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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

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Al-Anon Family Groups - Annette and Silvana

Living Free ·

2020/01/02

Annette grew up with an alcoholic grandfather and her siblings went on to have drug and alcohol problems. Her boyfriend drank but it wasn’t till they were married and had two children that she found it harder to cope with his drinking. Annette’s husband got sober through rehab but when he started using drugs she lost her compassion for him. When she was introduced to Al-Anon Family Groups her life started to improve as she realized that she could detach from him and address her behaviour, which was

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Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous - Louise and Violet

Living Free ·

2019/12/26

Louise grew up on a farm, developed food allergies and started controlling what she ate from an early age. She started drinking in her early teens and started to use exercise, diets and purging as a mechanism to control her weight. Alcohol was an early problem and Louise found some relief in AA but then found that her obsession with food became a major concern and she joined OA. Experiencing weight gain/loss of up to 15 Kgs at a time prompted her to seek further help and she found Food Addicts in

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Alcoholics Anonymous – Annie

Living Free ·

2019/12/19

Annie grew up in a large family and her dad left home when she was in her mid-teens. She had plenty of friends and discovered alcohol at parties around 18 years old and always ended up drunk. She could control when she drank but not after she had her first drink. Annie felt that she drank normally and didn’t think that she needed to change as she couldn’t remember her actions when drunk. She married and had a couple of children and could keep her drinking under control when she had work or family

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Gamblers Anonymous - Jay

Living Free ·

2019/12/12

Jay had a pretty normal family childhood; his parents both worked but drank to excess on weekends. His gambling began at 13 years old through a close friend who used his mum’s TAB phone account to gamble on the horses on weekends. Jay’s first bet was a big win but he wasn’t hooked immediately, that really established when he turned 18 and could gamble more freely at the TABs in the local pubs. He managed his debts by borrowing money from his mum and repaying it regularly on payday.The arrival of the

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Al-Anon Family Groups - Erin and Maria

Living Free ·

2019/12/05

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 10 years and recommended that Erin go to Al-Anon Family Groups. Al-Anon changed her life, she stopped

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Narcotics Anonymous - El and Summer

Living Free ·

2019/11/28

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 rehab and her first exposure to Narcotics Anonymous. However, El continued using for some years until;

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Alcoholics Anonymous – Caz and Catherine

Living Free ·

2019/11/21

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 from the start Caz realized that she couldn’t drink safely again and now she’s comfortable with her new AA

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Gamblers Anonymous - Rebekah

Living Free ·

2019/11/14

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. Eventually this progressed to being at the casino three or four times a day as Rebekah’s addiction took

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Al-Anon Family Groups - Helen

Living Free ·

2019/11/07

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 better as she stopped people-pleasing, started to take responsibility for her own life choices and

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Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous - Sandra and Anna

Living Free ·

2019/10/31

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 control her eating. She found Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous (FA) in her late 20’s and was finally able

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Narcotics Anonymous - Travis and James

Living Free ·

2019/10/24

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 was his introduction to partying, drugs and free alcohol. Travis was eventually arrested and managed to

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Alcoholics Anonymous – Greig and Russell

Living Free ·

2019/10/17

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 drinking and came into AA after he smashed up a hotel room and scared his wife. After initial contempt

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Alcoholics Anonymous and Mental Health Week - Jasmin...

Living Free ·

2019/10/10

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 to help ease their childhood trauma but that eventually added to their developing mental health issues

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Al-Anon Family Groups - Aileen and Kylie

Living Free ·

2019/10/03

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 Anonymous she eventually discovered Al-Anon Family Groups and realized the part she played in the family

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Lisa and Lindsay

Living Free ·

2019/09/26

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 their website aa.org.au.

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Alcoholics Anonymous – Eugenie and Nikita

Living Free ·

2019/09/19

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 quickly formed relationships with heavy drinkers and drug users. After many years of excessive drinking

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Gamblers Anonymous - John and Brenden

Living Free ·

2019/09/12

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 led to a second life hidden from family and friends. Eventually they each had to admit it to their

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Al-Anon, AA & AUSYPAA - Emily and Dean

Living Free ·

2019/09/05

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 problem then you can phone the Al-Anon Family Groups helpline on 1300 252 666 or go online at

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Three Sides of the Coin - Anna Bardsley and Judy Avisar

Living Free ·

2019/08/29

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 someone close to them. These performances share the lived experience of gambling to raise awareness of gambling

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Narcotics Anonymous - Liz

Living Free ·

2019/08/22

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 it really just allowed her to drink and use drugs. Her family put her in rehab in her early 20’s and

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