Living Free

Steve has been off the punt for about 4 years thanks to help from Gamblers Anonymous and talks about how he was introduced to underage drinking and gambling in his mid-teens with his friends.  He talks about his first bet being a win and then he was hooked, trying to recreate that buzz of winning. Gambling strengthened his relationship with his friends, and later he sought out friends who enjoyed...

April Long has lived experience of family members with alcoholism and other addictions. For many members of her family this has led to interactions with the criminal justice system. As CEO of SMART Recovery Australia, April is committed to building an organisation that gives people the tools to address their own problematic behaviours, allowing them to make positive changes for themselves, their f...

Mike grew up in a household in which emotions were suppressed. Mike attributes this to the intergenerational effects of alcoholism and the dysfunctional ways in which his parents responded to life's challenges. A medical professional recommended that Mike attend an Al-Anon meeting and there he discovered a much wider range of emotional expression than he had previously been exposed to. Over the ye...

Rachel grew up in a family of musicians and spent a lot of her childhood travelling the country with her family for work. It resulted in her attending lots of different schools, and it eventually took its toll on her wellbeing.  Her dad and grandfather both drank, and alcohol played a big part in her family’s life. Rachel left home in her mid-teens to pursue a career in a band and alcohol was ever...

Robbert has been off the punt for 17 years thanks to help from Gamblers Anonymous and talks about how he was introduced to gambling in his late teens and early twenties around Sydney’s casinos and nightclubs.  He talks about his first big win and how he ploughed it all back into the pokies, plus more the next day. Robbert’s life deteriorated as he spent his weekly pay-packet on the pokies on payda...

Coming from a family affected across generations by substance abuse, and facing physical and emotional challenges, Robert experienced much unhappiness as a teenager and young adult. He has found recovery in the world-wide fellowship of Al-Anon. During the pandemic lockdowns, Robert began attending Al-Anon zoom meetings all over the world and through this global sharing of experience, strength and...

Dr Constance Scharff has both professional qualifications and personal recovery experience. Since completing her PhD in Transformative Studies, she has dedicated her life towards helping others with mental health, trauma, and addiction issues through evidence-based, holistic treatments and solutions.  Dr Scharff is an author, speaker, and advocate and specializes in radically transformative person...

Tyril Houghton is Chairperson of the board and Shane Thompson is a Peer Support Worker at for Doors Wide Open - a peer-led community support service that assists individuals and families impacted by Alcohol and other Drugs (AOD). DWO also offer support for people impacted by homelessness or rough sleeping. Tyril shares her lived experience of using education to break down the stigma associated wit...

Matt grew up in a good family, but his dad had been affected by his own father’s drinking and his mum compensated with enabling behaviour. He developed some bad habits at primary school and felt that he was missing out on material things in life. Matt started early to take money, cigarettes and alcohol from his home to share with other kids at school to gain acceptance. He got the taste for alcoho...

Mark grew up in a household in which his father drank too much and his mother tried to control her husband's behaviour. Naturally, in this situation, conflict ensued. In an attempt to hold his family together in the face of the conflict, Mark often found himself acting as peacemaker and go-between. In this episode, Mark discusses how he found support, first in Alateen where other teenagers shared...

Ange comes back onto the show after another 2 years in Gamblers Anonymous and talks about how she fell into gambling on social media games and how that affected her life. After realizing the impact of her secretive gambling on her husband and family she went to Gamblers Anonymous to address her compulsive gambling. Ange talks candidly about the need to be ready to stop gambling, about the fact tha...

JESS shares her lived experience of prescription drug addiction and as a peer support worker in Melbourne.   Jess also talks about the Rethink Addiction campaign that is aiming to help overcome the stigma and shame associated with addiction and encourage people seek help. Jess is two years into her recovery and is so proud of herself and who she is today. To find out more about Rethink Addiction,...

