Addiction doesn’t always look reckless. Sometimes it looks rational.
Fast relief. Low cost. Immediate results.

What rarely gets talked about is what happens over time — the dependence, the identity loss, and the long road back to clarity.

In this republished conversation, I sit down with D.E. Foster of Uneven Life to unpack the realities most people never hear about. We get honest about benzo dependence and withdrawal, why intelligent people fall into addiction, and why denial can quietly steal years — even decades — from someone’s life.

This episode isn’t about fear-mongering or labels. It’s about truth, awareness, and what it actually takes to rebuild when the thing that once “worked” starts taking everything.

We cover:

• Why addiction often makes sense at first — especially for smart people
• The overlooked reality of benzo dependence and withdrawal
• Whether benzo withdrawal is worse than opiates
• How addiction slowly erodes identity
• Why honesty is the real turning point toward freedom

If you or someone you love is navigating anxiety meds, dependence, or the aftermath of withdrawal, this conversation offers clarity, validation, and hope.

Learn more about D.E. Foster’s work here:
👉 https://www.unevenlife.com

From white-knuckling life to walking with purpose, from silent struggle to true masculine leadership—this conversation is about calling men forward 🧭🔥

On The Next Fix, I sit down with Mike Van Pelt to unpack a real comeback story—one many men are living quietly.

Mike opens up about losing his sense of purpose as a stay-at-home dad, and how effort, discipline, and “doing the right things” weren’t enough. The real shift came through intimacy with God, brotherhood with other men, and the humility to ask for help.

This episode dives into:
• why willpower alone keeps men stuck
• how buried childhood wounds resurface later in life
• the role of faith in reclaiming identity
• the power of male community and mentorship
• family dynamics and the weight of leadership
• breaking cycles and building a legacy
• the True Man philosophy for modern masculinity

If you’ve been grinding but not growing…
If you feel called to lead but don’t know where to start…
If you’re ready to stop surviving and start becoming—

🎧 This conversation will meet you where you are.

Learn more about Mike and his work:
https://www.truemanlifecoaching.com/

Explore more episodes, coaching, and resources:
https://www.ryanpenley.org/

You are the leader of your family.
You can break the cycle.
Your comeback starts now.

Most people think surrender means losing.

Doug Fleener explains why surrender is actually the moment everything starts.

Doug Fleener went from addiction and bankrupting his family business… to rebuilding his life and leading at the highest levels of business. The turning point wasn’t willpower. It wasn’t control.

It was surrender.

This conversation digs into the moment denial breaks, why ownership is non-negotiable in recovery, and how one simple question — “What if?” — can turn fear into forward motion.

What if you stop fighting reality?
What if you ask better questions?
What if this moment isn’t the end — but the beginning?

Doug also shares the heart behind his upcoming book, Start With What If, and how small reframes can create immediate momentum in sobriety, life, and leadership.

If you want a daily reminder to ask better questions, Doug sends out his Daily and Weekly What If prompts here:
👉 https://www.dougfleener.com/newsletters

For everything Doug Fleener

👉 https://www.dougfleener.com

For everything from your hose:

👉 https://www.ryanpenley.org

What if everything you’ve been told about health is backwards? ⚠️
What if your symptoms aren’t the problem — but your body’s attempt to save you?

On The Next Fix, Ryan Penley sits down with R.L. Malpica, holistic health educator and creator of the E.A.T. Method, for a grounded conversation on toxicity, terrain theory, and why the body is always fighting to restore balance.

R.L. shares his personal journey through chronic health issues and how learning to listen to his body became the turning point. Together, they unpack how alcohol is one of the most toxic substances we consume, why cooked and processed foods create internal stress, and how the body shifts into survival mode the moment toxicity is introduced.

The conversation challenges conventional nutrition narratives and reinforces a powerful truth: real healing doesn’t happen through extremes or overnight rewiring. Instead, incremental, sustainable changes — rooted in energy efficiency, avoiding acid-forming foods, and reducing toxicity — create lasting results.

This episode reframes wellness, recovery, and personal responsibility, while also previewing R.L.’s upcoming work on detoxing not just from food — but from societal conditioning and belief systems.

If you’re questioning what “healthy” really means, this conversation will challenge you. 🌱

Learn more about R.L. Malpica:
👉 https://www.theeatcoach.com

Learn more about the host, Ryan Penley:
👉 https://www.ryanpenley.org

What if the very circumstance that once tried to destroy you…☠️
is the same force that can build an extraordinary life? 🏆

In this episode, I sit down with Randy Gage — Speaker Hall of Famer, bestselling author, and one of the most provocative voices in mindset and prosperity — to unpack a truth most people miss:

⚡ The tenacity of addiction is not the problem.
⚡ The direction you aim it is.

We talk about why so many people look successful on the outside yet feel empty on the inside…
Why achievement without purpose always leaves you wanting more…
And how the same obsession, drive, and intensity that once fueled self-destruction can be redirected into meaning, contribution, and legacy.

