RTÉ Media Centre

Episode 3 of 3

RTÉ One, Wednesday, April 16th, 9.35pm

Hooked: How Addiction Hijacks Your Brain is a gripping three-part documentary which dives deep into the science of addiction and how our brains are being hijacked. Whether it’s phones, alcohol, gambling, or hard drugs, addiction, the experts agree, can happen to anyone.

Brian Pennie knows only too well the horrors of addiction, he was a heroin addict for 15 years before miraculously turning his life around. Today Dr. Brian Pennie is a respected Neuroscientist, author and lecturer. In Hooked, Brian tells his remarkable story and lifts the lid on how modern addictions are literally rewiring our brains and asks what can we do to break free?

In this final episode, Brian meets the duo behind the Talking Bollox podcast, Calvin O’Brien and Terence Power. They give insight into the peer pressure that men can feel when it comes to drugs and alcohol, as well as insights from their many conversations about addiction on their hit podcast.

We also meet Terence’s mother Rachel who spent years in addiction. Rachel discusses her perspective of that addiction and how it can pass through generations. Terence talks about the impact Rachel’s addiction had on him as well as his own addiction and recovery, and his repaired relationship with his mother.

Senator Lynn Ruane outlines the impact of addiction on communities where there is greater trauma and deprivation and how drug use can be a survival tool for many which can then turn into a fatal problem.

In Greystones, Brian meets Conor and Brendan, who have both been through treatment at Tiglin, a faith-based addiction treatment centre. Conor gives insight into his alcohol and drug addictions which left him homeless, and how a long treatment programme which focused on training and education helped him get to recovery. Today he makes jewellery and crafts from sea debris, making beautiful things from broken things, an analogy he compares to his own recovery.

Brendan talks about his recovery from gambling addiction, how pervasive gambling is with betting shops in small towns and villages all over Ireland, and how finding joy in life from dancing has given him a whole new lease of life.

Unfortunately, death is a major risk for those living with addiction. Brian goes on a hike with his friend Gar and their families to remember Gar’s brother Jason who died after years of drug addiction. The pain of his loss and the legacy of that on his family and friends is palpable.

Brian puts on a big charity event at the Helix where he tells his life story in front of his parents for the first time but loses his train of thought on stage.

Later, global addiction expert, Dr. Gabor Mate psychoanalyses Brian and delves into the deep-seated trauma that underpinned his long addiction.

In Cambridge we hear about novel treatments for substance addiction, from apps to brain chips and more.

This episodes explores recovery and hope, while acknowledging just how difficult that process of recovery can be.