PODCAST

Living Free

The Living Free Crew

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

news & politics

All Episodes

Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous – Sam & Lilly

Living Free ·

2018/04/26

Sam had a love of sugar from the start and with an overweight brother the family had a focus on food control. Sam enjoyed visiting her cousins’ place to have treats and at home she often ate food alone or in hiding. She was often angry at her mum about what she felt was inadequate amounts of food and initially Sam didn’t look very overweight. As she put on weight her body image worsened and it all came to a head when she was having her 3rd child and she had back, hips and knee problems. Sam tried

en-au

Alcoholics Anonymous - Michael and Kirby

Living Free ·

2018/04/19

Michael’s parents were heavy drinkers and separated when he was young. Raised by others he learned to lie quickly and started drinking in his early teens, preferring port to beer as it did the job quicker. His drinking quickly progressed from drinking at parties to stealing money to buy alcohol and getting drunk at every opportunity. Michael tried Uni twice but eventually managed to get a job and a stable relationship that allowed his drinking to progress till he became aware that his kids were

en-au

Gamblers Anonymous – Viv & Todd

Living Free ·

2018/04/12

Viv only started gambling later in life when the Pokies came to town. It seemed glamourous at first and a safe place for women, but it was never a social thing. She started slowly but eventually became edgy and impatient to gamble. Money was always a problem as she became more reckless trying to win back her losses. She tried Gamblers Help but realized that she couldn’t control her gambling and went to Gamblers Anonymous briefly but didn’t stay. Viv’s crisis occurred when her support from her mum

en-au

Al-Anon Family Groups – Emma & Linn

Living Free ·

2018/04/05

Emma grew up in a close knit European family and didn’t have any exposure to excessive drinkers. She met her husband ad they had a good social life and were a happy family until his drinking progressed slowly. It became a serious problem after 20 years and Emma was working two jobs to keep the family going. Emma’s friend suggested that she go to Al-Anon Family Groups to get some help and she eventually got the courage to leave the marriage as her husband was unwilling to face his alcoholism..Linn

en-au

Overeaters Anonymous – Gemma

Living Free ·

2018/03/22

Gemma was aware that food played a big part in her life from a very young age. Being petite and enjoying dancing she managed to control her weight through a combination of self will and purging. Never overweight, Gemma flew under the radar during her early compulsive eating. Gemma grew up with her dad in and out of AA, mum in Al-Anon and a brief stint in Alateen herself but found that as she entered her teens she became more obsessed with food. In her later teens she got a boyfriend who also

en-au

Alcoholics Anonymous – Dave and Cat

Living Free ·

2018/03/15

Dave felt different from day 1 and was waiting for someone to come and take him to his true home. He started drinking at 14 years old with his friends and was a happy drunk. Dave’s drinking progressed steadily and as his friends dropped off to continue a normal life Dave ploughed on with drugs and alcohol. Diagnosed in his late teens with a psychiatric problem and with prescribed medication he was able to blame his drinking problems on his mental state. Supported in his drinking for the next 24

en-au

Al-Anon Family Groups – Sue & Terri

Living Free ·

2018/03/01

Both Sue & Terri grew up in a pretty normal household but later realized that the effects of alcoholism were evident from the beginning.Sue left home at 18 years old to escape family duties and found that work was a chance to socialize. Meeting her husband through work she realized that he liked a drink but thought that could be managed. After 15 years of trying to cope with the effects of her husband’s drinking Sue admitted her problem to her mum, who suggested Al-Anon. Even though her husband

en-au

Gamblers Anonymous, Overeaters Anonymous and SLAA –...

Living Free ·

2018/02/22

Terry realized when he was 5 years old that he was more into food than plating with other kids. His gambling addiction started at a weekend pokies venue visit when he was just 16 – pulling the leaver felt like heaven. After being picked on as a kid due to his weight he started a successful boxing career as a kid but gave up to be with girls. Gambling became problematic and he managed to stay in GA for 3 ½ years. Overeating again and in difficult relationships he found SLAA and then OA to deal with

en-au

Alcoholics Anonymous – Luke

Living Free ·

2018/02/15

Luke was introduced to alcohol around 10 years old didn’t initially like it but that came when he was 14 and started drinking on weekends with friends. Luke started to suffer a bit of depression in late high school and then found drugs and smoking dope when he was at university. He realized drinking was a problem in his early 20’s but couldn’t get the incentive to stop. When he was nearing 30 Luke contacted Lifeline when his daily drinking was out of his control but it wasn’t until his uncle got

en-au

Gamblers Anonymous – Brett

Living Free ·

2018/02/08

Brett had a very normal family life but found that he was fascinated with numbers and analysing the odds of favourites winning horseraces from a very early age. He started gambling in earnest when he was 18 and like his friends it was part of typical social life. But Brett found that he continued gambling well after his friends gave up for the night. His gambling progressed and so did the lies, deception and isolation. Assisted by his family to seek help from Gamblers Anonymous in his early 30’s he