Gab grew up as the youngest in a loving family and had a normal childhood but suffered anxiety from a young age. Drinking started in her early teens, she didn’t like the taste but loved the effect. Gab was a blackout drunk from the start but didn’t see her drinking as any different from her friends. Her relationships were always centred around alcohol or addiction. Drinking progressed and eventual...

Dan talks about how he led a normal life as a kid but was bullied at school and didn’t have many friends. He remembers playing card games for coins with his family and his Nan betting on Kino but no real gambling influences. Dan didn’t like school much and in his late teens he and his friends were into horses and drinking so their university days were not very academic. In his early twenties Dan u...

In this episode of Living Free, our invited guest cancelled at the last minute and host, Ann, put out a call to listeners for a person willing to step in as a guest on the show. When Michael called in they had a conversation about the difficulties of recovery and relapse. The Living Free team would like to thank Michael for his willingness to speak on air without preparation and at such short noti...

Luke Anderson is a Youth Support Worker. He currently works with YSAS in a residential program to support young people aged 12-21 who are seeking to withdraw from alcohol and drugs. Luke speaks about the YSAS harm minismisation and early intervention approach to working with young people and the broad range of services that YSAS offers throughout Melbourne and regional Victoria. If you would like...

Apologies, the mp3 file is now attached. This show was originally presented by Jude on 20th October 2016 and has not been podcast before. Waz talks about starting to use recreational drugs and ending up addicted to heroin. He used drugs for 25 years and spent several years in prison before getting into detox and experiencing the help of the 12th step recovery fellowships.  Waz had been clean for n...

Content Warning - this program features a personal story that includes suicidal thoughts 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 this podcast. Alison grew up in a dysfunctional family and developed an eating disorder before enduring life with an alcoholic stepmother. She subsequently met and married an alcohol...

Richard grew up in a large Christian family in suburban Melbourne. Although his childhood was not affected by problem drinking, he learned as a young child to take care of his mother, and to feel responsible when she suffered as a result of her mood disorder.  It wasn't until his early adulthood that Richard began to drink large amounts of alcohol and to learn that this gave him relief from a sens...

Joseph Abdo is a NSW-based clinical social worker who specialises in helping people, using Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, with their mental health and well-being. He is passionate about the SMART Recovery approach to dealing with compulsive and addictive behaviours. As a SMART Recovery group facilitator he helps group members maintain motivation, cope with urges, solve life problems and live life wi...

Suzie shares aspects of her alcoholism, the impact it had on her life and on those around her. She drank for 45 years and eventually found sobriety through a Women in Sobriety group in Alcoholics Anonymous when she was 65. Suzie has been sober for over 5 years now and found that abstaining from alcohol with the help of AA was the only way she could get her life back.   Suzie volunteered to come ba...

Kieran Carroll, a playwright based in the Melbourne suburb of Edithvale, has written 'Enough is Enough', a play about problem gambling. Set in a beachside hotel whose gaming room is open until 5am, the play explores the financial, emotional and social impacts of problem gambling. The work was commissioned by the City of Kingston. If you’re having trouble with gambling, or have a friend or family m...

As a child, Rene loved scratchies, and as a young adult enjoyed nights out at the pokies with his friends . But soon he sensed that he was gambling differently from his friends and at times his friends brought up the subject of his gambling with him. It was on a honeymoon cruise, on a ship with a large casino on board, that it became evident that gambling was going to have a huge impact on Rene's...

Clare has lived experience of a close relationship with a person whose use of alcohol and opiods is troubling. She found valuable help for how to deal with her difficulties in SMART Recovery and is now a board member of SMART Recovery Australia. She runs an on-line group for families and friends of people whose addictive behaviours are causing difficulties for themselves and others.

Ben grew up with a very loving family and had a usual childhood. Drinking only started around 18 years old and wasn’t serious. That all changed when he married and bought a house that became party central for his friends. Drinking progressed and eventually he suffered alcohol induced blackouts that scared his wife and kids. Ben didn’t realize that his drinking was that bad as he had no memory of t...