How I quit alcohol

After battles with anorexia, suffering trauma from sexual abuse and a very dangerous relationship with alcohol and suicide attempts, Tracey Cochrane is finally finding  peace.    Rather than white knuckling her way through not drinking as she had done in the past,  Tracey has learnt to challenge her thinking,  calm that inner critic she calls Genevive, breathe her way to a state of calm and most i...

Lyndal and I caught up for a little mid week mini pod catch up to see how she is going on her journey.  Lyndal has been a guest on this podcast a few times before and a huge inspiration as she has shared her journey of sobriety,  her relapse and her new found vigour for her journey.  We talk about how to keep your fire stoked,  how acts of service can pull you out of a funk and switch the focus of...

In this episode I chat with Jimmy .  Jimmy has chosen to stay semi anonymous on this episode as he shares his harrowing journey from binge drinking to become completely addicted and controlled by alcohol to the point where daily drinking saw him almost lose it all,  his family, his business and almost his life.   Jimmy opens up and shares with us about his battle in the hope that his story may hel...

In this episode I catch up with Melbourne comedian Bianka Ismailvoski.  Bianka has been sober for 2 years and is still relishing in all the positives that shown up in her sobriety.  The biggest one for her was realising how much real and authentic fun was to be had without booze,  the level of depths in connection with people  and even a much better sex life. .   We also talk about her own podcast...

In this episode I chat with 27 year old Sam Wilson,  the founder of Sober Mates,  an educational community platform for young sober curious people to connect and explore their relationship with alcohol.   We chat about Sam's own relationship with alcohol and how it left her feeling out of control and unhappy in herself.  After she chose to quit she found herself happier, more connected and fe...

In this episode I chat with Tara McCarthy a participant in the HIQA  Jan 2021 3 month sober challenge.  Tara and I talk about the benefits she has found in her life in her sobriety.  How mindset is everything,  shifting from a place of FOMO to realising you are giving yourself a gift.   To sign up for the July 2021 3 month sober challenge head to  https://www.iquitalcohol.com.au/blogs/events This...

I was stoked to chat with Stu Henshall a co-owner of Australia's first Non-acoholic cocktail bar,  Brunswick Aces.   We recorded our chat and I have put it up as a little mini mid week poddy.  ⁠ We chat about Stu's own relationship with alcohol. Why an AF bar. The possibility of a sober music venue and the whole sober movement that is gaining more and more traction in Australia which is...

In this episode I chat with Paul Eliseo,  trainer and master practitioner of NLP and Hypnosis,  Lifestyle Coach and total mind master.   As a teen Paul suffered from Chronic Anxiety and IBS  a result of stress, too much pot and binge drinking and he was on the edge of a complete nervous breakdown.   Afraid and feeling like his mind was unravelling he educated himself on what was going on in his mi...

In this episode I chat with  Jeannie O'Carroll,  my friend and psychotherapist who specialises in trauma and couples therapy.   Jeannie is no stranger to childhood trauma, growing up in South Africa abandoned by her father,  dealing with an alcoholic mother and doing time in a children's home left her with her own emotional wounds to heal.   It's no wonder she is so good at what she...

In this episode I catch up with Juliet Lever.  Juliette is an author, coach  specialising in self development and training NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming).  Juliet is a self confessed alcoholic, workaholic and chocoholic who made the decision to change her life in her late 20's.  In this podcast we talk about how making that one decision can shape your destiny.   How to cultivate change. ...

In this episode I chat with Amy Armstrong  from Port Fairy,  Victoria who at 10 months sober at the time of recording is on a mission to have more alcohol free options in the restaurants and bars around Australia and she is succeeding,  one town at a time.   Amy had struggled with binge drinking for years stuck in the cycle of drinking, black out,  shame, repeat she had enough and through the sugg...

In this episode I chat with one of the members of my 3 month sober challenge,  Kate Morrison.  Kate signed up for the challenge in the midst of some big personal challenges and changes and as a group we watched her grow from strength to strength.    In the podcast we chat about her reluctancy to do "the work" initially but how at day 50 she started to put some journalling and meditation...

