When Brian Pennie was just a few weeks old, a medical condition nearly killed him, and the surgery the doctors performed to save his life was done without anesthesia, a common practice for young infants at the time (based on the faulty belief that infants couldn’t feel pain). Though Brian doesn’t consciously remember the surgery, his body remembered, and this early childhood trauma would define how he approached the world for the next several decades of his life.
From this experience, he learned that the world was a painful, dangerous place, and he developed anxiety at a very young age. When he was a teenager, he finally found an anesthetic to numb the pain from so many years ago: heroin. He spent 15 years addicted to the drug until he found himself in the hospital, unemployed and worried he was brain dead, and he finally let go and surrendered.
That moment of surrender led to an awakening in his life where he was able to connect with something bigger and experience the beauty in the world after years of numbness. He began studying meditation, neuroscience and the ways our thoughts, beliefs and self-talk shape our reality, and he was able to heal addiction at the source by healing the trauma and anxiety that he had been trying to escape.
In this incredible episode, Brian tells his powerful story of addiction and healing and then breaks down the science behind how he healed and how all of us can use meditation, breathwork, positive self-talk and inner child work (hello, Adult Chair® tools!) to rewire our brains – whether we’re struggling with addiction, depression, anxiety, trauma or low self-worth.
Listen to discover:
- Brian's story of medical trauma, addiction and how he got clean
- How stopping negative self-talk transformed his path in life
- The science of stress and fear and how the breath can help us control this
- What self-talk is and how we can use it in an empowering way
- How to challenge your beliefs and how this changes your internal dialogue
- The link between self-talk and emotions
- Action steps to break the cycle of negative self-talk
- Little ways to start breaking out of depression
- The key to getting over addiction issues
Brian shares his story with so much vulnerability and authenticity, and he truly embodies The Adult Chair life. This episode will move you, inspire you and show you how we can change the story we’re living by changing the story we’re telling ourselves.
“I don’t remember the operation, but my body remembers.” - Brian Pennie
“I never had the general anesthetic as an infant, but when I was 17, I had done heroin for the first time, and I found my anesthetic.” - Brian Pennie
“The narrative of my life was ‘I cannot cope with anxiety. I need drugs to survive’…I wanted to escape me." - Brian Pennie
"That was the moment when I put up the white flag, and in order to move forward, I had to fall down...I surrendered, and I believe that was the start of all the changes in my life." - Brian Pennie
“I couldn’t see the thinker because the thinker was me.” - Brian Pennie
"Awareness is the catalyst for change." - Brian Pennie
"By changing your beliefs, you change your internal dialogue, you change your self-talk. By changing your self-talk, you change how you feel, you change the consequences of your actions and ultimately change your life." - Brian Pennie
"Watch that absolute thinking that says we ‘never ever.’ It keeps us stuck. It keeps us limited." - Michelle Chalfant
"The more I worked with my internal state and my emotions, things started to change." - Michelle Chalfant
"We do a lot of inner child work with The Adult Chair. It's powerful, powerful work." - Michelle Chalfant
LINKS & RESOURCES
Brian Pennie Website
https://www.brianpennie.com
"Bonus Time" (Brian Pennie book)
https://www.amazon.com/Bonus-Time-surviving-discovering-everyday/dp/0717186350
Free Inner Child Course
https://theadultchair.com/innerchild
Share Your Love: Review The Adult Chair® Podcast
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-adult-chair/id941317634?mt=2&ign-mpt=uo%3D4
MORE ADULT CHAIR
The Adult Chair® Website
https://theadultchair.com
The Adult Chair® Membership
https://theadultchair.com/membership/
The Adult Chair® Events
https://theadultchair.com/events/
The Adult Chair® Coaching Certification
https://theadultchair.com/certification
STAY CONNECTED
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michelle.chalfant
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheMichelleChalfantCo/
The Adult Chair® Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/theadultchair/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/Michellechalfant
