Living Free

Robert shares his story of developing a gambling habit through underage gambling on poker machines with sports club teammates between training sessions. A country kid with a happy homelife growing up and a talent for sports, he had no family background in gambling or other addictions.  Gambling consolidated in his late teens and by his early twenties Robert realized that he had a gambling problem,...

Rhonda started life in Ontario, Canada, but as a young child moved with her alcoholic father and three siblings, without their mother, to another province, Alberta. Here she grew up with a father whose neglectful behaviour forced Rhonda and her siblings to fend for themselves. Rhonda took refuge in school and benefitted from the care of teachers who noticed her and gave her opportunities. As an ad...

Today on Living Free, our guest is Bill. Bill is an award winning photojournalist. Now retired from professional photography, Bill describes himself as a husband, father, photographer, songwriter, dog-lover, and author who is happily sober. You can hear three of Bill's songs in this episode, including the brand new Prodigal Daughter, based on the true story of a young woman who recovers from drug...

Ben came on the show back in May 2022 when he was around 12 months sober in Alcoholics Anonymous.  https://www.3cr.org.au/livingfree/episode/alcoholics-anonymous-ben-19may2022He’s returned to give us an update after another 2 years in his sobriety and to talk about how he lives now, without alcohol, and how his recovery has impacted his family, work and close relationships. If you would like to fi...

Anthony's parents were a high-conflict couple and his father's behaviour changed when he drank. When his mother delivered Anthony, aged 4, his two siblings and their suitcases to an orphanage, he was suspicious that something wasn't right. His suspicions were confirmed when his mother did not return as promised. Soon foster carers were involved and when Anthony was reunited with his mother he felt...

Dr Patrick Pheasant is an addiction and trauma therapist who incorporates drama and role play into his practice, working with clients to recover from trauma via its manifestation in the mind and body. As well as his private practice, Patrick engages with addiction through his facilitation of two SMART Recovery groups focusing on the additional challenges faced by people in the LGBTIQ+ community. S...

Today’s show covers an interview with Sally Kenyon, the senior lawyer of Homeless Law and Sam Horman, the lead designer of digital tools at Justice Connect.  We are talking about preventing homelessness and how the new self-help tool Home of Your Own can assist renters facing family violence. If you would like to find out more about Justice Connect and the work they do, then go online at:Justice C...

Well, it’s been a big year since our last Radiothon, and this time Mitch could also join us to amp up the volume for this year’s show. Thanks to your generous support, by the end of the show, we had managed to raise $2,095 out of our target of $2,500. If you would like to support Living Free and 3CR then go to https://www.3cr.org.au/donate to see how you can donate. Thanks also to our guests on th...

This week on the Living Free show, Ann reads from the Al-Anon pamphlet A Merry-Go-Round Named Denial which outlines unhelpful ways well-meaning people surrounding alcoholics, including those closest to them, fall into unhelpful roles that contribute to the perpetuation of the illness. The pamphlet is available here https://al-anon.org.au/shop/a-merry-go-round-named-denial/If you would like to cont...

Mitch introduces a roundup of latest news and initiatives relating to Drug and Alcohol issues in Australia and discusses them with Bill. Aus Alcohol Industry is suffering from less consumption than ever. Driving Trials for Medical Marijuana. New data indicates that Australia is projected to generate a staggering $15 billion in online gambling revenue in 2024.The Victorian Statewide Action Plan - a...

Shaun, a Mununjali and Goorenpul man living with his family on Yuggara country, found recovery from addiction through SMART Recovery during a recovery retreat several years ago. It was the first recovery program that had spoken to him, showing the way through the problems of substance abuse that he felt he had been looking for. Realising that although personal substance abuse was the immediate iss...

Rao Morusupalli is a comedian and part time astrophysics fan. He called in from Sydney to discuss what substance and alcohol use is like in Melbourne's standup comedy scene. 

