How I quit alcohol

In this episode I chat with Sarah from Canberra who was a participant in the HIQA October challenge.  Sarah's issues with alcohol started later in life when the shift from dynamic career to the monotony and isolation of motherhood lead her to seek escape every night in a bottle of wine or two.  Like so many mothers, Sarah had to deal with the guilt and the conflicting feelings that can arise...

In this jam packed episode I chat with provisional psychologist Georgie Budini who has had ten years experience working with drug and alcohol addiction in prisons and in the community.   We talked about riding the waves of cravings, mastering your nervous system,  feeling what needs to felt rather than avoiding the uncomfortable,  the importance of having a plan,  creating a sense of safety,  why...

In this episode I catch up with Australian musician Kelly Brouhaha,  seven months sober at the time of recording Kelly talks about the struggles with her mental health,  life and sobriety on the road and the tools she has in place to keep her on track.   We chat about how to stay on track when you are way from home,  the importance of prioritising yourself,   how journalling can keep your mental h...

In this episode I catch up with legendary blues man Hat Fitz.  Fitzy had always been labelled a "wild man" in the Aussie blues scene,  he is a big character,  rough around the edges, honest as they come and reflective of his relationship with alcohol and the rock bottom he went to as a result.   Hat Fitz lives on the Sunshine Coast in Australia with his beautiful partner Cara,  has a gre...

In this episode I chat with actor Martin Dingle Wall.   Marty is best known for his roles in Home And Away,  Underbelly and Upper Middle Bogan.  We chat about the discovery of yourself and the healing that comes when you meet it head on.  Facing your demons and the rawness of really leaning in to the feelings that come up in sobriety.  Using the arts and creativity as an outlet for expression and...

In this episode I catch up with Fi,  a neuroscientist from Melbourne who was also a participant in the HIQA Jan Challenge earlier this year.   Fi signed up more as a support for her friend Kate and not only finished off the three months but along with her husband is now approaching 12 months alcohol free.   In this episode we chat about the challenge,  changing your self concept,  feeling crappy i...

In this insightful episode I chat with Michael a stone mason from Western Australia.  Michael resonated with drinking at a very early age and from almost the first drink he had very little control over alcohol some serious bingeing saw him decide to take a break.  After years of being alcohol free  living in the wilderness of Indonesia a family tragedy saw him return to the familiarity and numbing...

In this episode I catch up with Katy @graczer who spent decades trying to fit the mould of a fun drinking  socialite.  That kind of lifestyle comes with it perks but can also lead to some  dysfunctional bingeing,  Katy was experiencing  blackouts, bedwetting and other negative impacts that so many of us do but still find it hard to jump off the rollercoaster.  3 years alcohol free she is now embra...

In this episode I am back in the studio with my sober buddy and hubby Ash Grunwald.   We respond to the question that is being thrown my way a lot which is can I grant myself a leave pass for Christmas and have a few drinks?  Ash and I both share our perspective on this.  We talk about the joys of sobriety,  the reasons to stay sober,  the wisdom found in the uncomfortable,  navigating heavy water...

Two hard drinking rock stars and their partners made a pact to do the unthinkable,  quit alcohol for 12 months.  What seemed like an impossibility became a life changing transformation.  Over three and a half years later the group caught up in the studio to reflect on the journey .   We chat about the highs and lows of sobriety and the wondrous journey of discovery that never ends.  The support fr...

In the episode I chat with ex-binge drinker,  breast cancer survivor,  sober coach and business owner Kathryn Elliott.   In  2019 Kathryn decided it was time to call it quits with alcohol,  as if that wasn't a big enough change she then discovered a large lump in her breast which took her life on an even bigger turn.   Having always relied on alcohol to get her through traumatic times,  Kathr...

In this episode I chat with author Christy Hughes about her journey from binge drinking to sobriety,  becoming brave and finding her voice.   Her sobriety helped her discover herself and the connection she shared with her own Grandmothers which became the inspiration for her book Strong Roots,  Wayward Soul.    To contact Christy please go to  Instagram: the_bravekind, the_hughes_homestead www.wea...

