The Breen Time Podcast

What if fear isn't the enemy?In this episode, Sabrina sits down with Michael Hingson, a 9/11 survivor who escaped the World Trade Center with his guide dog Roselle, guiding 30 colleagues down 78 floors as the tower came down around them. Blind since birth, Michael went on to write the number one bestseller Thunder Dog, and now works as a keynote speaker and Chief Vision Officer at accessiBe, where he campaigns for web accessibility and disability inclusion.Michael and Sabrina explore why fear, properly understood, can sharpen focus rather than shut you down, and how trust and preparation are what actually produce courage on the day it's needed. Along the way, Michael draws on eight guide dog partnerships for what they teach about resilience, leadership, and moving through uncertainty.In this episode, you'll hear:Why fear isn't the enemy - and how it can sharpen focus instead of paralysing you.Michael's account of escaping the World Trade Center with Roselle, and what those 78 floors taught him.How trust and preparation, not bravado, are what create courage in a crisis.What guide dogs reveal about resilience, leadership, and navigating what you can't see coming.How to stay calm when everything around you is chaos.What it takes to turn adversity into purpose rather than let it define you.If fear has been running the show for you lately, this conversation offers a different way to hold it.Breen Time is hosted by Sabrina Brown - life coach and management consultant.New episodes every Monday - listen now wherever you get your podcasts.Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebreentimepodcast/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/breentime/Website: https://shows.acast.com/the-breentime-podcastBrum Radio: https://www.instagram.com/brumradio/Find out more about this week's guest:https://michaelhingson.comIf this episode raised something for you, support is available:Counselling Directory: https://www.counselling-directory.org.ukSamaritans: https://www.samaritans.orgMind: https://www.mind.org.ukNHS Mental Health & Talking Therapies: https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/talking-therapies-medicine-treatments/talking-therapies-and-counselling/nhs-talking-therapies/

What if creativity isn't about talent, but about courage?This week Breen is joined by author and book coach Liisa Kovala to explore the Finnish concept of sisu: resilience, strength and determination in the face of adversity. Liisa's whole mission is helping women find their sisu through reading and writing, and this conversation goes straight to the heart of why so many of us shut that creative voice down in the first place.Together they look at how storytelling helps us process identity and hardship, what fear and self-doubt actually sound like when they show up on the page, and why reclaiming creativity so often turns out to be part of reclaiming ourselves.From historical fiction and memoir to coaching women through the stories they've been carrying for years, this is a powerful reminder that your story matters, and that telling it can change you.In this episode:What sisu really means, and why it's more than just "grit"Why creativity is a matter of courage rather than talentThe reasons people silence their creative voice, and what it costs themHow storytelling helps us make sense of identity, family history and hardshipWorking through fear, self-doubt and the fear of being seenPractical encouragement for anyone sitting on a story they haven't told yetAbout Liisa KovalaLiisa Kovala is an award-winning author, educator and book coach certified by Author Accelerator. Her Finnish heritage runs through her work, and her books include Surviving Stutthof, Sisu's Winter War and Like Water for Weary Souls, alongside her Nordic cozy mystery series written as A.L. Jensen. She coaches writers of women's stories across historical fiction, women's fiction, memoir and young adult, and runs the Women Writing newsletter, podcast and weekly writing circle.Find Liisa: https://www.liisakovalabookcoach.comBreen Time is hosted by Sabrina Brown - life coach and management consultant.New episodes every Monday - listen now wherever you get your podcasts.Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebreentimepodcast/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/breentime/Website: https://shows.acast.com/the-breentime-podcast Brum Radio: https://www.instagram.com/brumradio/If this episode raised something for you, support is available: Counselling Directory: https://www.counselling-directory.org.uk Samaritans: https://www.samaritans.org Mind: https://www.mind.org.uk NHS Mental Health & Talking Therapies: https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/talking-therapies-medicine-treatments/talking-therapies-and-counselling/nhs-talking-therapies/

