Episode description:

Substance Use and Other Saboteurs of Resilience: A Conversation with Shaun Tucker

What turns a catastrophic night of binge drinking into a life-changing moment of clarity? And what keeps that transformation alive when culture constantly pulls us back toward comfort and instant gratification?

In this candid episode of the Unnecessary Harm Podcast, Shane Varcoe welcomes Shaun Tucker, qualified health scientist, life coach, and World Resiliency Day ambassador, for an honest exploration of substance misuse, emotional development, and the hard work of building genuine resilience.

The Wake-Up Call

Shaun’s journey began with purposelessness, low sense of self, and the normalised binge drinking culture many young Australians have difficulty navigating. His rock-bottom moment came during a trip to South Korea. He woke up covered in blood, disoriented, and desperately ill after a night of excessive drinking. That experience became the catalyst for profound change, but not before revealing how deeply substances can mask unresolved issues of identity, belonging, and self-worth.

Beyond the Physical

What started as a typical “fat kid starts running” story evolved into something far more comprehensive. Shaun discovered that physical transformation, while important, was only scratching the surface. Real wellness requires addressing emotional immaturity, developing impulse control, learning to sit with discomfort, and understanding that everyone is addicted to something. The question is whether it serves your growth or sabotages it.

The Comfort Trap

This episode tackles uncomfortable truths about modern Western culture: our worship of comfort, the politicisation of trauma, and how substances offer dangerous shortcuts to altered states without requiring any of the work. Shaun and Shane explore how emotional development often gets stunted at the age of first substance use, leaving adults with teenage-level coping mechanisms.

Practical Tools for Real Change

Rather than theoretical discussions, Shaun offers concrete strategies: breathwork as a circuit breaker between emotion and reaction, the power of keeping small promises to yourself, and understanding that most people are too caught up in their own concerns to judge you as harshly as you fear.

The Trauma Question

In a particularly important segment, Shane and Shaun navigate the complex landscape of trauma. They acknowledge its reality and subjective nature while questioning whether comfort culture has expanded definitions beyond usefulness. They explore how genuine trauma differs from inconvenience, and why pandering to emotional immaturity ultimately prevents growth.

About Shaun Tucker:

Founder of Self Built Health, Shaun helps hundreds of people transform their lives through resilience and holistic wellness. His qualification as a health scientist combines with real-world experience of transformation to create a practical, action-focused approach that prioritises integrity, emotional development, and confronting discomfort as the path to genuine growth.

This conversation offers hope without false promises, acknowledging both the difficulty of change and its absolute necessity. Whether you’re struggling with substance use, supporting someone who is, or working in prevention and harm reduction, this episode provides valuable insights into what real transformation requires.

Listen now to discover why the fence at the top of the cliff will always be more valuable than a fleet of ambulances at the bottom.