In this episode I chat with Luke Hutchinson from Adelaide about his inspiring recovery from alcohol.  From a young age Luke used alcohol to numb his pain from the grief of losing his Dad and a number of friends in a short space of time.    What started as a means to help him deal with his trauma became a dysfunctional and very serious addiction.   Luke credits his recovery to the 12 step program w...

In this episode I chat with my high school friend Rachel Cotton.    Growing up in the small town of Castlemaine in Central Victoria where the drinking culture with teenagers was rampant,  binge drinking to blackout was just how it was done.   Being out of control was not out of the ordinary and when one night her drink was spiked by some co-workers every woman's worst nightmare became her rea...

In this episode I catch up with Amanda Swart who initially shared her story back in January when she was at 90 days sober.  Amanda was one of my very first coaching clients and she has been absolutely smashing it.   In this episode we talk about seeking out people who can help you on your journey,  the highs and lows of sobriety,  healing from your past,  accepting what is,  finding your joy and b...

In this episode I catch up with India Morris who started sneaking alcohol at the age of eight.  By the age of 13 she had already developed a strong drinking habit.    From using alcohol as a way to escape she had developed a serious binge drinking pattern,  sometimes going weeks without drinking and then drinking so much she would wake up the next day not remembering and feeling full of guilt and...

Sam Brown takes us though a short breath set focusing on calming the nervous system and reliving stress followed by a mini mediation.  Please do not do this while driving.   To reach out to Sam go to @sambrown.meditation Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this  mid week bonus episode I chat with meditation and breath work  teacher Sam Brown.    Sam and I covered the life changing power of the breath and how Sam used it as a technique to transform her life and the lives of many others.    We talk about how  - the quality of your breath will determine the quality of your life.  - using the breath to get back in to the drivers seat of your life - c...

In this episode I chat with Lindsay from Victoria.  Lindsay had a dangerous relationship  with alcohol from the age of 14.  Early in her 20's she had developed a drinking habit that was so intense she found herself isolating from friends and family so she could drink herself into oblivion.    She felt that having people around her would get in the way of her drinking and that "there wasn...

In this episode I chat yet again with my beautiful friend Lyndal Hunt.  Lyndal is going strong and 11 and a half months sober after a brief relapse in October 2020.    We talk about the importance of really diving deep and healing old wounds,   the problem of reaching a sobriety plateau and what to do,   what to do with the extra time on. your hands.   We chat about her role in the upcoming HIQA s...

In this episode I chat with self professed "Grey Area Drinker", Kat Dunell.  Kat is a fire fighter who lives in Geelong with her husband and three kids.  She partied a lot as a teenager and throughout her 20's but started to pull back a lot as she got older and had her kids.  But what if you aren't a complete trash-bag but you are still relying on those few glasses of wine as a...

In this episode I chat with international  Ruby coach Karl Savimaki.   Karl had an on again, off again relationship with alcohol for years which cost him his first marriage and his physical and mental health.   Drinking up to the equivalent of 32 bottles of wine a week he knew he had to change.   Through reading Alan Carr's,  Only Way To Quit Drinking Karl was able to change his mindset and s...

In this episode I chat with builder Chris King.   After years of using alcohol to "fit in"  in his teen years ,  his relationship with alcohol slowly spiralled out of control.  Chris found himself with a successful building business but struggled with anxiety and old patterns that were keeping him stuck in a dark place but had so much of his identity tied up in alcohol.   We chat about.....

In this episode Ash and I chat about all things labels.  We delve into a topic that I have recently discussed with my challenge group... Labels.    How is it possible to facilitate change when we are still attached to our old labels?  Sometimes we don't even realise that we will still have this old belief about ourselves.  So we need to look at what labels we had on ourselves and explore the...

In the final episode for Season 3 I catch up with therapist  Ben Schiller.   It was a jam packed episode that covered a lot of ground.  We chat about...  - drinking dreams, why we have them and how to use them to your advantage.  - why we de-prioritise our self work and ourselves.  - sitting with your feelings,  how to do it and why it works. - Should you have a big blow out before starting a sobe...