Life With Addictions

“You never drank THAT much.”

How often have you heard this yourself or said the same to a friend or family member? Many people consider their level of drinking as ‘normal’, when in reality it’s masking a distressed emotional state.

We all develop various coping mechanisms to deal with stress. People also drink alcohol for a variety of reasons. So when does a self-medicating vice become an addiction?

As Robyn Flemming shares this week, it’s not so much the amount, but the affect it has on you. It’s also about what you’re seeking through your drinking – what is the wound you’re trying to manage?

In this episode Robyn talks candidly about her life as an addict, primarily with alcohol, but also other dependencies. She reveals the ever-present personal negotiations around her drinking, and the trade offs she made to enable her addictions. For those with no experience of addiction, Robyn will help you to understand the complexities of this path, the internal struggles and what happens when you start to not like your own behaviour.

This is a powerful episode that encourages the listener to reflect upon their relationship with themselves and their own coping mechanisms.

Robyn is the author of “Skinful: A Memoir of Addiction” and a freelance book editor. An Australian, she lived in Hong Kong from 1986 to 1993, and was a global nomad from 2010 to 2020. A former “grey area” drinker, she has run five marathons and 48 half marathons all over the world. In 2022, she will resume her global travels. Robyn is a keen smartphone street photographer.

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