The Shift: A Podcast With Ben Brown

Ben Brown
  • 4.8 (9)
  • 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.

Episodes

  1. 1d ago

    What Happens When You Stop Chasing Sex?

    In this episode of The Shift, I sit down with anonymous author and recovery advocate Justin Bridges for a powerful conversation about addiction, sexual sobriety, emotional healing, and the journey of becoming whole. Justin shares how growing up in a chaotic family system shaped his relationship with addiction, identity, masculinity, and self-worth. After getting sober at just 17 years old, he began a lifelong search for freedom that eventually led him beyond substance recovery and into the deeper work of emotional sobriety. We talk about sexual abstinence, emotional release, higher power, service, relationships, and the uncomfortable process of letting go of old versions of ourselves. Justin opens up about the profound shift that occurred when he stopped looking outside himself for validation and discovered what he calls a "sacred energy" that had been there all along. This conversation explores what happens when we stop running, stop numbing, and stop chasing the things we believe will complete us. We discuss community, recovery, support systems, personal growth, masculinity, and why real transformation often begins when we're willing to sit with ourselves instead of escape ourselves. If you've ever struggled with addiction, relationships, validation, loneliness, or the fear of change, this episode offers an honest look at what healing can actually look like.

    1h 11m

  2. Jun 3

    Are You Addicted to Being "You"?

    In this solo episode of The Shift, I talk about the process of unlearning. Not learning more. Not becoming someone new. Unlearning the versions of ourselves we became attached to long ago. I reflect on the identities I carried for years, the need for validation, the patterns I brought into relationships, and the ways I kept trying to escape myself through distractions, addiction, and external approval. One of the biggest realizations for me was understanding how much of my life was being driven by an outdated version of who I thought I was. A version created in childhood that I continued protecting long after it stopped serving me. I talk about abstinence, mindfulness, emotional awareness, relationships, and the uncomfortable process of sitting with yourself long enough to actually meet who you are underneath all the coping mechanisms. This episode is about identity. About attachment. About the stories we inherit and the ones we continue repeating without realizing it. Growth is not always about adding more. Sometimes it’s about shedding what no longer belongs to you. If you’ve ever felt stuck in old patterns, disconnected from yourself, or afraid to let go of who you used to be, this one will hit. FACE IT. SHIFT. GROW. REPEAT.

    35 min

  3. May 20

    The ONLY Way To Actually Feel Better.

    In this episode of The Shift, I sit down with Dr. David Forbes for one of the most impactful conversations I’ve had on the podcast so far. We talk about trauma, emotional release work, childhood wounds, therapy, emotional safety, and what it actually means to heal instead of just cope. Dr. Forbes shares a perspective on trauma that completely changed the way I think about emotional pain. That trauma is not necessarily the wound itself, but the separation that happens from ourselves after the wound. The distance we create from the parts of us carrying pain because at some point, it no longer felt safe to stay connected to them. We get into the limitations of traditional therapy, the importance of being seen and understood, and why healing often requires more than just talking about what happened. We also explore emotional release work, support structures, dependency, psychedelic therapy, sobriety, and the fear so many of us have of relying on anything outside of ourselves to feel okay. This conversation challenged me in a lot of ways. It made me think differently about conflict, relationships, accountability, and the stories we carry into adulthood from childhood. If you’ve ever struggled with feeling disconnected from yourself, emotionally stuck, or trapped in patterns you can’t fully explain, this episode will resonate.

    1h 60m

  4. May 13

    You Are Not Your Pain.

    In this episode, I sit down with sex therapist, Amanda Adili to talk about addiction, healing, spirituality, and what it actually means to be true to yourself. Amanda shares her journey through addiction and recovery, and the deeper emotional work that began after getting sober. We talk about the tools that helped her reconnect with herself in a real way. Therapy. Two way prayer. Learning how to sit with discomfort instead of constantly trying to escape it. One of the biggest things we explore is the idea of “capacity” — building the ability to actually feel your emotions without shutting down, numbing out, or running away. Amanda shares how healing wasn’t about becoming someone new, but about slowly uncovering who she already was underneath the pain, fear, and survival patterns. This conversation is honest, funny, spiritual, and deeply human. It’s about learning how to live authentically instead of performatively. How to stop identifying with your wounds. How to trust yourself. And how recovery becomes less about perfection and more about connection. If you’ve ever felt disconnected from yourself, emotionally overwhelmed, or like you’re constantly searching for something outside of you to feel okay, this episode will speak to you.

    1h 8m

  5. May 6

    You Don’t Quit. You Replace.