Why do so many people struggle to feel worthy - even when they've achieved success, found relationships, or done "everything right"?In this episode, we explore where feelings of unworthiness begin, how toxic relationships reinforce them, and why the relationship you have with yourself shapes every other connection in your life. We discuss validation, self-abandonment, boundaries, and the slow rebuilding of self-respect after emotional pain.If you've ever questioned your value, tolerated less than you deserved, or struggled to feel "enough," this conversation will help you understand why - and what it takes to change it.In this episode, you'll hear:Where feelings of unworthiness usually begin, and why achievement so rarely settles themHow toxic relationships reinforce the belief that you aren't enoughWhat self-abandonment looks like in everyday choices, not just the big onesWhy looking to other people for validation keeps the pattern runningThe part boundaries play in rebuilding self-respect after emotional painWhy the relationship you have with yourself sets the tone for every other oneIf you've done everything "right" and still feel like you're falling short, this conversation is a good place to start.Breen Time is hosted by Sabrina Brown - life coach and management consultant.New episodes every Monday - listen now wherever you get your podcasts.More from our guest, Heather Melville:Heather's website, Healthy Relationships: https://www.healthyrelationships.infoFollow Breen Time:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebreentimepodcast/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/breentime/Website: https://shows.acast.com/the-breentime-podcastBrum Radio: https://www.instagram.com/brumradio/If this episode raised something for you, support is available:Counselling Directory: https://www.counselling-directory.org.ukSamaritans: https://www.samaritans.orgMind: https://www.mind.org.ukNHS Mental Health & Talking Therapies: https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/talking-therapies-medicine-treatments/talking-therapies-and-counselling/nhs-talking-therapies/

In this week’s episode of Breen Time, Sabrina is joined by special guest Eric Fisher for an honest conversation about what addiction really is — and what it actually takes to break free.Recovery isn’t a moment.It isn’t the decision you make on a bad night, or the promise you make to yourself on a Monday morning.It’s a discipline — practised daily, often quietly, long after everyone else has stopped watching.Addiction rarely arrives on its own. It grows out of trauma, avoidance, and patterns that once helped you cope and now quietly run your life. Understanding how those patterns take hold is the first step towards loosening their grip.Drawing on more than 15 years of clinical experience across inpatient and outpatient settings, Eric brings a grounded, practical perspective to healing — one built on responsibility, structure, and evidence-based approaches including ART and EMDR.You’ll hear reflections on:What addiction really is beneath the behaviour — and why willpower alone doesn’t touch itHow trauma and destructive patterns take hold, and why they feel so hard to interruptWhy recovery is better understood as self-mastery than as a single decisionWhat ART and EMDR offer people working through traumaThe role of responsibility and structure in long-term changeHow to build the internal strength that sustains mental wellness over years, not weeksThis episode isn’t about quick fixes or dramatic turning points.It’s about the steady, unglamorous work that actually holds.If you’ve struggled to break a pattern you understand perfectly well, watched someone you love caught in one, or wondered what real recovery looks like beyond the slogans, this conversation offers a clear and compassionate way in.Breen Time is a weekly wellbeing podcast from Brum Radio, hosted by life coach and management consultant Sabrina Brown. New episodes every Monday.Follow Breen Time:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebreentimepodcast/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/breentime/Website: https://shows.acast.com/the-breentime-podcastBrum Radio: https://www.instagram.com/brumradio/If this episode raised something for you, support is available:Counselling Directory: https://www.counselling-directory.org.ukSamaritans: https://www.samaritans.orgMind: https://www.mind.org.ukNHS Mental Health & Talking Therapies: https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/talking-therapies-medicine-treatments/talking-therapies-and-counselling/nhs-talking-therapies/

In this episode, we take a hard look at the self-help industry and challenge the idea that more information always leads to a better life. While self-help can offer valuable insights, it often creates the illusion of progress, fuels constant self-criticism, and distracts from the real work that actually drives change.We break down where people go wrong - overconsumption, overcomplication, and comparison - and explain why action, not knowledge, is what truly moves the needle. If you've ever felt stuck despite reading all the right books, this episode will give you a more grounded, practical way to approach self-improvement.In this episode, you'll hear:Why consuming more advice can feel like progress while nothing in your life actually shiftsThe three traps that keep people stuck: overconsumption, overcomplication and comparisonHow self-improvement quietly turns into another reason to criticise yourselfWhy knowledge isn't the thing standing between you and change - action isWhat to do first when you already know what to do and still aren't doing itHow to tell the difference between genuinely preparing and simply avoidingIf you've read all the right books and still feel stuck, this one is for you.Breen Time is hosted by Sabrina Brown - life coach and management consultant.New episodes every Monday - listen now wherever you get your podcasts.Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebreentimepodcast/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/breentime/ Website: https://shows.acast.com/the-breentime-podcast Brum Radio: https://www.instagram.com/brumradio/If this episode raised something for you, support is available: Counselling Directory: https://www.counselling-directory.org.uk Samaritans: https://www.samaritans.org Mind: https://www.mind.org.uk NHS Mental Health & Talking Therapies: https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/talking-therapies-medicine-treatments/talking-therapies-and-counselling/nhs-talking-therapies/