Margie shares her story of beginning a poker machine dependency when her child first went to school. It was a relief from the responsibilities of single parenting and allowed her to forget about life’s pressures. Although it didn’t interfere with her work or life, gambling on the pokies meant that instead of having a comfortable life she was always working longer, just scraping by, getting into de...

In this episode, Ann and Mitch chat about how Al-Anon works as a world wide organisation in which people whose lives have been affected by another's drinking support each other to solve their common problems. 

Christine shares her story of dealing with her teenage son turning to recreational drug use, then developing mental illness and how she responded.  Twenty years later she has a better perspective on the impact of this on herself, her son and her family. Dealing with the combination of drug addiction and mental illness had been challenging and learning to cope was just the first step. Christine als...

Angelo shares his story of developing a gambling habit through his family’s interest in betting on horse racing. Sitting with his dad on Saturday afternoons placing bets and listening to the races moved from a social pleasure into a full-blown obsession that led to compulsive gambling from his late teens. Gambling soaked up all of Angelo’s spare cash and meant that although he had a good income, h...

Natalie grow up with an alcoholic father and a religious mother who kept the peace by avoiding conflict with the alcoholic. Feeling overlooked in her family, Natalie looked forward to a life independent of it. When she moved away to study and begin a career, she found that she still had to reckon with her family relationships, finding difficulties with each of her parents at different times, recon...

The child of migrant parents who worked long hours, Amanda remembers feeling isolated as a child. She remembers bingeing on food at the age of 8 and has spent many years struggling with compulsive over-eating, using food to calm herself whever she feel restless, irritable, discontented or otherwise uncomfortable. Overeaters Anonymous has shown Amanda that she is not alone and that it is possible ...

Dan grew up with normal parents but felt uncomfortable in the world. His insecurities and fears led to a nervous breakdown in his early teens. Dan discovered alcohol as a 16 yo and found that it relieved his overwhelming feeling of being different. Alcohol allowed him not to care about what others thought about him and, like many alcoholics, he continued to drink to blackout, even from his first d...

Alex talks about growing up with a dad who was dealing drugs and spent time in prison. He had a happy childhood but being without his father in his early teens he started drinking and the pain of losing him in his late teens sent him into a dependence on drugs. Alex managed to maintain his job initially but eventually the impact of drug use meant he couldn’t work. He first came to Galiamble Men’s...

Nadine grew up with a father who drank and a mother who suffered from depression. Her mother died when Nadine was 13 and after an unsettled few years in the care of an aunt and then a housekeeper, Nadine found herself married at 16 to a drinker. During the marriage she was admitted to a psychiatric hospital where she overheard her husband commenting to the staff that Nadine's behaviour was the rea...

Ellie has struggled with the texture and taste of certain foods her whole life. This has resulted in social anxiety and guilt over not being able to eat healthy food during school. Since graduating and moving out, Ellie's relationship with food has improved and she explains where she's at now with some perspective. 

Anthony grew up in an English village, enjoying much freedom as a child. As a young adult he developed a love of travel and, using his training in information technology, found himself teaching computing in a Kenyan school. In Kenya he met his first wife, and together they moved to Australia where they took up farming, while bringing up their two sons. It was when his marriage ended that Anthony b...

James talks about growing up as an Aboriginal in Western District of Victoria, how alcohol affected his family and how alcohol and drug abuse became part of his life as he dealt with early trauma and PTSD. Sport was a constant during James’ life, providing an opportunity for participation and enduring friendships. Inevitably, his alcohol and drug use led him to have extended periods of imprisonmen...

Jennie grew up with young parents and had a disadvantaged childhood. Eager to fit in she learnt early to not reveal much of herself and just reflect the values of others. Jennie found moving from the UK to Australia in her early teens quite traumatic and in her late teens left home and went to live with acquaintances in St Kilda. Her reasonably quiet life fairly quickly transformed to smoking dope...