EP 38: Mark Tullius — How TBIs Impact Mental Health (And How Cannabis Can Help)

Good Dudes Grow

Former college football player Mark Tullius has always had dark thoughts. That’s part of the reason he was drawn to heavy metal music, and it’s a big part of his writing today in the horror and dystopian genres. But after a lifetime of playing violent, contact-based sports, he started to think that maybe the darkness wasn’t entirely his personality at play — maybe it was his history of head trauma.

After playing football, Mark became an MMA fighter and, briefly, a professional boxer — which is when he says he “really got his head scrambled.” It was a cycle that kept feeding on itself; aggression that pushed him into head injury-prone arenas, which fueled more aggression. Then one day, he posted about brain damage on social media — and the responses he received from people he’d previously been on teams with changed his life.

“I had friends that I played football with at Brown University, and they were reaching out to me and sending me private messages saying, ‘Hey man, I'm in a brain study. And my brain is screwed. I'm at the end of my rope,’” he recalls. “These were from three different linemen I played with that didn't go on to further abuse their brain like I did.”

At that point, Mark decided to face the fact that he’d sustained potentially irreparable brain damage — and try to do something about it. On this episode of Good Dudes Grow, Gary and Mark talk about his journey discovering the impact a lifetime of sports had had on his frontal lobe, what that was doing to his mental health, and how making cannabis part of his treatment plan ultimately helped him heal.

What You'll Learn:

• How Mark’s history of TBIs (traumatic brain injuries) was causing everything from impulse issues to rage and suicidal ideation
• Why going to therapy and incorporating emotional healing was such an important part of his treatment plan
• The way cannabis has benefited everything from his mental health to his creative process as a writer today
• And much more!

Favorite Quote:

“I no longer had the depression, anxiety or rage, and that’s when I realized — my ‘normal’ had not been normal at all.”

— Mark Tullius

Connect with Dennis:

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How to get involved:

Gary Roberts is the founder and CEO of Pure Body Zen, a company based not only around creating and selling high-quality CBD products, but one that is on a mission to change the landscape on how mental health and addiction are treated. Gary has founded a non-profit called Promises Recovery Centers for those who need it as well as creating the first-ever educational training facility for Physicians, Therapists, and Mental Health advocates using innovative therapeutics like psilocybin, Mdma, and LSD.

You can learn more about Pure Body Zen on their site, on LinkedIn, and on Instagram.

If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to visit the show on Apple Podcasts and leave a rating and review! We love hearing from you!

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