Two hard drinking rock stars and their partners made a pact to do the unthinkable, quit alcohol for 12 months. What seemed like an impossibility became a life changing transformation. Over three and a half years later the group caught up in the studio to reflect on the journey . We chat about the highs and lows of sobriety and the wondrous journey of discovery that never ends. The support from the other three in this group was the inspiration for this podcast and the whole HIQA community. I am a...
Nov 13, 2021•41 min•Season 4Ep. 14
In the episode I chat with ex-binge drinker, breast cancer survivor, sober coach and business owner Kathryn Elliott. In 2019 Kathryn decided it was time to call it quits with alcohol, as if that wasn't a big enough change she then discovered a large lump in her breast which took her life on an even bigger turn. Having always relied on alcohol to get her through traumatic times, Kathryn decided to stay on track and really experience everything this journey would teach her, the good and the bad. I...
Nov 06, 2021•1 hr•Season 4Ep. 13
In this episode I chat with author Christy Hughes about her journey from binge drinking to sobriety, becoming brave and finding her voice. Her sobriety helped her discover herself and the connection she shared with her own Grandmothers which became the inspiration for her book Strong Roots, Wayward Soul. To contact Christy please go to Instagram: the_bravekind, the_hughes_homestead www.wearethebravekind.com For more resources go to https://www.iquitalcohol.com.au This podcast was proudly brought...
Oct 30, 2021•40 min•Season 4Ep. 12
In this episode I chat with Luke Hutchinson from Adelaide about his inspiring recovery from alcohol. From a young age Luke used alcohol to numb his pain from the grief of losing his Dad and a number of friends in a short space of time. What started as a means to help him deal with his trauma became a dysfunctional and very serious addiction. Luke credits his recovery to the 12 step program which has helped him to deal with his past and create a beautiful life with his family. He continues to wor...
Oct 23, 2021•37 min•Season 4Ep. 11
In this episode I chat with my high school friend Rachel Cotton. Growing up in the small town of Castlemaine in Central Victoria where the drinking culture with teenagers was rampant, binge drinking to blackout was just how it was done. Being out of control was not out of the ordinary and when one night her drink was spiked by some co-workers every woman's worst nightmare became her reality when she awoke and discovered that she had been raped. This podcast is a very scary reminder of the potent...
Oct 16, 2021•37 min•Season 4Ep. 10
In this episode I catch up with Amanda Swart who initially shared her story back in January when she was at 90 days sober. Amanda was one of my very first coaching clients and she has been absolutely smashing it. In this episode we talk about seeking out people who can help you on your journey, the highs and lows of sobriety, healing from your past, accepting what is, finding your joy and becoming who you were born to be. The book Amanda refers to is ANTHONY DE MELLO - AWARENESS For more resourc...
Oct 09, 2021•37 min•Season 4Ep. 9
In this episode I catch up with India Morris who started sneaking alcohol at the age of eight. By the age of 13 she had already developed a strong drinking habit. From using alcohol as a way to escape she had developed a serious binge drinking pattern, sometimes going weeks without drinking and then drinking so much she would wake up the next day not remembering and feeling full of guilt and shame. The joy she had felt before from drinking was pretty much gone and she was becoming maudlin and de...
Oct 02, 2021•45 min•Season 4Ep. 8
Sam Brown takes us though a short breath set focusing on calming the nervous system and reliving stress followed by a mini mediation. Please do not do this while driving. To reach out to Sam go to @sambrown.meditation Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Sep 27, 2021•18 min•Season 4Ep. 7
In this mid week bonus episode I chat with meditation and breath work teacher Sam Brown. Sam and I covered the life changing power of the breath and how Sam used it as a technique to transform her life and the lives of many others. We talk about how - the quality of your breath will determine the quality of your life. - using the breath to get back in to the drivers seat of your life - calming the nervous system - firing up and priming with the breath - the breath as the key to the nervous syste...
Sep 27, 2021•55 min•Season 4Ep. 7
In this episode I chat with Lindsay from Victoria. Lindsay had a dangerous relationship with alcohol from the age of 14. Early in her 20's she had developed a drinking habit that was so intense she found herself isolating from friends and family so she could drink herself into oblivion. She felt that having people around her would get in the way of her drinking and that "there wasn't enough alcohol in the universe" to satisfy her. Eventually she found herself with no job, she lost her relationsh...
Sep 25, 2021•58 min•Season 3Ep. 6
In this episode I chat yet again with my beautiful friend Lyndal Hunt. Lyndal is going strong and 11 and a half months sober after a brief relapse in October 2020. We talk about the importance of really diving deep and healing old wounds, the problem of reaching a sobriety plateau and what to do, what to do with the extra time on. your hands. We chat about her role in the upcoming HIQA sober challenge for October, tips for self care and setting yourself free and so much more. We mentioned the Th...
