Living Free

Erin grew up with a single mum and with a sister who was destined to become an alcoholic. She struggled academically at school but was good socially, excelling at sport and art and having fun. Erin started binge eating sugar at 10 years old and drinking at 15 to fill the emotional hole inside. After a long geographical overseas she returned to find her sister had been in Alcoholics Anonymous for 1...

El didn’t have an idyllic childhood as her parents separated when she was 12 years old and her mum was unwell. She suffered physical and emotional abuse and turned to drinking and smoking marijuana in her early teens to cope with the anxiety, fear and shame. El’s drug taking escalated quickly and she moved to amphetamines and heroin and contracted Hep C. Her mum and sister helped her to get into r...

Caz formed a co-dependent relationship with her mum and suffered separation anxiety from a young age. She used food to cope with her anxiety for many years and then switched to alcohol in her early thirties. As she became more social and with two small children and marriage problems Caz’s drinking progressed quickly.  She reached out for help and through rehab found Alcoholics Anonymous. Right fro...

Rebekah had a pretty normal family childhood but was bullied at primary and secondary school and this tendered to reinforce her desire to escape from society. Her first successful gamble was a Melbourne Cup sweep as a child and Rebekah loved the feeling of winning. Blackjack tables at the casino were her preferred gambling style and after an early win she was at a casino every month or two. Eventu...

Helen grew up in a large family where both mum and dad were heavy drinkers. Being much younger than her siblings she eventually felt responsible for helping them out of their crises. After a nervous breakdown at work Helen realized that she could no longer keep her emotions bottled up inside and took the advice of a friend and a psychologist to go to Al-Anon Family Groups. Life of course got much...

Sandra loved food and enjoyed ballet but felt body conscious and always seemed to be on a diet with her mum. She soon realized that she could use food to control her emotions and feelings but soon moved on to smoking, drinking and drugs in her early teens as an escape. Sandra became bulimic, used to binge and purge food frequently and although she sought help in her early 20’s still couldn’t contr...

Travis grew up in a happy family, had a grandfather and uncle with alcohol problems and was good at schoolwork. Being sporty he found that he fitted in socially but it wasn’t until he discovered alcohol as a 16 year old at the footy club that Travis found that his drinking ability stopped him feeling like an outsider. Moving to the city for he started working a second job in a nightclub and this w...

Greig was a challenging teenager and grew up with and alcoholic dad who found recovery in Alcoholics Anonymous. Initially not really liking alcohol much as a 14 year old, Greig was pretty wild and in his later teens found that it added fun and drama to his social life.  Eventually as friends slowed down and started family life, Greig found that he got left behind and couldn’t really control his dr...

Warning - this program features a personal story that includes sexual assault and family abuse and may be triggering so please take care. If that doesn't sound like your cup of tea right now you should skip of this podcast. Jasmin and Martin both grew up in homes with a parent with substance abuse problems and were subjected to emotional and physical abuse as children. They used alcohol and drugs...

Aileen eventually found out that her maternal grandfather had a drinking problem and that was why her mother didn’t like alcohol in the family home. A free spirit, she met a drinker at university and eventually married him and had two children. What Aileen didn’t realize was the extent to which the psychological trauma of an alcoholic marriage had affected her. After her husband found Alcoholics A...

Originally recorded and broadcast on 20 July 2017 this show was replayed again on 26 September 2019. This is the first time it has been included as a podcast. Lisa and Lindsay joined Alcoholics Anonymous and were eventually able to give up alcohol and remain sober in AA.If you think that alcohol may be a problem then Alcoholics Anonymous could help you. Give them a call on 1300 222 222 or see thei...

Eugenie grew up in a very dysfunctional family, with both parents as high functioning alcoholics who shared alcohol with her from a young age. When her parents divorced in her early teens Eugenie took care of her mother, who had become depressed and suicidal. Eugenie eventually left home in her early twenties, started work in the finance industry that had an established drinking culture and she qu...

