Change is Possible

You weren’t born believing you weren’t enough. Somewhere along the way, you learned it.

In this bite-sized episode, award-winning life coach Tara Rafter explains how childhood experiences, rejection and seemingly small moments can shape the beliefs you carry into adulthood.

We explore where limiting beliefs come from, why success alone rarely fixes self-doubt, and how to challenge the internal story that keeps holding you back. Tara also unpacks the idea that “someone else held the needle,” the difference between confidence and self-delusion, and why real self-belief must be built on evidence.

You may not have chosen the beliefs you were given, but you can choose whether you continue living by them.

Watch/listen to the full episode here.

What happens when the one thing that gave you identity, purpose and self-worth suddenly disappears?

Brian sits down with former European champion, Olympian and broadcaster David Gillick for an honest conversation about life after elite sport, panic attacks, male mental health and learning to ask for help.

When David retired, he lost far more than competition. His routine, teammates, income and sense of self were suddenly gone. Winning Celebrity MasterChef created the appearance of a successful new beginning, but privately he was struggling with anger, isolation and the question: “Who am I now?”

David shares how Sunday panic attacks finally forced him to seek support, why it took time to find the right counsellor and what Hell Week later revealed about his self-worth.

They also explore how David learned to love running again and why his own setbacks now help him meet athletes with empathy during the most vulnerable moments of their careers.

This is a conversation about losing the person you thought you had to be, finding the courage to ask for help and building an identity beyond achievement.

Click here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and subscribe for more conversations on transformation, recovery, resilience, and human potential.

Connect with David on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠
Check out David's book: The Race

Connect with Brian
⬛ Get ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠FREE access to Brian’s online courses⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
⬛ Buy Brian’s memoir, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Bonus Time⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
⬛ Follow Brian on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
⬛ Follow Brian on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Sponsors: Founded by the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Fabulous Pharmacist, Laura Dowling⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, I'm delighted to partner with ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Fabuwellness⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, a company dedicated to empowering your health with science-led, nature-inspired supplements.

We're also delighted to continue our partnership with ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Kyne Foundation⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, with whom I'm closely collaborating on a special project that aligns with our joint mission to nurture youth well-being in Ireland.

Chapters
00:00 Introduction
00:35 Losing the identity that elite sport provided
07:20 Grieving a career and becoming trapped in the past
13:10 Injury, retirement and letting go of the Olympic dream
17:10 How MasterChef temporarily filled the void
24:10 Panic attacks and the moment David knew he needed help
28:30 Counselling, acceptance and finding the right support
33:00 Bringing empathy to athletes’ most vulnerable moments
39:15 Redefining success beyond achievement
41:00 Entering Hell Week to test his strength again
48:00 The question “Who are you?” and a lesson in self-worth
54:20 Rediscovering running, peace and purpose
1:05:50 Parenthood, presence and protecting what matters
1:11:30 The Race, gratitude and making peace with the past

Keywords: Identity, life after sport, male mental health, panic attacks, anxiety, counselling, vulnerability, self-worth, career transition, grief, high performance, parenthood, presence, resilience and personal growth

Why are so many young men being pulled toward the manosphere?

Daragh Fleming explores the loneliness, shame and disconnection behind it, and why men need better spaces to speak honestly about who they are and what they are carrying.

A powerful clip from the Change is Possible podcast with Dr Brian Pennie and Daragh Fleming.

What happens when the pain you buried years ago starts speaking through your body, your anxiety, your depression, and your life?

Brian sits down with Nicoline Walsh for an honest conversation about trauma, depression, energy healing, self-connection, Reiki, inner safety and the parts of ourselves we often leave behind.

Nicoline shares how childhood sexual abuse, hidden pain and high-functioning depression shaped her life, even while she was succeeding in the corporate world and raising a family. She also speaks about the heartbreaking experience of supporting her daughter through suicidal thoughts while facing her own mental health struggles.

Together, Brian and Nicoline explore what it means to reconnect with the younger parts of ourselves, how trauma can live in the body, why healing is not always easy to explain, and how practices like therapy, Reiki, body scans, forest bathing and energy work helped Nicoline find her way back to herself.

They also discuss Brian’s own experience of working with Nicoline, the limits of language when talking about healing, the tension between science and mystery, and why self-connection, self-soothing and safety are at the heart of real transformation.

This is a conversation about the pain we carry, the body’s quiet wisdom, and the courage it takes to finally listen.

Click here⁠⁠⁠⁠ and subscribe for more conversations on transformation, recovery, resilience, and human potential.

Connect with Nicoline and her work with eling Forest on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠

Connect with Brian
⬛ Get ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠FREE access to Brian’s online courses⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
⬛ Buy Brian’s memoir, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Bonus Time⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
⬛ Follow Brian on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
⬛ Follow Brian on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Sponsors: Founded by the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Fabulous Pharmacist, Laura Dowling⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, I'm delighted to partner with ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Fabuwellness⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, a company dedicated to empowering your health with science-led, nature-inspired supplements.

We're also delighted to continue our partnership with ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Kyne Foundation⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, with whom I'm closely collaborating on a special project that aligns with our joint mission to nurture youth well-being in Ireland.

Chapters

00:00 Intro
00:30 Holding pain as both mother and daughter
05:00 Childhood trauma and the roots of depression
09:00 Moving from corporate life into healing
13:30 Understanding Reiki and energy work
19:00 Brian’s experience of trauma held in the body
24:30 How memories can carry emotion and belief
33:30 Exploring evidence, scepticism and lived experience
43:30 Why some healing is hard to put into words
50:30 Reconnecting with younger parts of ourselves
57:30 Body scans, self-soothing and feeling safe
1:03:00 Stories of transformation and release
1:11:00 Nicoline’s work and where to find her

Keywords:
Nicoline Walsh, Brian Pennie, Change Is Possible podcast, trauma healing, childhood trauma, inner child healing, Reiki healing, energy healing, depression recovery, suicidal thoughts, mental health, body keeps the score, somatic healing, self connection, inner safety, forest bathing, The Healing Forest, healing trauma, emotional healing, trauma and the body, anxiety, high functioning depression, spiritual healing, holistic healing, trauma recovery Ireland

In this bite-sized episode of Change Is Possible, Dr Gabor Maté explores why modern life keeps us chasing more.

More pleasure.
More success.
More distraction.
More consumption.
More escape.

But beneath that constant striving is a deeper question:

What pain are we trying not to feel?

Gabor also reflects on addiction, trauma, modern culture, healing, and why the path to change often begins by looking at what we are running from.

The full conversation with Dr Gabor Maté is available now on Change Is Possible.