Sep 18, 2021•49 min
In this episode I chat with self professed "Grey Area Drinker", Kat Dunell. Kat is a fire fighter who lives in Geelong with her husband and three kids. She partied a lot as a teenager and throughout her 20's but started to pull back a lot as she got older and had her kids. But what if you aren't a complete trash-bag but you are still relying on those few glasses of wine as a crutch to relieve stress or to wind down after work and tackling the kids evening rituals? In Jolene Park's incredible Ted...
Sep 11, 2021•54 min•Season 4Ep. 3
In this episode I chat with international Ruby coach Karl Savimaki. Karl had an on again, off again relationship with alcohol for years which cost him his first marriage and his physical and mental health. Drinking up to the equivalent of 32 bottles of wine a week he knew he had to change. Through reading Alan Carr's, Only Way To Quit Drinking Karl was able to change his mindset and slowly start making changes towards not only quitting alcohol but transforming himself physically and emotionally....
Sep 04, 2021•42 min•Season 4Ep. 3
In this episode I chat with builder Chris King. After years of using alcohol to "fit in" in his teen years , his relationship with alcohol slowly spiralled out of control. Chris found himself with a successful building business but struggled with anxiety and old patterns that were keeping him stuck in a dark place but had so much of his identity tied up in alcohol. We chat about... Becoming the person you want to be. Building inner strength and confidence Getting out of the shame cycle. Realisin...
Aug 28, 2021•1 hr 6 min•Season 4Ep. 2
In this episode Ash and I chat about all things labels. We delve into a topic that I have recently discussed with my challenge group... Labels. How is it possible to facilitate change when we are still attached to our old labels? Sometimes we don't even realise that we will still have this old belief about ourselves. So we need to look at what labels we had on ourselves and explore the possibility of creating new ones to live by. To get the HIQA Playbook go to https://www.iquitalcohol.com.au/pro...
Aug 21, 2021•39 min•Season 4Ep. 1
In the final episode for Season 3 I catch up with therapist Ben Schiller. It was a jam packed episode that covered a lot of ground. We chat about... - drinking dreams, why we have them and how to use them to your advantage. - why we de-prioritise our self work and ourselves. - sitting with your feelings, how to do it and why it works. - Should you have a big blow out before starting a sober challenge or embarking on a sober journey? - reparenting your inner child. - Mapping out your thoughts and...
Jun 21, 2021•51 min•Season 3Ep. 19
After battles with anorexia, suffering trauma from sexual abuse and a very dangerous relationship with alcohol and suicide attempts, Tracey Cochrane is finally finding peace. Rather than white knuckling her way through not drinking as she had done in the past, Tracey has learnt to challenge her thinking, calm that inner critic she calls Genevive, breathe her way to a state of calm and most importantly love who she is on the inside. As one of the participants of the HIQA 3 month challenge, Tracey...
Jun 12, 2021•51 min
Lyndal and I caught up for a little mid week mini pod catch up to see how she is going on her journey. Lyndal has been a guest on this podcast a few times before and a huge inspiration as she has shared her journey of sobriety, her relapse and her new found vigour for her journey. We talk about how to keep your fire stoked, how acts of service can pull you out of a funk and switch the focus off yourself and your own challenges and how doing the work is so much more rewarding if we see it as a gi...
Jun 09, 2021•36 min•Season 3Ep. 21
In this episode I chat with Jimmy . Jimmy has chosen to stay semi anonymous on this episode as he shares his harrowing journey from binge drinking to become completely addicted and controlled by alcohol to the point where daily drinking saw him almost lose it all, his family, his business and almost his life. Jimmy opens up and shares with us about his battle in the hope that his story may help someone else change their story. While Jimmy won't be sharing his private details on here, he has offe...
Jun 05, 2021•1 hr 8 min•Season 3Ep. 20
In this episode I catch up with Melbourne comedian Bianka Ismailvoski. Bianka has been sober for 2 years and is still relishing in all the positives that shown up in her sobriety. The biggest one for her was realising how much real and authentic fun was to be had without booze, the level of depths in connection with people and even a much better sex life. . We also talk about her own podcast We Can Do Better in which she also delves deep in to alcohol and its effects and living without it. A lin...
