S2 E22 Jeff Brenneman

Who this episode is for:

• Anyone who feels like they were an alcoholic before their first drink
• Parents secretly hating the newborn phase
• Therapists who drink alone and pretend it’s fine
• People who nurse a beer until it becomes a personality trait
• Anyone who’s ever made a mess of their life

Episode 22: Therapist, Addict, Jesus-Lover — Jeff Brenneman Uncensored

Strap in, degenerates. This one veers from Bible college to blackout whiskey nights, with a surprise stop for tea with the Taliban.

Chris, Jeff, and Jakob welcome Jeff Brenneman, Clinical Director at Illinois Recovery Center. Once on track to be a preacher, Jeff’s life swerved through addiction, fatherhood breakdowns, and some very questionable DIY detoxing (do not recommend). This dude was an alcoholic before his first drink—and you’ll hear exactly why.

They hit everything: Borderline Personality Disorder, perfectionism, fear of failure, therapy myths, Enneagrams, hiding from your own family, the dangers of being “the smart kid,” and what sobriety really takes.

Also: Jeff’s kid visited Afghanistan. For fun. That’s not a metaphor.

And while the Bible and recovery stuff run deep, there’s still plenty of chaos, Chris’s sex life, shame jokes, and Trader Joe’s tears to go around.

Timestamps include:

• 00:00 — Marco Bertorelli of Bertarelli Cutlery
• 03:17 — Meet Jeff: therapist, ex-drunk, accidental pastor
• 10:29 — Becoming a drunk despite a "perfect" life
• 25:07 — “I was an alcoholic before I took a drink”
• 30:43 — Borderline Personality Disorder gets real
• 41:17 — His son visits Afghanistan... because why not?
• 48:38 — Met wife in third grade. Cute, until the drinking.
• 53:07 — DIY detoxing while mom’s in the guest room
• 56:41 — The fifth of whiskey night
• 58:59 — Half-assing AA doesn't work (duh)
• 1:03:12 — Sponsorship & brutal honesty
• 1:14:15 — God, guilt, and post-bottle faith
• 1:23:01 — Jakob cries in Trader Joe’s
• 1:32:03 — Accountability: the real rehab
• 1:39:07 — Doing the work even when it sucks
• 1:47:11 — Why Jeff stays at IRC

Sponsored by Illinois Recovery Center and Bertarelli Cutlery