The Shift: A Podcast With Ben Brown

Ben Brown
  • 4.8 (12)
  • Mental Health

The Shift — a podcast about what happens when we stop avoiding the things that hold us back and start facing them head-on. While themes like sobriety and faith will come up, The Shift isn’t a sobriety podcast or a religious one. The Shift is an open, inclusive space for anyone and everyone. Through Ben’s shifts, and his guests who have experienced shifts of their own, the goal is simple: to help listeners who might be struggling with something realize they’re not alone, and to share insights and strategies that they can put to work in their own lives.

  1. 5h ago

    A.I. Girlfriends = The Male Loneliness Epidemic

    Have you ever found yourself reaching for a quick digital escape because real human connection felt too uncomfortable? In this episode, I dive straight into the male loneliness epidemic and why so many men are turning to AI girlfriends. For nearly thirty years, I relied on internet porn to hit the easy button whenever life felt flustered, conditioning my brain and running from genuine intimacy. Through sex addiction recovery and building vulnerable male friendships, I learned to stop skipping the hard parts and embrace the messy process of real dating. Real love requires us to sit through awkward coffee dates and trust our calm, centered selves rather than hiding behind a screen. This episode isn't just about my journey; it's about your willingness to put down the phone and step into real connection. I invite you to reflect on where you are trading genuine intimacy for artificial comfort. Stop pressing the easy button and let the messy process of life build your diamond. YouTube Timestamps: 00:00 - The Male Loneliness & AI Girlfriend Epidemic 03:00 - How Technology & Dating Apps Isolate Men 05:15 - Overcoming Porn Addiction & Escapism 07:45 - The Power of Male Community & Vulnerability 16:15 - Why Real Relationships Require Process 20:00 - A Real-Life Dating Story: Embracing Awkwardness 28:00 - Practical Steps to Reclaim Real Human Connection #MaleLoneliness #AIGirlfriend #DatingAdvice #SelfImprovement #MentalHealth #BenBrown #TheShiftPodcast

  2. 6d ago

    Is Porn Hijacking Your Ability To Love?

    Have you ever felt completely disconnected from true physical intimacy, even when you desperately wanted it? In this episode, I open up about my decades-long struggle with porn-induced erectile dysfunction (PIED) and how early exposure to extreme content completely distorted my sexual arousal template. PIED is a behavioral and psychological condition where an individual experiences difficulty achieving or maintaining an erection during partnered sex, despite being fully capable of doing so while viewing pornography or masturbating alone. From nine years old to escalation throughout my teens and adulthood, I ended up chasing high-dopamine novelty while driving a wedge between physical attraction and genuine emotional depth. It was only after hitting rock bottom, walking away from porn at 38, and dedicating four years to recovery, therapy, and rewiring my brain that I finally learned how to merge heart-centered love with true physical connection. This episode isn't just about my personal recovery journey; it's about you and the invisible patterns that might be keeping you isolated from real intimacy. I invite you to reflect on what you are feeding your mind and whether your current habits are pulling you away from the depth you actually crave. You are not broken, and a deeply fulfilling, authentic relationship is fully within your reach once you choose to step out of the shadows. PIED is not permanent. You too can recover and learn to love in healthy ways. #pornaddiction #PIED #MensHealth #SexualHealth #relationships #intimacy #emotionalconnection

  3. Sep 23

    How Breathwork Can Get You Sober from Sex and Porn Addiction

    For almost 30 years, I ran from every uncomfortable feeling I had. As a kid, nail-biting and video games. Then, as a teen and beyond, porn, fantasy, and sex. When I decided to get sober, I lost every one of those buffers at once, and I had to find another way to survive the fear. I needed a new coping mechanism.   In this episode, I sat down with breathwork therapist Jesse Torgerson to break down the practice that actually worked: breathing into physical sensation and releasing tension on the exhale, until my nervous system stopped treating discomfort like an emergency. This episode isn't just about my personal journey through addiction, it is about your ability to realize that uncomfortable feelings won’t kill you.   I invite you to examine the stories keeping you stuck in anxiety and discover how present-moment breath awareness can create radical clarity. Safety is not found outside yourself, it is cultivated with every conscious breath. If this hits home, subscribe for more conversations on breaking addiction and building a real life on the other side of it, drop a comment with what you're working through, and share this with someone who needs to hear it. #Breathwork #AddictionRecovery #Sobriety #NervousSystemHealing #MensMentalHealth

  4. Sep 16

    From Addiction to Purpose: How to Use AI to Map Your Dream Life

    Do you know exactly what your problems are, but have no idea where you actually want to go? When I first got into recovery, my mentor challenged me to write down my five-year dream life. I played it safe. Censored myself so I wouldn't fail and feel bad. He looked at what I wrote, saw straight through it, and sent me back to do it again. This time, from a place of full permission to dream, not from what I thought was realistic. That shift changed everything. I started watching my life manifest in ways I couldn't have written down the first time around. Now, guys in recovery come to me stuck in the exact same spot. They can write a dissertation on their problems. Ask them what they actually want, and they freeze. So I get to walk them through the same process that cracked things open for me, building vision boards with AI images of their deepest desires to finally get clarity on their purpose. This episode is about that arc, from the first censored list to the version that actually lit me up, and it's an invitation for you to do the same. Stop driving in circles focused on what's wrong. Write your uncensored five-year dream life, and start moving toward it. Face the truth. Build the map. Shift your direction.

