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Living Free

The Living Free Crew

Talk on substance misuse, alcoholism and other addictions. Information on support groups is given.

news & politics

All Episodes

Alcoholics Anonymous - Michael on 21APR2022

Living Free ·

2022/04/21

Michael grew up with European immigrant parents in a food and drinking culture. Vodka was the drink of choice and some of their family friends had serious drinking problems. Michael was a bit of a loner with only had a few close friends and developed long-term relationship with a workaholic. He. drifted into using alcohol and it started to impact his work and life. Michael continued drinking alcoholically daily for over 30 years and eventually was hospitalized as a consequence.Michael was

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Gamblers Anonymous - Stephanie on 14APR2022

Living Free ·

2022/04/14

Stephanie talks about the newly introduced poker machines in Victorian pubs and clubs as being an accepted social activity when she was a youth. She started off underage gambling on pokies with her older friends, some of whom were compulsive gamblers, and she remembers their mood swings whilst gambling. Her gambling became problematic in her mid-twenties when she started using apps to bet on horses and considered that she might be able to make a career of gambling. After losing her fortnight’s

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Al-Anon Family Groups - Ray 7 April 2022

Living Free ·

2022/04/07

Ray grew up in the late sixties, experiencing success in school, sport and leadership. But as a young adult he found himself attracted to the freedom of the counter-culture rather than the constraints and repressions of conventional family life. He came into contact with many people whose lives were affected by drugs and alcohol. Eventually he qualified as a psychologist and found himself treating people with addictions and post-traumatic stress disorders. A traumatic experience of his own led him

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The Melbourne Clinic - Dr Maloney and Ms Moraitis on...

Living Free ·

2022/03/31

Our guests are Dr Michael Maloney, Program Director of the Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation Unit and Ms Effie Moraitis, Addictive Behaviours Therapy Manager, both at The Melbourne Clinic. We discuss the nature of modern withdrawal and rehabilitation approaches to those with addiction and dependence issues.Addiction is not being able to stop doing something even if you want to, and despite the negative consequences it creates. Addiction applies to alcohol and other drugs, and is inclusive of gambling,

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SMART Recovery Australia - Dan on 24MAR2022

Living Free ·

2022/03/24

Our guest is Daniel Raffell, the Senior National Program Manager and Trainer at SMART Recovery Australia and he shares his recovery story and explains the SMART Recovery approach and how it has helped him. Dan also shared about SMART Recovery’s April Challenge – TAKE ON ADDICTION that aims to remove the social stigma applied to those suffering because of their addiction. Take on Addiction challenges us to learn about addiction, talk about how we view addiction and consider the impact that has on the

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Suzie on 17MAR2022

Living Free ·

2022/03/17

Suzie grew up with an alcoholic father and grandparents, felt different from other kids at an early age and started drinking at around 14-16 years old with her school friends. She sought out other friends who drank, married an alcoholic and continued drinking alcoholically over the next 45 years.Suzie’s drinking continued after her daughter was born and interfered with her parenting. She finally realized that she needed to get sober whilst looking after her first grandchild as she didn’t want to be

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Gamblers Anonymous - Tony on 10MAR2022

Living Free ·

2022/03/10

Tony talks about recovery in Gamblers Anonymous, from gambling on poker machines. He also talks about difficulties gambling presents and its impact on personal relationships with partners, parents, siblings, and social and work friends both during active gambling and after gambling stops. Tony talks candidly about gambling to escape from the pressure of close relationships and how embracing the Gamblers Anonymous approach enabled him to address his real problems.If you’re having trouble with

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Al-Anon Family Groups - Monica

Living Free ·

2022/03/03

Monica began life in rural South Africa. When her mother died, the children, including Monica, were placed in care while her father pursued his business. Several years later, her father died. As a young adult, Monica found herself in many ways unprepared for independent adult life, but her adventurous spirit saw her arrive in London. Here she met her husband and gave birth to their two children. Suffering from, but not fully understanding her husband's multiple addictions, Monica came with him to

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Alcohol - Victoria on 24FEB2022

Living Free ·

2022/02/24

Victoria shares her story of drifting into alcoholism without much thought for the consequences. After a traumatic childhood experience, she turned to alcohol because that was how her family entertained friends and it seemed to work well. The outcome of Victoria’s excessive drinking often led her to change jobs, but it became a staple in her lifestyle. It was really when she was pregnant with her first child that she experienced an alcohol-free period, but the pressures of motherhood saw her

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Grace on 17FEB2022

Living Free ·

2022/02/17

Content Warning - this program features a personal story that includes alcoholism and suicidal thoughts that may be distressing to some listeners. If that doesn't sound like your cup of tea right now you should skip of this podcast. If this raises questions or causes distress, please call Lifeline (13 11 14) or Beyond Blue (1300 224 636).Grace grew up in a normal family but felt anxious and was sensitive and self-conscious from an early age. She was younger than her classmates and started drinking

