equipment to survive isolation
1:05:00 Finding encouragement from another rower
1:07:00 Surviving a capsize and violent waves
1:10:00 Dangerous encounters with massive ships

CONNECT WITH ALAN FORTUIN

The Old See Dogs

Instagram: The Old See Dogs
Facebook: The Old See Dogs

Alan's Guide Dogs fundraising campaign:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/in-support-of-the-guide-dogs-for-the-blind

World's Toughest Row:
https://www.worldstoughestrow.com/

CONNECT WITH RAW MINDS

Website: https://rawminds.ca
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@rawminds
Instagram: @rawmindspodcast
TikTok: @rawmindspodcast
Email: rawmindspodcast@gmail.com

Subscribe for real conversations about men's mental health, resilience, personal growth, and the stories that deserve to be heard.

For the ones we never meet.

#MensMentalHealth #OceanRowing #MentalToughness

Are you living your own life, or following beliefs you never chose?

In Raw Minds Season 2 Episode 107, Erick sits down with Madhav Nakar, cybersecurity researcher and creator of The Fire of Knowing, for a raw conversation about men's mental health, identity, fear, family conditioning, and breaking the patterns that keep us stuck.

Madhav explores how childhood expectations, culture, and self doubt shape the way we see ourselves.

Erick shares what it took to walk away from a career in construction, overcome the fear of being on camera, and build a new life.

They also discuss why success doesn't always bring happiness, why people pleasing can quietly take over your life, and how spirituality, self awareness, and daily choices can help you reconnect with yourself.

What happens when you realize your beliefs, fears, and even your definition of success might belong to someone else?

Can you break the patterns you've spent your entire life following?

And who would you be if everything you used to define yourself disappeared?

This conversation explores what it means to stop living on autopilot and start questioning the person you've become.

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 Are you living a life you never chose?

02:10 Meet Madhav Nakar

04:00 The Fire of Knowing and his spiritual journey

05:29 How your identity gets programmed

08:36 Family conditioning and inherited beliefs

10:15 Facing fear instead of running from it

14:01 Distractions, loneliness, and the phone trap

17:15 Why men need their own space

18:43 Why success can still leave you miserable

20:20 Confronting fear in public

22:09 The fear of being seen on camera

24:35 Vulnerability and the purpose of Raw Minds

28:12 Spirituality and enjoying the passage of time

33:23 Finding lessons across spiritual traditions

36:44 When self improvement becomes avoidance

38:23 Silent patterns and people pleasing

40:06 Who are you without money or status?

40:31 The question every man should ask

CONNECT WITH MADHAV NAKAR

The Fire of Knowing:

https://thefireofknowing.com/

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/@TheFireofKnowing

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/thefireofknowing/

LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/madhav-nakar/

SUPPORT RAW MINDS

Vote for Erick in Top Host 2026:

https://tophost.org/2026/erick-mcmanus

Raw Minds Website:

https://rawminds.ca

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/rawmindspodcast

TikTok:

https://www.tiktok.com/@rawmindspodcast

Business and Guest Inquiries:

rawmindspodcast@gmail.com

Raw Minds is dedicated to honest conversations about men's mental health, identity, trauma, recovery, personal growth, and rebuilding your life.

If this conversation makes you think of someone carrying more than they show, share it with them.

Subscribe to Raw Minds and help us reach the men who need these conversations.

QUESTION FOR YOU:

Are you living a life you chose, or one you were taught to live?

Tell us in the comments.

For the ones we never meet.