Stop Managing Your EmotionsWhat if the problem isn't your emotions - but how you've been taught to deal with them?In this episode, we sit down with Cedric Bertelli, co-developer of Emotional Resolution® (EmRes®), to challenge the idea that you need to manage, control, or cope with difficult feelings. Instead, we explore how emotional triggers like anxiety, anger, and shame can be resolved at their root - through the body, not the mind.We break down why traditional approaches often keep people stuck, how the nervous system actually processes emotion, and what changes when you restore a genuine sense of internal safety.If you're tired of managing the same emotional patterns, this episode offers a different way forward.In this episode, you'll hear:Why "managing" or "coping" with emotions can actually keep you stuck in themWhat Emotional Resolution® (EmRes®) is, and how it differs from traditional talk-based approachesHow anxiety, anger and shame can be resolved at their root—through the body, not the mindWhy the nervous system, not the thinking mind, holds the key to processing emotionWhat "internal safety" really means, and why restoring it changes how you respond to triggersHow to tell the difference between managing an emotional pattern and actually resolving itIf you're exhausted from managing the same emotional triggers on repeat, this episode shows you a different way through.Breen Time is hosted by Sabrina Brown - life coach and management consultant.New episodes every Monday - listen now wherever you get your podcasts.More on Cedric Bertelli & EmRes:Emotional Health Institute: https://www.emotionalhealthinstitute.orgCedric Bertelli: https://www.cedricbertelli.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebreentimepodcast/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/breentime/Website: https://shows.acast.com/the-breentime-podcastBrum Radio: https://www.instagram.com/brumradio/If this episode raised something for you, support is available:Counselling Directory: https://www.counselling-directory.org.ukSamaritans: https://www.samaritans.orgMind: https://www.mind.org.ukNHS Mental Health & Talking Therapies: https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/talking-therapies-medicine-treatments/talking-therapies-and-counselling/nhs-talking-therapies/

Crying is something most people avoid - but it serves a real purpose.In this episode, we explore why we're conditioned to hold tears back and what happens when we do. Suppressing emotion doesn't remove it - it builds pressure that shows up in other ways.We also look at what crying actually does: releasing stress, regulating your body, and bringing clarity once the moment passes.This isn't about being emotional for the sake of it. It's about understanding that tears are part of how you process and reset - so you can move forward properly, not carry it with you.In this episode, you'll hear:Why we're taught to hold tears back from an early ageWhat actually happens in your body when you suppress emotion instead of releasing itHow crying helps regulate your nervous system, not just your moodWhy clarity so often follows a good cryThe difference between being "emotional" and processing emotion properlyHow letting tears do their job helps you move forward instead of carrying it with youIf you've ever held back tears because it felt like the wrong time or place, this episode makes the case for letting them do what they're there to do.Breen Time is hosted by Sabrina Brown - life coach and management consultant.New episodes every Monday - listen now wherever you get your podcasts.Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebreentimepodcast/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/breentime/Website: https://shows.acast.com/the-breentime-podcastBrum Radio: https://www.instagram.com/brumradio/If this episode raised something for you, support is available:Counselling Directory: https://www.counselling-directory.org.ukSamaritans: https://www.samaritans.orgMind: https://www.mind.org.ukNHS Mental Health & Talking Therapies: https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/talking-therapies-medicine-treatments/talking-therapies-and-counselling/nhs-talking-therapies/

Our environment isn't neutral - it's shaping how you think, feel, and function every day.In this episode, Sabrina sits down with Tina O'Keeffe, a professional organiser, to explore how clutter, disorganisation, and chaotic spaces often reflect deeper stress or unresolved experiences - and how reclaiming your space can help you regain control of your life. Tina shares how creating order at home becomes a practical tool for emotional recovery, clarity, and stability.This isn't about perfect homes or aesthetics. It's about building a space that supports you - mentally, emotionally, and practically.In this episode, you'll hear:Why your environment isn't neutral - and how it's quietly shaping your stress, mood, and focus.How clutter and disorganisation often reflect deeper stress or unresolved experiences, not laziness.Why reclaiming your physical space can help you regain a sense of control over your life.How professional organising works as a practical tool for emotional recovery, not just aesthetics.Why this isn't about perfect, Instagram-ready homes - it's about spaces that actually support you.Where to start if your environment feels overwhelming right now.If your environment feels overwhelming, this conversation will show you where to start.Breen Time is hosted by Sabrina Brown - life coach and management consultant.New episodes every Monday - listen now wherever you get your podcasts.Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebreentimepodcast/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/breentime/ Website: https://shows.acast.com/the-breentime-podcast Brum Radio: https://www.instagram.com/brumradio/Find out more about this week's guest: https://www.napo.net https://www.stowandbehold.comIf this episode raised something for you, support is available: Counselling Directory: https://www.counselling-directory.org.uk Samaritans: https://www.samaritans.org Mind: https://www.mind.org.uk NHS Mental Health & Talking Therapies: https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/talking-therapies-medicine-treatments/talking-therapies-and-counselling/nhs-talking-therapies/