This conversation is about:
✨ Identity shifts
✨ Purpose over appearances
✨ Turning pain into power
✨ Paying it forward instead of numbing out
✨ Building a life that actually feels good to live

If you’ve ever thought, “There has to be more than this” — this episode will meet you right there.

🔗 Connect with Randy Gage
👉 https://www.randygage.com

🔗 Explore more from me / The Next Fix
👉 https://www.ryanpenley.org

Some people enter recovery because life falls apart.
For Jeanne Foot, recovery began long before she ever picked up a substance — in the shadows of trauma, family addiction, and emotional wounds no child should have to carry.

In this powerful conversation, Jeanne shares how losing her sister at a young age, navigating her brother’s addiction and abuse, and facing her own substance use shaped her path. What began as coping eventually became a calling — but she quickly discovered that traditional recovery models weren’t enough. They treated the behavior, not the pain underneath it.

That realization pushed Jeanne toward holistic, trauma-informed, and emotionally grounded methods that changed not just her life, but the lives of those she now serves through The Recovery Concierge. Today, she’s a pioneer in integrative recovery, blending clinical insight with compassion, innovation, and a belief that all behavior has purpose.

Together, we explore the limitations of conventional treatment, the rise of emotional sobriety, and Jeanne’s vision for the future of mental health — one where we train practitioners to address trauma, family dynamics, and whole-person healing.

Inside this episode:
✨ Jeanne’s early trauma and the emotional pain beneath addiction
✨ Why substances became her coping mechanism
✨ The breaking point that launched her into recovery
✨ Where traditional methods fall short — and why trauma often gets ignored
✨ The power of emotional sobriety
✨ Holistic and innovative approaches that foster real change
✨ How family dynamics shape recovery outcomes
✨ Why stigma remains one of our biggest obstacles
✨ Jeanne’s mission to train the next wave of effective recovery practitioners

This episode is more than a story — it’s a guidepost for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of healing, behavioral change, and the future of mental health.

🌐 Learn more about Jeanne and The Recovery Concierge:
https://therecoveryconcierge.com/

🌐 Connect with the host, Ryan Penley

https:/www.ryanpenley.org

Some people enter recovery because life falls apart.
For Jeanne Foot, recovery began long before she ever picked up a substance — in the shadows of trauma, family addiction, and emotional wounds no child should have to carry.

In this powerful conversation, Jeanne shares how losing her sister at a young age, navigating her brother’s addiction and abuse, and facing her own substance use shaped her path. What began as coping eventually became a calling — but she quickly discovered that traditional recovery models weren’t enough. They treated the behavior, not the pain underneath it.

That realization pushed Jeanne toward holistic, trauma-informed, and emotionally grounded methods that changed not just her life, but the lives of those she now serves through The Recovery Concierge. Today, she’s a pioneer in integrative recovery, blending clinical insight with compassion, innovation, and a belief that all behavior has purpose.

Together, we explore the limitations of conventional treatment, the rise of emotional sobriety, and Jeanne’s vision for the future of mental health — one where we train practitioners to address trauma, family dynamics, and whole-person healing.

Inside this episode:
✨ Jeanne’s early trauma and the emotional pain beneath addiction
✨ Why substances became her coping mechanism
✨ The breaking point that launched her into recovery
✨ Where traditional methods fall short — and why trauma often gets ignored
✨ The power of emotional sobriety
✨ Holistic and innovative approaches that foster real change
✨ How family dynamics shape recovery outcomes
✨ Why stigma remains one of our biggest obstacles
✨ Jeanne’s mission to train the next wave of effective recovery practitioners

This episode is more than a story — it’s a guidepost for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of healing, behavioral change, and the future of mental health.

🌐 Learn more about Jeanne and The Recovery Concierge:
https://therecoveryconcierge.com/

🌐 Connect with the host, Ryan Penley

https:/www.ryanpenley.org

Was it rape or prostitution? That’s the question at the center of Jossette Pelatan’s origin story — a brutal beginning no child should inherit. And yet somehow, from circumstances that bleak, she’s manifesting a life that feels larger than anything she was ever “supposed” to become.

In this episode, Jossette opens up about being born into generational trauma, surviving homelessness, and navigating mental-health battles that still follow her today. Despite having no stable place to live right now, she’s writing multiple books 📚, building a film project 🎬, and moving through life with a level of faith that borders on supernatural.

She shouldn’t be this hopeful.
She shouldn’t be this driven.
But she is — and that’s what makes her story impossible to ignore.

Inside this episode, we explore:
✨ What it means to inherit trauma at birth
✨ Surviving homelessness as a teen — and again as an adult
✨ The ongoing battle with mental health and identity
✨ “Delusional belief” and manifestation as survival tools
✨ Her ascent from GED to PhD
✨ The creative fire guiding her future
✨ How community support can reroute a destiny

Jossette’s resilience doesn’t just inspire — it instructs.
Her life is proof that where you start has nothing to do with where you’re capable of going.

Connect with Jossette:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/josette-pelatan-651a98261/
Her Book: https://a.co/d/f80SIfj