Lisa felt that she was different from the start and grew up in a dysfunctional family affected by the family disease of alcoholism. She found out at an early age that alcohol made her feel better and she gravitated towards people that enjoyed alcohol so that she could enjoy it too.  Lisa was a wild child, left school early and became a single parent in her early twenties.  As life became increasingly difficult, she leant on alcohol more until her drinking was out of her control.In her late twenties Lisa sought help in Alcoholics Anonymous, and found out that she couldn’t drink like normal people but that she could survive and even thrive, without a daily drink. Her life got better as her thinking straightened out and now she’s happy to be a sober grandma.If you would like to find out a bit more about alcoholism for yourself or a friend, then you can give Alcoholics Anonymous a call on 1300 222 222 or check out their website www.aa.org.au.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 al-anon.org.au for more information.You can show your support to the Living Free show and keep us on air by:subscribing to 3CR https://www.3cr.org.au/subscribeand/or donating to 3CR https://www.3cr.org.au/donateMusic played in this episode was provided by the artists, via Australian Music Radio Airplay Project (https://amrap.org.au/):@15:10 - Better Than The Wizards: Be Alright (https://amrap.org.au/release/better-than-the-wizards-be-alright)@35:58 - Emma Trenorden: Wild Woman (https://amrap.org.au/track/emma-trenorden-wild-woman)@56:08 - Brad Hunt - Paradise (https://amrap.org.au/release/brad-hunt-paradise) 

Gary grew up with parents who had been affected by a drinker in their family. He went on to marry three alcoholics and was fortunate when a marriage counsellor suggested that he try Al-Anon Family Groups. Now, over twenty-four years later, he discusses the impact of Al-Anon in transforming his life and relationships.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 al-anon.org.au for more information.You can show your support to the Living Free show and keep us on air by:subscribing to 3CR https://www.3cr.org.au/subscribeand/or donating to 3CR https://www.3cr.org.au/donateMusic played in this episode was provided by the artists, via Australian Music Radio Airplay Project (https://amrap.org.au/):@15:23 - Drew Wilson: Need to tell (https://amrap.org.au/release/drew-wilson-need-to-tell)@34:42 - Bianca Ivorie: Bloom In Spring (https://amrap.org.au/release/bianca-ivorie-bloom-in-spring)@57:15 - Ray Ramon - Move Your Body [Feat. Spydaman] (https://amrap.org.au/track/ray-ramon-move-your-body-feat-spydaman-move-your-body-feat-spydaman)

As the youngest child of a family of 9 children, Del grow up feeling invisible and often bewildered about the actions of others in the family. Del's parents drank and partied, distracted from the emotional needs of their children. As the result of this, Del found herself in early adulthood ill-equipped to recognise healthy from unhealthy relationships, leaving her vulnerable to mistaking any show of kindness as safety. It took several damaging relationships and emotional collapse for Del to realise that she needed help to navigate her way through the trauma. Al-Anon has been a major part of this. Through working the Al-Anon program with the support of others who listen, Del has come to understand herself, finding freedom to enjoy a life of love with her children, grandchildren and friends.  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 al-anon.org.au for more information.Show your support by donating to 3CR https://www.3cr.org.au/donate#Alcoholism #Al-Anon #Recovery The Living Free show may involve discussion of topics such as suicide, mental illness, self-harm and family violence. Please practise self-care and care of others when listening.  

The child of migrant parents who worked long hours, Amanda remembers feeling isolated as a child. She remembers bingeing on food at the age of 8 and has spent many years struggling with compulsive over-eating, using food to calm herself whever she feel restless, irritable, discontented or otherwise uncomfortable. Overeaters Anonymous has shown Amanda that she is not alone and that it is possible  to live at ease, without bingeing.This episode is a repeat. It was first aired in March 2024.If you are having difficulty with compulsive overeating you might like to contact Overeaters Anonymous. You can find them at oa.org.au. All meetings welcome newcomers and the only requirement for OA membership is the desire to stop eating compulsively.There are meetings listed on the website at oa.org.au/meetings - these may be face-to-face, online or hybrid meetings. Show your support to the Living Free show bysubscribing to 3CR https://www.3cr.org.au/subscribeand/or donating to 3CR https://www.3cr.org.au/donate The Living Free show may involve discussion of topics such as suicide, mental illness, self-harm and family violence. Please practise self-care and care of others when listening. 

