She Was Sober for 16 Years. Then She Lost It All, and at 53 Rebuilt Her Brain From Scratch. Angela Carney on Hypnosis, Addiction and the Subconscious Mind.

Angela Carney got sober in her early thirties and stayed sober for 16 years while building a successful business from nothing. Then her mother died, the pressure mounted, and a "harmless" habit reopened a door she thought was closed for good. What followed was years of cross-addiction, the loss of her business, and a rock-bottom moment at 53 where she sat down and Googled four words: "Can I fix my brain?"

What she found, neuroplasticity, the theta brainwave state, and the power of the subconscious mind, became the foundation of her recovery and her work today as a hypnotherapist helping others beat addiction.

Ryan sits down with Angela for a genuinely fascinating conversation about how the mind actually works.

What we get into:

  • How someone relapses after 16 years sober and what "cross-addiction" really means
  • Why your dopamine system never forgets, and how addiction hijacks the reward pathway
  • The conscious mind is 5% of you your subconscious runs the other 95%
  • Why you can consciously want to stop and still be unable to
  • Neuroplasticity: why your brain can change at any age, not just before 25
  • The theta brainwave state, and how the first 7 years quietly shape your whole life
  • The night Angela felt overwhelming joy in the middle of withdrawal, and what it taught her
  • Why advertising is a form of legal hypnosis, from Pringles to Nike
  • Why the subconscious doesn't hear the word "don't", and how to talk to it instead
  • Self-pity versus self-compassion, "mood hoovers," and training your brain toward the positive
  • Ryan's own visualisation story after his accident, and where it overlaps with Angela's
  • Her message to anyone who's tried to stop ten times and thinks this is just who they are

Ryan Curtis is a former Irish MMA fighter who was paralysed from the neck down and told he would never walk again. Made in Chaos exists to platform guests who've turned adversity into hard-earned wisdom worth sharing.

Follow: @madeinchaospod | @chaoscurtis

If anything in this episode affects you, support is available in Ireland. The HSE Drugs & Alcohol Helpline is free and confidential on 1800 459 459, and Samaritans are available 24/7 on 116 123.

🖊️ Sponsored by The Ink Factory, Temple Bar — Ireland's highest rated tattoo studio. theinkfactory.ie | @theinkfactory

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