en-au

Al-Anon Family Groups – Janina & Christian

Living Free ·

2018/02/01

Both Janina and Christian had a dad who suffered from alcoholism but they had very different lives.Janina’s mum developed a mental illness and she felt silenced as a 10 years old and withdrew from social contact before rebelling at the strict control exercised by her ethnic family and leaving home at 18. Janina went on to marry an alcoholic and to live in poverty and isolation with 3 young children. After leaving her husband and with the help of some school mum friends she was coaxed her into

en-au

AA and Al-Anon – Dayna and Di

Living Free ·

2018/01/25

Dayna had a fairly normal home life but was attracted to alcohol in her early teens and started drinking around 15 years old when she started working. Dayna joined a band at 17 and thought her drinking was fairly normal compared to others in that scene. Things changed when she had her child in her late twenties and found that she was pretty dependent on alcohol on a daily basis. Dayna got into AA and stayed around for 6 years before her first break, then came back into AA for another 5 years before

en-au

Residents for Victoria Street – Judy Ryan and Melody...

Living Free ·

2018/01/11

The Residents for Victoria Street Drug Solutions Incorporated (RVSDS) is a group of Yarra residents from Victoria Street and the surrounding streets, who are directly and personally affected by the high levels of public drug taking and illicit drug dealing within the precinct. They successfully advocated for a Medically Supervised Injection Centre (MSIC) to be trialled within the Victoria Street precinct; to address the high levels of public drug taking; unacceptable rates of overdoses and

en-au

Overeaters Anonymous – Jade

Living Free ·

2018/01/04

Jade always knew that food played a larger part in her life than her family or friends and being slightly overweight led to bullying and name calling at school. Seeking isolation where she could eat without criticism led to her increasing weight over school holidays, exacerbating the problem. Being a fairly good student meant that Jade could continue achieving and made it through secondary school and into Uni but the increased freedom meant more anxiety and led to more isolation and eating. Jade was

en-au

Alcoholics Anonymous – Lisa and Cath

Living Free ·

2017/12/21

Lisa and Cath both started drinking around 13 years old and independently each came to AA for the first time in their early twenties but didn’t identify as an alcoholic. They had plenty of drinking left in them yet but eventually realized in their mid-30’s that alcohol was a real problem to them.Lisa was at Cath’s first AA meeting and they formed a strong bond that even when Lisa left AA for some time kept them in contact. With Cath’s help Lisa managed to bet back to AA again and neither have any

en-au

Gamblers Anonymous – Grant

Living Free ·

2017/12/14

Growing up in New Zealand as an adopted child Grant felt different from the start, like something was missing inside. He was quite competitive and found from an early age that he enjoyed arcade games as a form of gambling. Grant pursued his addiction in earnest when he turned 18 and found racing provided the quickest turnaround. After losing jobs and relationships he found Gamblers Anonymous but continued gambling for 18 months before grasping the GA program in earnest and achieving recovery.If

en-au

Al-Anon Family Groups – Celeste & Jenny

Living Free ·

2017/12/07

Celeste and Jenny share their experience living in a close relationship with an alcoholic. They were attracted to alcoholics and came to Al-Anon Family Groups unaware that they grew up with alcoholism in their own families. Celeste and Jenny both identified with other adult children’s experience and this explained a lot about their own behaviour and their distorted relationship with the alcoholic. By accepting alcoholism as a disease and understanding the part the non-alcoholic plays meant that they

en-au

Living Free - Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous –...

Living Free ·

2017/11/30

Starting out as the heaviest kid in the class, Alan used food as a comfort to overcome the bullying and name calling. He was still sporty and athletic but preferred to eat on his own in his room. Alan’s mum worried about his weight and his eating habits and tried to help him through naturopaths and weight loss food programs. In his twenties he realized that drugs and alcohol were making things worse and managed to overcome their influence but food continued to be a problem. Married and with a young

en-au

Living Free - Alcoholics Anonymous – Aaron and Alex

Living Free ·

2017/11/16

Growing up in the USA an extended family that drank and as a restless child, Aaron was put on narcotic prescription drugs at 13 year old to treat his behaviour problems. Shortly after, he found that alcohol solved his problem of feeling different. Aaron used pot and alcohol and became a daily drinker by the time he moved out of home at 18, before getting sick, being prescribed more painkillers and then using opiates daily. Unable to stop drinking, Aaron continued to drink-drive and crash cars

en-au

Alcoholics Anonymous – Madison

Living Free ·

2017/11/09

Growing up in a pretty normal family where his dad drank heavily and introduced Madison to alcohol on his 13th birthday. As a restless child, alcohol added colour to his life and with an anxious disposition, pretty soon he was looking forward to drinking on the weekend. It wasn’t a conscious decision but alcohol became a regular part of Madison’s teen life. Alcohol had the desired effect, where some was good but more was better and he found being called the Alcoholic at school was like a badge of

en-au

415 results

Living Free

All Episodes

Similar Podcasts

Boletines RNE

RNE

BBC News

BBC World Service

برامج

مونت كارلو الدولية / MCD

Journal Afrique

RFI

要闻解说

RFI - 法国国际广播电台