Derek grew up in a conservative religious family and didn’t drink alcohol till he was in his early twenties. He liked the effect of alcohol and continued drinking socially during his twenties and then quite heavily during his thirties. Derek was 42 when he decided to control his drinking but it took him 5 years before he had to admit that all he could really manage was a maximum of 2 days sober at any one attempt. Three months after he heard about Alcoholics Anonymous from a friend, it took a further 3 months till he was ready to try AA and then 5 days to get to a meeting.  Derek found out that he couldn’t drink like normal people and that he could survive and even thrive, without a daily drink.If you would like to find out a bit more about alcoholism for yourself or a friend, then you can give Alcoholics Anonymous a call on 1300 222 222 or check out their website www.aa.org.au.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 al-anon.org.au for more information.You can show your support to the Living Free show and keep us on air by:subscribing to 3CR https://www.3cr.org.au/subscribeand/or donating to 3CR https://www.3cr.org.au/donateMusic played in this episode was provided by the artists, via Australian Music Radio Airplay Project (https://amrap.org.au/):@15:28 - Ben Walker: Time Machine (https://amrap.org.au/track/ben-walker-time-machine-1)@34:25 - Sven Tydeman: That's Why It Works (https://amrap.org.au/track/sven-tydeman-thats-why-it-works)@56:09 - No PROMISES - Hold The Door & Singing My Lines (https://amrap.org.au/release/no-promises-hold-the-door & https://amrap.org.au/track/no-promises-singing-my-lines)

Tom was reasonably academic, enjoyed music and was quite competitive in his youth but always felt a bit different, like a square peg in a round hole.  He had depressive episodes early on which were evidence of sub-clinical mental illness that would affect him later in his teenage years.Tom was curious about drugs in his early teens and joined in with a drug culture at his school, using mainly marijuana. He stopped using drugs to improve his studies but experienced a mental breakdown and was placed on anti-psychosis drugs. Tom took a while off school and during that time he experienced heroin, which led him to his first rehab. He has since been in many rehabs and detox centres, where he was exposed to the 12th Step recovery program of Narcotics Anonymous. Tom has also been in long-term rehab, on Methadone treatment and attended Smart Recovery program to address his combination of needing to treat his mental illness and stay clean.  Today, his life is manageable, but depression still poses the greatest risk to him staying drug free.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 time or go online at www.navic.net.au.Show your support to the Living Free show and keep us on air by:subscribing to 3CR https://www.3cr.org.au/subscribeand/or donating to 3CR https://www.3cr.org.au/donateMusic played in this episode was provided by the artists, via Australian Music Radio Airplay Project (https://amrap.org.au/):Daniel J Farthing - Run Neddy Run [https://amrap.org.au/release/daniel-j-farthing-run-neddy-run] @16:34Byrd of Paradyse - Karma (Ft Uncle Kev Starkey) [https://amrap.org.au/release/byrd-of-paradyse-karma-ft-uncle-kev-starkey] @32:20Mainline – Kara’s song [https://soundcloud.com/revampd/karas-song] @54:50

Anne grew up in a family affected by intergenerational alcoholism, in which her father resorted to anger and violence. She had undiagnosed ADHD as a child, inevitably got into trouble at school, and continued to take risks in her early adult life. It was the drinking of her husband that led Anne to seek the support of Al-Anon. When she made the difficult to choice to leave her husband, taking her four children with her, she did it with confidence that despite the risks she faced, things would work out for the best, and they did. Since then, Anne has applied the principles of the 12 Steps to all of her challenges, one day at a time, to build a satisfying life for herself.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 al-anon.org.au for more information.Show your support by donating to 3CR https://www.3cr.org.au/donate#Alcoholism #Al-Anon #Recovery The Living Free show may involve discussion of topics such as suicide, mental illness, self-harm and family violence. Please practise self-care and care of others when listening. 

Janine grew up in a family where sharing good food was an expression of bonding and love, but when she began to experience issues with her sense of identity and belonging at school, she became concerned about her weight. She began dieting but found that after each diet she gained more weight. The pattern continued until Janine's weight gain was beyond her control and so was her preoccupation with food. Now a member of Overeaters Anonymous, Janine has accepted that she is powerless over food and that her life had become unmanageable. With the help of group meetings and regular contact with other OA members, she has experienced not only physical, spiritual and emotional healing but freedom from compulsive eating.This episode is a repeat. It was first aired in February 2023.If you are having difficulty with compulsive overeating you might like to contact Overeaters Anonymous. You can find them at oa.org.au. All meetings welcome newcomers and the only requirement for OA membership is the desire to stop eating compulsively.There are meetings listed on the website at oa.org.au/meetings - these may be face-to-face, online or hybrid meetings. Show your support to the Living Free show bysubscribing to 3CR https://www.3cr.org.au/subscribeand/or donating to 3CR https://www.3cr.org.au/donate The Living Free show may involve discussion of topics such as suicide, mental illness, self-harm and family violence. Please practise self-care and care of others when listening.