May 29, 2021•58 min•Season 3Ep. 19
In this episode I chat with 27 year old Sam Wilson, the founder of Sober Mates, an educational community platform for young sober curious people to connect and explore their relationship with alcohol. We chat about Sam's own relationship with alcohol and how it left her feeling out of control and unhappy in herself. After she chose to quit she found herself happier, more connected and felt that her world expanded. We talk about sober dating, sober sex, feeling all your feelings, authenticity and...
May 21, 2021•39 min
In this episode I chat with Tara McCarthy a participant in the HIQA Jan 2021 3 month sober challenge. Tara and I talk about the benefits she has found in her life in her sobriety. How mindset is everything, shifting from a place of FOMO to realising you are giving yourself a gift. To sign up for the July 2021 3 month sober challenge head to https://www.iquitalcohol.com.au/blogs/events This podcast was proudly brought to you by Monday Distillery, purveyors of beautiful, sugar free, non-alcoholic ...
May 15, 2021•46 min•Season 3Ep. 17
I was stoked to chat with Stu Henshall a co-owner of Australia's first Non-acoholic cocktail bar, Brunswick Aces. We recorded our chat and I have put it up as a little mini mid week poddy. We chat about Stu's own relationship with alcohol. Why an AF bar. The possibility of a sober music venue and the whole sober movement that is gaining more and more traction in Australia which is really exciting for us Sober Susan's. To check them out go to www.brunswickaces.com This podcast was proudly bro...
May 11, 2021•18 min•Season 3Ep. 16
In this episode I chat with Paul Eliseo, trainer and master practitioner of NLP and Hypnosis, Lifestyle Coach and total mind master. As a teen Paul suffered from Chronic Anxiety and IBS a result of stress, too much pot and binge drinking and he was on the edge of a complete nervous breakdown. Afraid and feeling like his mind was unravelling he educated himself on what was going on in his mind and started to research the mind body connection and used some NLP and Self Hypnosis techniques to pull ...
May 08, 2021•1 hr 3 min•Season 3Ep. 15
In this episode I chat with Jeannie O'Carroll, my friend and psychotherapist who specialises in trauma and couples therapy. Jeannie is no stranger to childhood trauma, growing up in South Africa abandoned by her father, dealing with an alcoholic mother and doing time in a children's home left her with her own emotional wounds to heal. It's no wonder she is so good at what she does. In this episode we talk about Pete Walker and the methodology from his book Complex PTSD from Surviving To Thriving...
May 01, 2021•1 hr 7 min•Season 3Ep. 14
In this episode I catch up with Juliet Lever. Juliette is an author, coach specialising in self development and training NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming). Juliet is a self confessed alcoholic, workaholic and chocoholic who made the decision to change her life in her late 20's. In this podcast we talk about how making that one decision can shape your destiny. How to cultivate change. How she dealt with resistance from friends and having faith that your tribe will come. Juliet and her partner Pa...
Apr 26, 2021•52 min•Season 3Ep. 13
In this episode I chat with Amy Armstrong from Port Fairy, Victoria who at 10 months sober at the time of recording is on a mission to have more alcohol free options in the restaurants and bars around Australia and she is succeeding, one town at a time. Amy had struggled with binge drinking for years stuck in the cycle of drinking, black out, shame, repeat she had enough and through the suggestion of a friend she joined Annie Grace's, The Naked Mind one month sobriety course and has been alcohol...
Apr 17, 2021•44 min•Season 3Ep. 12
In this episode I chat with one of the members of my 3 month sober challenge, Kate Morrison. Kate signed up for the challenge in the midst of some big personal challenges and changes and as a group we watched her grow from strength to strength. In the podcast we chat about her reluctancy to do "the work" initially but how at day 50 she started to put some journalling and meditation in to practice and the real shift happened. Kate is now fully into her meditation, mindfulness and gratitude practi...
Apr 10, 2021•1 hr 11 min•Season 3Ep. 11
In this episode I chat with the founder of sober social group Untoxicated, Faye Lawrence. Faye faced her own decades long battle with alcohol ending up in a detox unit to wean off the booze, Faye went on to turn her life around through the support of online groups and the a lot of self healing. Realising the difference the support of like minded can make Faye set about connecting other sober people or people who just want to experience some social events without alcohol, her groups now run all o...
Apr 03, 2021•1 hr 6 min•Season 3Ep. 10
In this episode I talk with the wonderful Tish Banks who has gone through deep healing and recreation of herself. Having grown up with much trauma related directly to alcohol, Tish was able to overcome her childhood pain and step into her own womanhood and strength free from the generational grip of alcohol. From easily being able to polish off 3 bottles of wine in a night to being completely free from alcohol Tish exudes positivity and is a true testament to how you can heal and turn your life ...
Mar 27, 2021•44 min•Season 3Ep. 9