John and Brenden grew up in very different circumstances, John surrounded by alcoholism and gambling from a very young age and Brenden in a loving family environment unaffected by drugs, alcohol or gambling.  However, they both sought escape from life’s responsibilities through gambling. John chose TAB betting on horses and dogs whereas James preferred the pokies but both found that their gambling...

Emily and Dean have worked on the committee of the 2019 AUSYPAA Convention over the past year. They share their stories of recovery in Al-Anon Family Groups and Alcoholics Anonymous respectively and discuss how events like AUSYPAA contribute to their recovery and also help those still struggling with alcoholism themselves or in a family member or friend. If someone else's drinking is causing you a...

Three Sides of the Coin is a project run by Link Health and Community, funded by Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation. Three Sides of the Coin supports people who have suffered due to gambling. Through creative workshops, participants share their stories which are developed into performances. Participants may be gamblers themselves or loved ones who have suffered due to the gambling of someon...

Liz grew up with a pretty normal family in a fairly privileged inner suburb but rebelled against her parents as they exerted control over her life. She had a similar reaction to her private school education and started going to parties and drinking around 14 years old. This quickly moved to drugs and established an addiction that would last for nearly 15 years. Although Liz went to Uni for 3 years...

Warning - this program features a personal story that includes sexual assault and family abuse and may be triggering so please take care. If that doesn't sound like your cup of tea right now you should skip of this podcast. Jasmin grew up in a very dysfunctional family, with a very young mum and an addict father. Her mum left after extreme family violence, leaving 4 year old Jasmin and her younger...

Brad and James both grew up in normal families unaffected by drugs, alcohol or gambling and they both sought escape from life’s responsibilities through gambling. Brad chose TAB betting on horses, dogs and sport whereas James preferred the pokies but they both found that their gambling led to a second life, hidden from family and friends. Gambling wasn’t really about the money; it was about forget...

Sue and Steve both grew up with an alcoholic mum and Sue also had an alcoholic dad. As children, they both tried to control the drinker(s) but realized that they were powerless over the alcoholism in their families and later realized that they too were profoundly affected. When they married and Sue’s mum moved in with them their problems got a lot worse. They soon discovered Al-Anon Family Groups...

Sharelle didn’t really like gambling but she was in an unhappy marriage and had recently lost her mum, and had enjoyed nights accompanying her mum to the pokies.  Sharelle started fairly small stake gambling on the pokies where she felt close to her mum and could forget her found the he turned to the pokies as a way of feeling close to her mum and forget about her marriage. When she was arrested f...

Max grew up in a very religious family and was keen to break away from that constraint as well as competing with his twin brother.  He started drinking and using drugs as a 13 to 14 year old and Max enjoyed this until he was 16 when he developed a severe physical disability that lasted for the next five years.  Max left school, isolated, continued to drink and developed more health problems till h...

Sylvia and Celeste discuss how Al-Anon Family Groups enabled them to see the part they played in the family disease of alcoholism. Even though the drinker caused problems, their reactions often exacerbated the situation and Al-Anon helped them to realize that they could play a bigger part in ensuring their own happiness. After coming into Al-Anon as a result of her housemates drinking, Celeste rea...

Kylie grew up with an addict/alcoholic mum and suffered the trauma associated with her unpredictable behaviour. Moving a lot in her primary school years left Kylie as a bit of an outsider and she started drinking alcohol, then smoking dope and using drugs from around 13 years old. By 16, after 3 years, her friends were telling her she had a problem with drugs but she thought better. Kylie’s mum fo...

Sara and Dale have only been in Alcoholics Anonymous for less than 6 months but their recovery shines through. Both were raised in families where alcohol and/or drug abuse had taken their toll and abuse was not uncommon. Sara tried AA on and off over 20 years but found she was happiest when drinking. Eventually Sara realized that she was being held back by drinking, being just average and not real...

The Radiothon theme this year is Power Radical radio! That pretty much sums up LIVING FREE – by sharing recovery stories we’re talking about changing lives for alcoholics, gamblers and food and drug addicts, and their families. Remember, your support will keep our message of HOPE on the airwaves – Shared Stories Save LivesToday’s guest was Maya, a member of Al-Anon Family Groups. You can financial...