Living Free

Jacinta shares her experience of having overcome a substance abuse problem with the help of Narcotics Anonymous when she realized that recovery wasn’t sufficient to overcome her chronic underachieving in her personal life. Still experiencing low self-worth that led to a life of underachieving it further damaged her relationships and she eventually found help through Underearners Anonymous. Underea...

Grant shares his journey of experiencing trauma and how that led him to use gambling as an escape from his feelings of abandonment. Gambling further damaged his relationships and he sought help in Gamblers Anonymous. But recovery isn’t always straightforward, and Grant drifted away for a while and returned to gambling before realizing the importance of his recovery in Gamblers Anonymous. Coming ba...

Diane grew up in the Eastern suburbs of Melbourne in a large, close, chaotic family. When she married an alcoholic she found that difficulties of money, trust and security entered her life and she began to suffer from chronic health problems. Her doctor recommended Al-Anon. Through attending meetings and learning how to deal with the effects of someone else's drinking, Diane began to make choices...

Steve shares his story of alcohol over use and how he tried Alcoholics Anonymous before finding SMART Recovery. Over eleven years the SMART Recovery meetings have helped him to get back to normal life using the SMART recovery tools. To find out more about SMART Recovery Australia visit www.smartrecoveryaustralia.com.au for details of meetings and contact information or call them on (02) 9373 5100....

Ellie and Joyce experienced eating disorders since their childhood, where food became a treat that they treasured above friendships.  Eating was never an obvious problem to them, but they sought out large quantities of food and treats as part of their everyday lives. Their eating impacted on their work and relationships, and it was not until later in life, after years of food related problems that...

Max shares his story of developing a gambling habit through watching his grandfather gambling as a child and from the acceptance of gambling behaviour by the parents of his peers at high school.  Max ended up gambling online, stealing money from his mum’s bank account, borrowing from friends, and hiding his compulsive behaviour from his partner.  The podcast provides an insight into the progressio...

Maya grew up with an active alcoholic father who had high expectations of her. As an adult, she joined Al-Anon Family Groups, seeking help with her confused feelings about herself and her family. Through participating in meetings and practising the 12 Steps, Maya gradually improved her relationship with her father and more importantly with herself. Today she discusses the role of the 12 Steps in t...

Lyndal and Emma talk about the effect of alcoholism on their lives and how Alcoholics Anonymous and Al-Anon Family Groups respectively have helped them to recover. They also talk about the benefits of being in a 12th Step fellowship and also about the upcoming VICYPAA Convention on Saturday 9th October 2021. If you think that alcohol may be a problem then Alcoholics Anonymous could help you. Give...

Tallulah is now a facilitator for SMART Recovery Australia and shares her story of alcohol over use and how she tried Alcoholics Anonymous, medication and hypnotherapy before finding SMART Recovery. Over two years the SMART Recovery meetings have helped her to get back to normal life using the SMART recovery tools. To find out more about SMART Recovery Australia visit www.smartrecoveryaustralia.co...

Genevieve shares her story of polysubstance misuse and her recovery through exposure to SMART Recovery in rehab. Gen found it difficult during Covid-19 without face-to-face meetings and didn’t like the online experience so she’s 3-months clean and hanging out for the return of in-person meetings. To find out more about SMART Recovery Australia visit www.smartrecoveryaustralia.com.au for details of...

Andrew shares his story of developing a gambling habit through arcade games as a child and then moving on to pokies in his late teens.  It provides an insight into the progression of his gambling addiction and his initial contact with and eventual recovery through Gamblers Anonymous. Andrew also shares about the effect of alcohol and how it often accompanied his gambling. If you’re having trouble...

Victor grew up in a family where alcohol was abused. His father was frequently violent, and to survive, Victor became hyper-vigilant and sensitive to the moods of his parents. As a child, Victor found refuge outside of the family, playing with friends in the wild areas near his home. As he grew, he recognised in himself an impulse to heal his family through humour and by trying to form relationshi...