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Gamblers Anonymous - Ram on 10FEB2022

Living Free ·

2022/02/10

Ram returns to the show after about 12 months to talk about the impact of Covid-19 on gamblers and recovery in Gamblers Anonymous. We discuss mainly gambling electronically and on poker machines. Ram shares his struggle to get free of online gambling companies when he was trying to stop gambling and details some of their follow-up contacts and inducement offers, even when they knew he was self-excluding.We also talk about difficulties gambling presents and its impact on personal relationships with

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Doors Wide Open - Lena on 24NOV2016

Living Free ·

2022/02/03

This is a show that was originally broadcast on 24th November 2016, and we are podcasting as a companion to our 22 September 2022 interview. We have uploaded it into a spare space in our podcasting framework as we cannot backdate it to 2016.Lena shares her lived experience of using community support to help people support family members recover from drug addiction in Bunbury Western Australia. Lena shares about the origin of a group called Doors Wide Open and how community came together when she

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Alcoholics, Addicts and Al-Anon - Rishi, Annie and...

Living Free ·

2022/01/27

This show was originally presented by Jude on 16th February 2017 and has not been podcast before.Rishi and Annie talk about alcoholism, ICE addiction and ICE drug replacement therapy, Jude discusses from the aspect of alcoholism and Bill provides a family of the alcoholic perspective.All note the benefits of a 12th Step program to help them get their lives back into balance.If you would like to find out more about Narcotics Anonymous or need to talk to somebody, then please call 1300 652 820 at any

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Mike on 20JAN2022

Living Free ·

2022/01/20

Mike grew up suffering from ADHD and was pretty isolated and felt like he didn’t fit in at home or at school. His parents had come from alcoholic homes and were unstable and unpredictable. Mike started drinking at about 14 years old and found that it allowed him to feel good, equal, relaxed and easy-going.In his early 20’s Mike used amphetamines and alcohol regularly, but it was his access to quality spirits that really accelerated his progression into alcoholism. His relationships were difficult

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Gamblers Anonymous - SJ on 13JAN2022

Living Free ·

2022/01/13

Content Warning - this program features a personal story that includes gambling and suicidal thoughts that may be distressing to some listeners. If that doesn't sound like your cup of tea right now you should skip of this podcast. If this does raise questions or causes distress, please call Lifeline (13 11 14) or Beyond Blue (1300 224 636).SJ grew up in the seventies in New Zealand, in a time when there was little control of children being exposed to poker machines in pubs. Bingo and pokies played

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Al-Anon Family Groups - Kate on 6 JAN 2022

Living Free ·

2022/01/06

Kate grew up in NSW as part of a large extended family but her home life was affected, in ways she did not understand at the time, by the intergenerational effects of alcoholism. Even though her family appeared to be functioning well on the ouside, Kate came to understand that the facade hid the reality that members of the family were to a large extent isolated from each other, just surviving. As a young adult Kate continued to live in survival mode, until she found Al-Anon. Gradually, as she

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Craig on 30DEC2021

Living Free ·

2021/12/30

Craig had a usual childhood and like his dad he enjoyed a drink like most other people. It wasn’t until he was in his fifties that his regular drinking quickly spiralled out of control when he lost his job unexpectedly. His anxiety turned to anger, and resentment and he used alcohol and anti-depressants to try and cope with his new situation.At his family’s suggestion, Craig went into a rehab facility for what he thought was a rest but was surprised when they started calling him an alcoholic and

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Narcotics Anonymous - Tony on 23DEC2021

Living Free ·

2021/12/23

Tony had a very disrupted childhood and although he hadn’t done anything criminal spent time in youth detention and then because of his subsequent drug lifestyle spent frequent stints in prison.It wasn’t until a “do-gooder” helped him find some stable accommodation on exiting prison and indirectly introduced him to recovery in Narcotics Anonymous that Tony was able to get his life into perspective and to consider stopping using drugs and alcohol to quieten his mind.In NA, Tony met his wife and she

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SMART Recovery - Nick Kenny on 16DEC2021

Living Free ·

2021/12/16

Nick Kenny shares his story of alcohol drug over use and how it affected his life. He considered going to Narcotics Anonymous before settling with SMART Recovery and through their structured program has managed to address his addictive behaviour. Nick discusses how SMART Recovery meetings and using the SMART recovery tools have helped him.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

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Gamblers Anonymous - Ryan on 09DEC2021

Living Free ·

2021/12/09

Ryan shares his journey of a normal family life where gambling and drinking were commonplace. He felt fairly alienated as a child at school and had authority issues from a very young age. Ryan started gambling seriously when he was 21 after a split-up with ahis partner. He initially won a large sum of money but quickly gambling consumed that and then his weekly income.Ryan initially sought help through Gamblers Help and tried controlled gambling but eventually he returned to addictive gambling. As

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