Middle Man Podcast By Paul Sutton cover art

Middle Man

Middle Man

By: Paul Sutton
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From the outside my life looked wonderful. I had an amazing wife, three great kids, a beautiful house in the countryside and a successful consultancy business. But on the inside, I was deeply unhappy. I felt trapped by the very life that I had designed. I felt that I had no sense of purpose. And I’d lost all sense of who I was or what my place in the world was. But what I’ve discovered since is that it needn’t be this way. Middle Man is the show for midlife men and the people who love them. It helps midlife men to rediscover themselves and to embrace the second half of life with positivity, enjoyment and purpose. So if you’re a midlife man with a creeping sense of unease and unhappiness that you can’t put your finger on, if you feel unappreciated and isolated, or if you’ve looked around at your life and thought “is this really it?”, then Middle Man is the show for you. Join me on a shared journey of self-discovery. Hygiene & Healthy Living Personal Development Personal Success Psychology Psychology & Mental Health
Episodes
  • Men Communicate Distress Through Behaviour Rather Than Words - Dr Stephen Blumenthal on Self Expression

    Men Communicate Distress Through Behaviour Rather Than Words - Dr Stephen Blumenthal on Self Expression
    Mar 11 2026
    Many men struggle to understand, express, or even recognise what they are feeling. They often communicate distress not through words but through behaviour, and sometimes in ways that are self-destructive. Excessive drinking, withdrawing from friendships, over-investing time in work or reckless risk-taking can act as signals that something is wrong internally, and are far from uncommon. This week Paul speaks to acclaimed clinical psychologist and psychoanalyst Dr Stephen Blumenthal about the hidden emotional lives of men. He talks about how many men express emotional conflict through action rather than language, and about how these behaviours are often rooted in what he calls 'trauma patterns' - adaptive responses formed in childhood or early life that help individuals cope with difficult environments but may later interfere with intimacy and emotional connection. Stephen explores how social expectations of masculinity shape men’s emotional lives, and how there can be a disconnect between what men feel and what they are able to articulate. And he highlights the importance of self-awareness and reflection. But rather than simply encouraging men to 'express their feelings, he argues that the real work lies in developing a language for inner experience and understanding the emotional signals beneath behaviours, and that a willingness to examine one’s inner life is among the most powerful foundations for long-term wellbeing. --------------- If you’ve found this episode insightful or interesting, you can support the show at www.ko-fi.com/middlemanpodcast I'd love to hear about your experiences, so if you'd like to get in touch email me at paul@middlemanpodcast.com and let me know what's on your mind or sign up to the newsletter at www.middlemanpodcast.com Middle Man on Instagram: @middleman__podcast
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    47 mins
  • Midlife Stories: From Emotional Blackness to Midlife Breakthrough, with Leon Smith

    Midlife Stories: From Emotional Blackness to Midlife Breakthrough, with Leon Smith
    Mar 4 2026
    Childhood adversity can have a lasting impact. When trauma, instability or loss are experienced at a young age, they can shape how a person sees themselves and the world for decades, resulting in emotional suppression, hyper-independence, people-pleasing or self-sabotage. But adversity does not have to become destiny. This week Paul talks to Leon Smith about his long journey from a traumatic childhood to redemption in midlife. At 11 years old, Leon watched his mother undergo life-threatening surgery for a tumour wrapped around her spinal cord. While he was still trying to process that trauma, his absent father was murdered. The combined weight of grief, shock and emotional suppression left him shattered. He describes years of “blackness”, drifting through adolescence and adulthood alike in survival mode, numbing himself through nightlife, work and distraction. But many years later, after some NHS counselling, Leon experienced what he calls a “therapeutic epiphany” - a moment of clarity in which he recognised his patterns and realised he could choose differently. That insight sparked dramatic change. He returned to university, built a successful decade-long career in television, and eventually felt called to retrain as a counsellor and psychotherapist. Leon's truly inspirational story is a testament to the fact that no matter how broken you feel, change is possible and hope is real. --------------- If you’ve found this episode insightful or interesting, you can support the show at www.ko-fi.com/middlemanpodcast I'd love to hear about your experiences, so if you'd like to get in touch email me at paul@middlemanpodcast.com and let me know what's on your mind or sign up to the newsletter at www.middlemanpodcast.com Middle Man on Instagram: @middleman__podcast
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    43 mins
  • Goodbye Mum

    Goodbye Mum
    Feb 25 2026
    On 4th February, my mum died. She was 80 years old and had lived with Alzheimer's dementia for seven years. Her passing follows the death of my dad less than three years ago after a long battle with a degenerative condition related to Parkinson's. The grief and sadness I have felt have been intertwined with relief, guilt and shame, and so this week I talk to psychotherapist Bill Sullivan to try and make sense of the grief of parental loss. This is not a polished conversation about grief, but a raw and honest exploration of what loss actually feels like in midlife. I talk openly about the complexity of the emotions I have been feeling now that years of caregiving responsibility have come to an end, and I ask questions about whether my grief response is 'normal'. We unpack anticipatory grief, caregiver fatigue, the dual process of loss and restoration and how we oscillate between practical functioning and emotional overwhelm. We explore what it means to lose not just a parent, but the sense of safety and structure that having living parents provides, even in adulthood. And we challenge cultural expectations around how men 'should' grieve. --------------- If you’ve found this episode insightful or interesting, you can support the show at www.ko-fi.com/middlemanpodcast I'd love to hear about your experiences, so if you'd like to get in touch email me at paul@middlemanpodcast.com and let me know what's on your mind or sign up to the newsletter at www.middlemanpodcast.com Middle Man on Instagram: @middleman__podcast
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    1 hr and 4 mins
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