Mental Health And Men's Health With Hearts Wide Open

Hosts Soroosh and Dennis celebrate the 50th episode and reflect on their two-year journey of podcasting. Subscribe to our newsletter here They discuss personal growth, the importance of vulnerability, and the lessons learned through their conversations about men's health and emotional well-being. Soroosh shares his journey of self-discovery, the challenges he faced, and how podcasting has helped h...

In this episode of Hearts Wide Open, hosts Dennis and Tamara delve into the complexities of relationships, particularly focusing on the dynamics of living together. They explore the importance of communication, understanding emotional triggers, and maintaining individuality while navigating the challenges that come with cohabitation. The conversation highlights the significance of conflict resolut...

Moving in together sounds like a dream—but for many men, it can also be an emotional rollercoaster. In this episode of Hearts Wide Open, Dennis opens up about the mental and emotional shift of going from long-distance dating to sharing a home. From unexpected doubts to communication struggles and moments of real growth, we explore the messy and beautiful side of learning how to really live togethe...

Reiss talks about how he quit drinking for the first time. On this episode of Hearts Wide Open, The Men's Health Podcast, Dennis sat down with Reiss Silva, personal trainer and coach to world champions, medalists and world record holders and regular men just like you! Reiss opens up about the journey of quitting drinking, giving up alcohol for the first time and offers valuable thoughts as he...

Men’s mental health and aging as a man —what a combo. In this special birthday episode, Dennis turns 33 and dives headfirst into what it really feels like to be a man in his 30s , reflecting on life not quite going as planned, the weird pressure to "have it all figured out," and the little existential crisis that can sneak up with every passing year. Turning 30 used to feel like the beginning of a...

Most men ignore their heart health—until it’s too late. Don’t be one of them. Discover the secrets to heart health for men and learn heart disease prevention strategies that could save your life. In this episode of Hearts Wide Open, the Men's Health Podcast , host Dennis sits down with Michelle Routhenstein , a leading cardiology dietitian and preventive cardiology nutritionist from EntrielyNo...

Going home as an adult can feel like stepping back in time. No matter how much we’ve grown, family dynamics and personal growth often clash, making us feel like a younger, outdated version of ourselves. In this episode, I share my experience of visiting home while staying in a BnB instead of my childhood home—and how it completely changed my relationship with myself and my family. Why does going h...

Resilience isn’t something we’re born with. Resilience can be developed. How? That’s exactly what we talked about with Paul Doughty! Paul is a published author who’s just released his new book “Resilience My Ultimate Superpower: Empowering Young Lives to Overcome Challenges”. We asked Paul what resilience means to him, what role resilience plays in his life and why he is helping young people speci...

Franz tried to get therapy for the first time and got rejected on the phone. On this episode Franz opens up about his story and how he stayed on course to eventually get professional help. He also talks about shame and shows us a new perspective, how shame is part of all of our life's in ways we sometimes cannot see. Today Franz changes the way we perceive shame and works with individuals like...

How do you successfully build and maintain lasting friendships? And how can a friendship evolve when it's over a long physical distance? Is this even possible? Dennis sat down with his longterm long-distance friend Ruan in Brazil to discuss friendship and more! Did you know that 1 in 5 men say that they do not have a single friend? His friends form Ruan's support system and he opens up abo...

Soroosh sat down with Nikki from the Hearts Wide Open Family and discussed a variety of issues and topics related to relationships. Nikki is a psychologist and somatic movement coach who's recently joined the Hearts Wide Open family and supports us in organizing events for our community online and offline in the Netherlands. Wanna join one of our events? Stay tuned on our Instagram and/or subscrib...

Join our end of year team call where we review the year, look back at a big Movember month and what we wish for ourselves and everyone else in 2025. This one is a relaxed behind the scenes call where we go through some of these questions. We wanted to share this call with you to let you get to know the hearts wide open team behind the scenes. We wish you all a good start to the next year and hope...