  5. Sep 9

    Can Another Person Really Fix Your Self-Esteem?

    Have you ever looked for another person to fix the internal noise you cannot stand? In this episode, I look back at how I used external validation to escape my own feelings of inadequacy. Before getting sober and stepping into recovery, walking down a street in New York City could trigger a complete internal crisis. The moment I saw an attractive woman, my mind convinced me that her approval was the ultimate cure for my low self-esteem. I would approach out of sheer anxiety, desperate for a fix. If rejection happened, I made up a story like, "Oh, I might not look rich enough for her." Then that thought became a fact in my brain: "I don't look rich enough for her," and I had to sit with the belief that I was not enough, which felt like crap. That experience was not comfortable, so then I looked for another quick fix, like a donut in a coffee shop, candy, or swiping on the apps to temporarily ease my pain. It was only through hitting walls and learning to become the witness to my thoughts that real healing began. By practicing acceptance and detaching from the stories my brain creates, I started shifting away from compulsive reactions and moving toward conscious choices. This episode isn't just about my past conditioning; it is about your relationship with emotional discomfort, too. I invite you to reflect on where you turn when anxiety strikes and whether you are letting your thoughts pull you around on a leash. Growth is a slow, steady movement from compulsive reaction to conscious choice

  6. Sep 2

    Why Having a Plan B Will Kill Your Dream

    Mario Carbone didn't build Major Food Group by hedging. He went all in, no safety net, no backup plan waiting to catch him if it didn't work. This episode is about the lie of the safety net. The plan B you keep "just in case" isn't protection; it's permission to fail. Every hour spent maintaining a fallback is an hour not spent making the real thing work. Mario and I get into what all-in commitment actually looks like when the stakes are real. Not just motivational-poster talk. If you've got one foot in your dream and one foot in your backup plan, this episode is for you.

  7. Aug 26

    Cheeseburgers to Designer Shades: Playing Whack-a-Mole With Addiction

    Have you ever found yourself swiping your credit card not for the item in your hand, but for the person you hope it will make you become? In this episode I open up about my battle with shopping addiction and how it connects to my deep-seated need for validation. For years, my addiction played a game of whack-a-mole. When I got sober from booze, drugs, and sex back in 2019, my brain immediately transferred that void to food, bingeing on cheeseburgers and milkshakes. Once I addressed the overeating, the shopping took over. I was chasing an image, purchasing $1,000 designer sunglasses and endless outfits just to sell a story to the world and escape my own feelings of inadequacy. It wasn't until I hit a wall of anxiety over a $2,500 sunglasses spree that I realized I couldn't keep running. Through recovery and learning to appreciate what is already in my "circle," I began to heal. You are already enough, and no purchase will ever give you what self-love already provides.

  8. Aug 19

    Your Fear of Being Cringe is Ruining Your Life

    Do you ever think to yourself, I don't want to be perceived the wrong way, so I will just stay quiet? From a young age, I started to get the response from the outside world that 'you like me when I am small, so let me stay small, so I get what I need.' In this episode of The Shift, I explore how the fear of being cringe is really a prison holding you back from having a big, bold, and wonderful life. I tell the stories of the many different ways I have stopped myself from going after what I want because of fear. But that stops here. Together, one day at a time, one step at a time, we will begin to face what holds us back. Following the notion that our purpose must be greater than our fear, we will be the lucky ones who get out of our own way. If you have ever felt like "too much," "extra," "too hyperactive," or felt like you had to shrink yourself to stay safe, this episode is for you.

See All (28)

4.8
out of 5
12 Ratings

About

The Shift — a podcast about what happens when we stop avoiding the things that hold us back and start facing them head-on. While themes like sobriety and faith will come up, The Shift isn’t a sobriety podcast or a religious one. The Shift is an open, inclusive space for anyone and everyone. Through Ben’s shifts, and his guests who have experienced shifts of their own, the goal is simple: to help listeners who might be struggling with something realize they’re not alone, and to share insights and strategies that they can put to work in their own lives.

Information

You Might Also Like