Today’s guest is Mark Bell, a facilitator for SMART Recovery Australia and he shares his story of drug and alcohol over use and how the SMART Recovery meetings helped him to get back into control of his life and give back to his community. To find out more about SMART Recovery Australia visit www.smartrecoveryaustralia.com.au for details of meetings and contact information or call them on (02) 937...

Lyn grew up with parents who had come from alcoholic families themselves and was the youngest member of a large family. She had a happy childhood but that all changed when she moved interstate with her parents when she started secondary school.  A bit of a rebel, Lyn had her first drink in a pub when she was in her early teens. She loved the effect of alcohol and “was never able to have just two d...

Hannah shares her story of developing a gambling habit through arcade games, pokies, TAB betting and then on casino tables. It provides an insight into gambling addiction and her eventual recovery through Gamblers Anonymous. Hannah also shares about the effect of alcohol, “I realized that if I’d drink then I’d gamble” and on her young son, “on his Fisher-Price toy telephone he wouldn’t say hello,...

CONTENT WARNING: This interview contains themes of suicide that some listeners may find confronting. It is not suitable for young listeners or if you planned to listen to it whilst driving. If this interview does raise issues for you and you need help then you can call LIFELINE on 13 11 14 or BEYOND BLUE on 1300 224 636.Jacinta married a partner whose binge drinking affected her, and her family’s...

Today’s guest is Matt Woodley, an Ambassador for SMART Recovery Australia and he shares his story of drug and alcohol over use and how the SMART Recovery meetings helped him to take control of his addictive behaviours.   To find out more about SMART Recovery Australia visit www.smartrecoveryaustralia.com.au for details of meetings and contact information or call them on (02) 9373 5100.#smartrecove...

Jessica and Steve have experienced eating disorders from their earlies memories, where food became a treat that they treasured above friendships.  Eating was never an obvious problem to them, but they sought out large quantities of food and treats as part of their everyday lives. Their eating impacted on their work and relationships, and it was not until later in life, after years of food related...

Carol grew up with an alcoholic father and became an alcoholic herself. She describes starting drinking at 12 years old with her father, escaping the alcoholic home in her mid-teens and how alcohol became part of her social fabric. Carol went on to marry an alcoholic and when they separated her drinking took her and her young daughter on an alcohol fuelled journey to despair. After hospitalization...

Ann had an alcoholic father and came into Al-Anon Family Groups after her mum had joined Al-Anon and her dad had joined Alcoholics Anonymous. In this show Ann discusses growing up in a family affected by her dad’s alcoholism and the impact that had on the way she related to the world outside her family. In Al-Anon she was able to understand the impact of alcoholism on her family members and acknow...

Hayley was the youngest child by about 12 years and grew up in a home where her mum used alcohol regularly. Hayley was a happy kid but became more and more withdrawn after being molested at a friend’s house at an early age. She was unable to communicate her distress and turned from being friendly and outgoing to being repressed and introverted. Hayley started drinking after her first child was bor...

June is 3CR's Annual fundraising Radiothon month - give generously to support 3CR.Maya and John share aspects of their recovery stories and talk about the importance of 3CR to get their fellowship’s message of hope out to the community. We also raise funds to keep 3CR on air for another year and mention the generous donations from the listening public. We had three generous donations of over $500...

Brenden shares his gambling journey and insight into his pokies addiction and his recovery through Gamblers Anonymous. He also shares about the effect of the Covid-19 lockdowns on GA meetings in Melbourne and the benefits and shortcomings of meeting over Zoom. If you’re having trouble with gambling, or have a friend or family member that does, then maybe Gamblers Anonymous could help – phone (03)...

Our guest is Josette Freeman, an Ambassador for SMART Recovery Australia and she shares about the SMART Recovery approach and provides insights into the organisation in Australia, explains how SMART Recovery groups work and who can utilize the free recovery program. To find out more about SMART Recovery Australia visit www.smartrecoveryaustralia.com.au for details of meetings and contact informati...

Nathan grew up in a reasonably happy family, but his dad drank, and his mum was an enabler. He learnt early to influence others and was able to hang out with vastly different groups of friends at school, but he never let anyone get too close. He started drinking at a secondary school function when he was 11 years old, drank to blackout on his first drink but felt totally bulletproof. Nathan’s drin...