How A Mental Reset Can Lead To Inner PeaceHow A Mental Reset Can Lead To Inner Peace
I Love Being Sober
Ryan O’Connor shares how he went from suicidal thoughts in a toxic industry to prioritising his mental health, vulnerability and real connection. The conversation highlights treatment, men’s emotional openness and simple daily tools that help him maintain inner peace.
1:05:49•28 Apr 2026
How Ryan O’Connor Hit Reset on His Mind and Learned to Be Vulnerable
Episode Overview
- Talking openly about dark thoughts and feelings is crucial; bottling everything up leads to emotional “self-implosion”.
- Looking for similarities rather than differences in treatment groups can unlock powerful support, even from people with very different histories.
- Putting mental health first means learning to say no, set boundaries, and step away from social media or others’ problems on bad days.
- Simple daily practices like asking yourself out loud how you feel and using an emotion wheel can build self-awareness and stability.
- Having at least one trusted person or men’s group to be fully honest with can make tough days manageable and keep isolation at bay.
“Sitting alone in your own room with nobody to talk to, I think that just fucks you up even more.”
What emotional and inspiring tales of recovery are out there? This live episode of **I Love Being Sober** drops you right into a candid room at Camelback Recovery, where entrepreneur and content creator **Ryan O’Connor** shares how a complete mental reset pulled him back from the edge. On paper, Ryan looked like he was winning – successful career in the porn industry, big nights out, even awards and a popular show.
Inside, he was writing suicide notes and eyeing concrete walls to crash his car into. He talks plainly about that split: “Everyone saw me as happy-go-lucky… I kept a very good poker face.” You’ll hear how hitting an emotional breaking point led him to drive 32 hours to treatment in Arizona, asking staff to “break me and shatter me into a billion pieces” so he could rebuild.
The conversation, guided by host **Tim Westbrook**, is raw but practical: Ryan explains how learning vulnerability in group sessions, sharing his story, and hearing others’ experiences (even from people with very different issues, like heroin addiction) became his turning point. There’s plenty here for anyone juggling mental health, sobriety, or high-pressure lives in a social media age.
Ryan now puts his mental health first, sets boundaries (“If I’m not in a good headspace, I just can’t go on the internet”), and checks in with himself each morning using an emotion wheel: “Ryan, how are you feeling? And I have to explain why.” He also shows how real connection beats isolation, from men’s groups and honest chats with friends to choosing what *not* to share online.
His story doesn’t pretend things are perfect, but it does show that with support, honesty, and a willingness to be seen, life can feel completely different. If you’ve ever worn a happy mask while falling apart inside, this conversation might be the nudge to ask: who could I actually talk to today?
Do you want to link to this podcast?
Get the buttons here!
More From This Show
The latest episodes from the same podcast.
Related Episodes
Similar episodes from other shows in the catalogue.