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Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
After Brian Pinney appeared at My Life Showed March, I was inundated with messages from people begging me to get him on the podcast because they had been completely blown away by both him and his story. So this week he's finally here.
In this powerful conversation, Brian opens up about drug addiction, trauma, hitting rock bottom and the long road back from a life that was completely falling apart. From dabbling in heroin during his leave insert to becoming Dr. Brian Pinney, neuroscientist and author, his story is honestly hard to believe at times.
He speaks about being 15,000 euros in debt, falling asleep at work because his body was shutting down, suffering a violent seizure during detox and reaching the point where he simply said, I can't do this anymore. But this episode is not just about addiction. It's about resilience, healing, connection, and proving that no matter how broken someone feels, there is always a way back.
If this story resonates with you, please leave a comment and hit that subscribe button. It genuinely really helps. And as always, this episode is proudly sponsored by ADHD Now, the online clinic transforming ADHD assessment and care across Ireland. If you are seeking an ADHD assessment or support, visit adhdnow.com today. This is The Comeback with Dr. Brian Pinney.
Brian, it is a delight to meet you again in person. We met back in March.
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Chapter 2: What traumatic experiences shaped Dr. Brian Pennie's early life?
You were at my live show at St. Luke's in Cork and you blew the audience away.
It was an incredible event. It really was, Brenda. And the scene, the environment in the church, it was absolutely amazing. It really was.
You were the last guest on the night and I was like, he's going to blow them all away. And you kind of did your own TED Talk style.
Yeah, it was because we discussed a few options. We were only going to do a panel discussion at one stage. And it was around the connection piece, wasn't it? Human connection. It's something I'm so passionate about at the moment. And the more I lean into it, the more I realise how important it is.
So important. We will get to that later on. Definitely want to have a chat about that. But Brian, for people who don't know you, as I start every podcast, can you tell me where you grew up and what it was like?
I grew up in a lot of places, Brenda. I came from, born in Finglas, moved to Canada, got deported from Canada as a five-year-old kid with my family. There's a story in that as well. I didn't know this. Yeah, we ended up getting deported. We sold our house in Finglas. My dad lost all of the money before my mum came over.
We got a police escort, deported back to the Ballymun Flats in Dublin, then moved to Blanchardstown. And from seven years of age, I grew up on Blanchardstown. But, I suppose a big part of my journey, there was a lot of trauma, there was a lot of childhood challenges, there was a lot of emotional pain, afraid of my own inner body.
I found drugs in Blanchardstown at a young age and they took me in a direction that was not good.
What age were you?
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Chapter 3: How did Brian's addiction to heroin begin and evolve?
But interestingly enough, I consider myself recovered today. I have no anxieties. Not that I have no anxieties. I have a great relationship with anxiety. I only got a blood test three days ago and there I was looking at it, going into the thing, fascinated by the whole process. So it was purely psychological, you know.
Regarding the addiction to heroin, they say that you're addicted straight away.
So it took me four years to become chronically addicted, everyday use. But I was mentally addicted from the very first day. Now some people will be in so much pain, I suppose, and have different circumstances that they use it, and it feels so good that they will use it every day from there on. But they're probably, it takes you a couple of weeks or months to get physically addicted.
But for us, because we're seeing ourselves as a little bit different than not your typical addict, We'd done it for the first time and it never left me mind. I was obsessed about doing it again, but I couldn't be an addict. I'll do it again in the future. A couple of months later, we'd done it again. Then it became every two weeks, every week.
And there was seven of us doing heroin for the first time. Only two of us got strung out, which is interesting. The two with the greatest emotional challenges got strung out. And we ended up sort of breaking away from the group.
We were within the group, but we'd still go out partying at weekends, but we'd give each other a wink and we'd go home at about 11, we'd get her and we'd go back to his house and smoke her and whatever it was. But it turned into Friday, Saturday, Sunday. Then he says, no, we're party animals. This doesn't fit the narrative of who we are. This doesn't fit our identity as cool people.
So we used to do it on a Monday and a Tuesday and party on the Friday and Saturday. But then it started leaking into Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday. And I remember at the time, I think we knew we were going there, but we didn't really know. We were fooling ourselves, lying to ourselves, we were in denial.
But I remember I started getting sniffles and I was feeling off and I was like, oh my God, I think I'm getting addicted to this stuff. just couldn't stop. We just couldn't stop it. It was bizarre. I said to describe it, it's like a child snatcher. It's like, here's the sweets. Oh, look at the lovely sweets. You taste the sweets. Do you want more sweets? You get into the car. You know the dangers.
But then all of a sudden, you're in the car. The child snatcher's driving off. You're in the back window trying to get out, but you're gone. It got us claws in early and never left me mentally. But it took a while before it had me physiologically.
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