    In this episode, I sit down with Dane to talk about what it actually looks like to change your life. Not just saying you want to be different… but doing the work to become different. Dane shares his journey through sobriety and what he’s learned about replacing old patterns with something better. We talk about the idea that you can’t just remove the things that aren’t serving you, you have to give yourself something new to step into. Something that challenges you. Something that excites you. Something that pulls you forward. We get into the tools that helped him along the way. Meditation. Journaling. Therapy. Faith. And the role that community and honest conversations play in real transformation. There’s no perfect formula here. Just a real conversation about what it means to take responsibility for your life and choose something better, one day at a time. If you’ve ever felt stuck, or there’s a part of you that keeps pulling you back into old habits, this one will hit.

    1h 28m

  6. Apr 29

    Daddy Issues, Anyone?

    Do you have a difficult relationship with a parent? In this deeply personal episode of The Shift, I share my journey with my father—how his struggles with mental health and multiple suicide attempts shaped my life. I realized that a lot of my acting out through sex, substances, and risk was a way to cope with a pain I couldn’t fully name at the time. But this episode isn’t just about me; it’s about you, too. I invite you to reflect on whether you’re holding on to resentment toward a parent and how that weight might be affecting your career, relationships, and sense of freedom. I share what I’ve learned: recovery is not about recovering a father or a mother, but about recovering yourself. Join me as we take small steps toward letting go, forgiving, and choosing a freer life on your own terms. I want to be clear: this episode is not about blaming my father. He was, and still is, dealing with his own pain, his own struggles, and I believe he’s always been doing his best. This episode is about acknowledging what was hard and working my way through it. It’s about choosing, one day at a time, to let go of resentment, so I can be free.

    44 min

  7. Apr 22

    Forgiveness Isn’t Soft. It’s Freedom.

    In this deeply moving episode, I sit down with my dear friend Hal Strickland, a grateful 67-year-old from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, whose gratitude and spiritual wisdom have helped shaped my life. Hal, a profoundly optimistic man, shares his insights on forgiveness, faith, and the transformative power of letting go of resentment. There’s no single topic here—just a heartfelt conversation that will leave you reflecting on your own life and what it means to forgive, love, and be truly present.

    1h 49m

  8. Apr 15

    DMX To Chopin - It’s Time To Get Quiet

    In this episode, I talk about a time when I used to watch porn regularly as a way to check out. Then something changed. Right after finishing, I had to turn it off right away. Then I saw a guy on Instagram who had meditated for 83 days straight, and something about that inspired me. I never thought about meditation before, but suddenly I was doing it. As I practiced, I noticed how often I got physically itchy and wanted to scratch. That made me realize that watching porn was simply a desire to “scratch an itch” (avoid discomfort). Meditation began teaching me how to sit with the discomfort, that it wouldn’t kill me. Then a wave of change started. I wanted to hike, do yoga, even listen to classical music! I needed new outer experiences to match the inner calm I was cultivating. Each small step led me to another shift and a whole new way of living. Face it. Shift. Grow. Repeat.

    22 min

  9. Apr 8

    She's A Thirsty Girl...But Thirsty For What?

    What are you really thirsty for? In this episode, I sat down with Alex Qin, writer and director of “Thirsty Girl”, a film about a female sex addict.  Alex was haunted by her own childhood. She was scared of her mom and yearned for her dad. So, as a child, she dreamed about other men coming to save her.  But once she started drinking, she got the courage to start turning these fantasies into reality. Man after man, sexual encounter after sexual encounter, she searched for love but never got what she was really looking for. She kept searching - more men, more sex, she spiraled deeper into addiction… until she hit her bottom. It was at that point that she decided to enter recovery and face it all head-on.  In this vulnerable conversation, Alex takes us from the brink of self-destruction through her journey of getting sober - her slips along the way, and what it took to find lasting sobriety.  As she brings her film, ‘Thirsty Girl,’ to life, we witness a woman who dared to face the hole she was trying to fill and came out WAY stronger.

    1h 7m

  10. Apr 1

    Whose Limits Are You Living?

    In this episode, I ask you a vital question: whose limits are you living by? I share a moment in a spin class when I pushed past what I thought was my max—and it made me question every limit I’d ever set. I reflect on growing up with ADHD, feeling othered, and molding a persona for external validation.  Now, seven years sober, I’m unlearning those patterns—and I invite you to do the same. It’s not just about breaking old habits; it’s about surrounding yourself with safe, supportive people who are a part of the fertile soil you need to grow into the truest version of yourself.

    18 min

  11. Mar 25

    Facing What Fuels the Addiction

    In this first episode of The Shift, we confront the brutal truth: our addiction isn’t the real problem—it’s the fear we refuse to face. You’re not simply battling a habit; you’re running from your fears. And when that escape turns painful, you have a choice: keep running or face it all head-on. You can stop the cycle by entering into a relationship with yourself in a whole new way—and finally become the person you were always meant to be. Together we… Face it. Shift. Grow. Repeat.

    29 min
  • 11 Episodes

4.8
out of 5
9 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