Salsa teacher Cris unpacks his recent Ayahuasca experience with Dennis! Hear about how he got to taking the substance and what it ultimately did for him in healing the relationship with his parents. Note that this is Cris' personal experience and Ayahuasca can be different for every individual. When parents grew up with tough love and have a hard time receiving love, what can you do as a son or da...

Pro public speaker Jelmer and Soroosh sat down to talk about his rocky path of becoming a public speaker! Jelmer was interested in speaking as a kid then started doubting himself due to what other people believed, but eventually ended up going for it anyway years later. In between, Jelmer went through a corporate career that almost made him burn out, overcoming self-doubt, experiencing therapy for...

Dennis sat down with Stijn Herpers from the Man-up club to talk about Stijns story, what shaped him, how he is dealing with moving out of his parents and more. Stijn truly showed up for this one and opened up about sabotaging himself and his relationships, why he started the Man-up club and therapy at the age of 17. This conversation is truly wholesome, Dennis and Stijn are talking about serious t...

Dennis interviewed Juriaan, a Dutch man who is travelling around the globe by bicycle! You've heard right! By B-I-C-Y-C-L-E. You probably know that Dutch people love to get from a to b by bicycle, but what makes a person want to do that around the entire planet? This is exactly what we've asked Juriaan in this episode. He talks about his motivation behind doing this challenge, how it supports his...

We explore the hidden ways negativity can manifest in our lives and how we can recognize when someone’s negative attitude is a reflection of their own struggles or just a part of who they are. Feeling Tense? It Might Be the People Around You. Have you ever noticed tension in your body that seems to linger for days, weeks, or even months? Sometimes, stress and negativity from the people around us c...

We interviewed our yoga teacher about her philosophy, the PSOAS muscle and how it stores emotions that want to be released and how we can learn this. Priscilla talks to us about the light and shadow, the yin and yang, why she loves working with men and what a healthy man is to her. We discover why it’s so important to restore the balance and create a safe space for all genders to support connectio...

Life moves in cycles and this episode is testament to that. Dennis has been through a transformational experience at the start of the month, which realigned him to his purpose and values, brought him back on track in terms of the direction he was taking in life and left him with clarity of what his north star is. Dennis takes you on a journey throughout this experience: What happened to him at the...

In this episode, we talk about attachment theory. Attachment theory talks about how we attach in romantic relationships with a partner and how it relates to the love and care we receive as a baby or child. Our guest is Rita Bliven. Rita has a lot of experience in the field of attachment theory and opens up about her own personal story on attachment which starts with a child kidnapping. She also co...

In this episode, Soroosh gives the definition of self-sabotage from a technical point of view. How sometimes we set high goals for ourselves and set ourselves up for failure. Are you also inspired by the success story of other people and plan to wake up at 4 am, and then fail? Do you criticise &set high expectations for yourself? We talk about how you too, can plan properly. Furthermore, we di...

Lenny shares about his decision to quit Instagram and delete the app on this episode of the Hearts Wide Open Podcast. He deleted Instagram over 2 years ago and talks about the process and impact it has on him today. We also discuss other social media platforms like Twitter / X and how they have changed. We all choose what type of content we consume and in the end it is important to be conscious ab...

Ever wondered why it seems so hard to have an authentic conversation #realtalk with one of your friends, a family member or maybe even a stranger you've just met? Then this episode is for you! In this episode we not only discuss why it can seem so hard to finally see and really talk each other through the thick surface of small talk, people pleasing, playing a role and so on, but ALSO how we c...

Hearts Wide Open is celebrating its first anniversary! 1 year podcasting about men's health and men's mental health related topics. In this episode hosts Soroosh and Dennis are getting interviewed by former guest Tamara and look back at their highlights, lowlights, learnings and take aways from 1 year of hosting a men's health podcast. The two not only share about the past year, but take a deeper...

In this episode, Sooroosh and Alican delve into the reality that everyone faces low moments in life, times when the weight of challenges can feel overwhelming. It's crucial to recognize that these experiences are part of the human condition and do not reflect personal failure or weakness. Seeking help is a courageous step, not a sign of inadequacy. Whether it’s talking to a friend, consulting...