Michael has come back on the show, now with another 6 years of sobriety, and talks about the impact of his drinking on himself and his family, and what eventually brought him into Alcoholics Anonymous.Michael discusses the profound transformation that he went through because of understanding that his problem was his thinking and not his drinking, which was merely a symptom. AA fundamentally changed the way he considered himself and others, and he realized that his future depended on not trying to control his drinking or the way others thought of him. He didn’t realize that he could live without alcohol and today he just lives life and no longer thinks about alcohol.If you would like to find out a bit more about alcoholism for yourself or a friend, then you can give Alcoholics Anonymous a call on 1300 222 222 or check out their website www.aa.org.au.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 al-anon.org.au for more information.Michael’s previous podcasts from 2020 (recorded in 2017) and 2018: https://www.3cr.org.au/livingfree/episode-202006181300/alcoholics-anonymous-chrissy-and-michaelhttps://www.3cr.org.au/livingfree/episode-201804191300/alcoholics-anonymous-michael-and-kirbyYou can show your support to the Living Free show and keep us on air by:subscribing to 3CR https://www.3cr.org.au/subscribeand/or donating to 3CR https://www.3cr.org.au/donateMusic played in this episode was provided by the artists, via Australian Music Radio Airplay Project (https://amrap.org.au/):@18:02 - Drew Wilson - Slow motion (https://amrap.org.au/artist/drew-wilson-2)@33:52 - The Redeemed - Summer Surprise (https://amrap.org.au/artist/the-redeemed-1)@53:21 - Nasman Donovan - I Like the Way & You're Gold (https://amrap.org.au/artist/nasman-donovan-1)

John grew up in a normal family but got into alcohol and dope in his early teens, hating the taste of alcohol but loving the effect it had in helping to fit in.  He was in youth detention early, but it wasn’t till he was in and out of the adult justice system that he got a taste for heroin, then speed and amphetamines.  John went through rehab many times and found out about Narcotics Anonymous but didn’t really take recovery seriously until after he had been clean for a couple of years and was a single parent of his two sons.  During his last relapse, when the drugs no longer had the desired effect, he decided to give NA a proper go. Even with an unexpected stint in prison John didn’t relapse as he’d finally lost the obsession with drugs John has now been clean for over 18 years and has been enjoying being part of society again. He is also involved with Voices for Change (https://voices-for-change.org/), a self-advocacy group for people with acquired brain injury and experience of the criminal justice system. John helps spread the message by sharing his lived experience of drugs and prison through talks to groups of school childrenYou can also listen to john’s earlier interview from February 2019: https://www.3cr.org.au/livingfree/episode-201902281300/narcotics-anonymous-johnIf you would like to find out more about Narcotics Anonymous or need to talk to somebody, then please call 1300 652 820 at any time or go online at www.navic.net.au.Show your support to the Living Free show and keep us on air by:subscribing to 3CR https://www.3cr.org.au/subscribeand/or donating to 3CR https://www.3cr.org.au/donateMusic played in this episode was provided by the artists, via Australian Music Radio Airplay Project (https://amrap.org.au/):Saritah - TRULY [https://amrap.org.au/track/saritah-truly] @20:52Saritah - TAKE A LITTLE TIME [https://amrap.org.au/track/saritah-take-a-little-time] @33:34Karen Law - Three Guests & Coral Coast [https://amrap.org.au/track/karen-law-three-guests & https://amrap.org.au/track/karen-law-coral-coast] @56:08

Erin grew up with her three siblings in a family where alcoholism had affected several generations. She describes her family as 'fractured' as each member coped as best they could with the discomfort they felt. Erin herself sought solace in alcohol, sugar and unhealthy relationships, until she found, through Al-Anon and other 12 Step Fellowships, better ways to manage her life and overcome the trauma that had kept her bound in unhealthy habits.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 al-anon.org.au for more information.Show your support by donating to 3CR https://www.3cr.org.au/donate#Alcoholism #Al-Anon #Recovery The Living Free show may involve discussion of topics such as suicide, mental illness, self-harm and family violence. Please practise self-care and care of others when listening.