EFR 907: Why Men Are (Quietly) Giving Up - Modern Masculinity in the US and Promising Mental Health Therapies with Benjamin Forest

In this moving Veterans Day episode of Ever Forward Radio , retired Air Force Lt. Col. Benjamin Forest opens up about his personal battle with depression, grief, and identity loss after 25 years of service — and how psychedelics became a catalyst for healing, love, and authentic living. He and Chase explore the mental-health crisis among veterans, the epidemic of loneliness and suppressed emotion in men, and how plant medicine, breathwork, and community can help reconnect us to meaning and purpose. Forest shares insights from his book Trip of a Lifetime: The Psychedelic Guide to Healing, Loving & Living , explaining that true recovery requires vulnerability, relational healing, and learning to open the heart — whether through psychedelics or other integrative practices. Follow Ben @benjamin.forest.bliss Follow Chase @chase_chewning ----- 00:00 – Introduction & U.S. mental-health statistics 02:22 – A cultural depression: loneliness, disconnection & anxiety 04:29 – Playing a role vs. discovering the authentic self 07:07 – The military, identity, and emotional suppression 10:30 – Masculinity, vulnerability, and the loneliness epidemic 13:00 – Grief, alcohol, and the cost of unprocessed emotion 15:30 – Healthy masculinity and belonging after service 18:00 – The biology of belonging & the need for community 20:10 – Losing identity and brotherhood after leaving the military 23:10 – Lessons learned from 25 years in uniform 24:30 – Healing, loving, and living: wounds and relational repair 27:30 – Learning to love well and open the heart 28:45 – Doing life "right" and rediscovering joy 31:00 – Psychedelics as heart-openers & catalysts for healing 34:30 – Veterans leading the way for psychedelic legalization 38:40 – Alternatives to psychedelics: breathwork & somatic therapy 44:00 – Integration: applying lessons after the trip 46:50 – The danger of ego, money, and misuse in plant-medicine circles 49:50 – Writing Trip of a Lifetime and lessons learned 54:30 – Advice to young service members: asking for help is strength 56:16 – What "Ever Forward" means to Benjamin Forest ----- Episode resources: Watch and subscribe on YouTube Lea rn more about Benjamin