In this episode I chat with the founder of sober social group Untoxicated,  Faye Lawrence.  Faye faced her own decades long battle with alcohol ending up in a detox unit to wean off the booze,  Faye went on to turn her life around through the support of online groups and the a lot of self healing.  Realising the difference the support of like minded can make Faye set about connecting other sober p...

In this episode I talk with the wonderful Tish Banks who has gone through  deep healing and recreation of herself.   Having grown up with much trauma related directly to alcohol,  Tish was able to overcome her childhood pain and step into her own womanhood and strength free from the generational grip of alcohol.   From easily being able to polish off 3 bottles of wine in a night to being completel...

In this episode I chat with owner of DV Nutrition and wellness coach,  Chantelle Vallay.   Fed up with her binge drinking lifestyle and wanting to pursue a wellness journey  Channy lived with her foot in both worlds for some time.  After a rock bottom moment proceeding a family wedding Channy decided she was done.   Her life took a major turn from nurse to wellness coach and opening her own busine...

Stoked to have Ben Schiller back in the studio to talk about the psychology behind alcohol dependency.   Ben and I discuss whether or not all alcohol abuse in binge drinkers and daily drinkers is the result of underlying phycological issues or trauma.   We cover attachment theory and how that results in the need to escape with alcohol.  What happens in the brain when we drink and how change is pos...

In this episode I chat with  Melbourne  father of two, Greg Jennings @boozefreedad who at the time of recording is 14 months in to his sobriety.  Vulnerable,  emotional and honest,  Greg opens up about how alcohol was effecting his relationship and his children who were the catalyst for him deciding to give 12 months AF a go.   Greg shares the tools he used before he had even started the journey a...

In this episode I chat with Ayurveda  specialist and tantric yoga teacher,  Brad Hay about his very intense journey with drugs and alcohol.   Having always had a very spiritual side Brad battled most of his life with the two sides of himself knowing that there was more to his life than what he was living.  Eventually his path lead him to  rehab and onwards to  delve deep into yoga, meditation and...

In this episode I chat with family friend Lisa Locks.  Lisa is a hairdresser, now self published author and advocate of self love in her 7 years of sobriety.   Lisa first dipped her two in the waters of sobriety 14 years ago.   After a few different attempts and many rock bottom moments she one day had had enough.    She used techniques such as tapping (EFT) and other forms of self-care to start h...

In this episode I catch up with Lyndal to talk relapse.  Lyndal is no stranger to the dreaded relapse and the lessons that come with it.  We chat about how to prevent it and what lessons can be derived from slip ups.  This podcast was proudly brought to you by Monday Distillery,  purveyors of beautiful,  sugar free,  non-alcoholic beverages.   To find out more about them or to order some of their...

In this episode I chat with my friend Bec Prosser.  Bec is school teacher,  wife, mum of 2 boys,  surfer who is 12 months sober.   Bec has faced some big challenges in her life and lived through some big trauma's.   4 days after making the decision to remove alcohol from her life,  her husband Ash suffered a brain injury.  Bec chose not to hit the bottle but draw on her resources and the love...

Have you ever started a challenge or made a New Years resolution and a few weeks in lost your mojo and then abandoned ship?  In this episode Ash and I talk about the 3-4 week mark and starting to dig deep.   Could becoming an observer of your thoughts help you detach enough that you can start to make better choices? Can a gratitude practise make you a happier person and pull you out of a rut? We t...

It's Jan 1st 2021 and Ash and I our little Club Sober group have been AF for 3 years as of today.  Looking back I can't even believe how much change has taken place for both of us.   In this episode we chat about the New Years Resolution that changed our lives and how we stuck to it.   Sticking to something is all to do with your motivation and keeping it up.  This is our final podcast f...

In this episode I chat with one of my coaching clients Amanda Swart.   Amanda is 90 days in to her sobriety (time of publishing) and has already had massive emotional and spiritual transformations.   She is owning her shit, she is more decisive, confident and is gaining a great appreciation for life and being present in each moment.  She reads a note from her partner who has been witnessing the ch...

This guest has lived a life.   Derham "Norsca Love God" "Tutty" Tutton  is probably one of the best story tellers I have ever come across.  In the midi 70's Derham was living at the top of his game in the modelling industry,  he dated Elle Macpherson,  lived with Andy Warhol for two weeks (before running for the hills),  he was a pro surfer,  top surf coach and partied har...