Straight Edge The Podcast

In this episode, Clive and Amie chat to Lisa Conway. A renowned member of the Hair Industry.

Lisa Conway is a Salon Professional Extraordinaire and Author of tell-all book, The Naked Salon – An Essential Guide to Time, Team and Money for Salon Owners. With genuine passion and boundless energy, she heads up The ZING Project, a business dedicated to teaching Salon Owners how to step-up and transform their businesses.

We discuss Lisa's journey of sobriety and her experience with ADHD. Lisa shares how growing up in a family with a history of alcoholism influenced her relationship with alcohol. She also talks about the connection between neurodiversity and addiction, highlighting the role of dopamine in seeking external stimulation. Lisa emphasizes the importance of self-awareness and understanding one's own needs, rather than relying solely on medication. The conversation touches on the challenges of ADHD, the impact on personal relationships, and the strategies Lisa has implemented to manage her symptoms.

She discusses the impact of menopause, divorce, and her son's mental health struggles on her well-being.

Lisa's story is relatable and inspiring, showing that it's never too late to make positive changes in life. She emphasises the need for kindness, authenticity, and self-care in navigating life's challenges.

Takeaways

• Growing up in a family with a history of alcoholism can influence one's relationship with alcohol.

Chapters

TRIGGER WARNING and ANONYMOUS

In this episode, Amie interviews someone, who shares her personal story of growing up in a broken home and being in a codependent and abusive relationship. She opens up about the physical and emotional abuse she endured in her relationship and the challenges of leaving. She also talks about the role of drugs, particularly ice, in her ex-husband's behaviour and the effect it had on their relationship. Despite the abuse, she stayed in the relationship, partly because of her love for her child and the hope that her partner would change. She emphasises the importance of seeking therapy and surrounding oneself with a supportive community. 

If you are anyone you know needs support there are many services that can help

https://www.service.nsw.gov.au/guide/domestic-and-family-violence

https://aa.org.au

https://www.whiteribbon.org.au/helplines/

https://www.salvationarmy.org.au/need-help/family-and-domestic-violence/

A self confessed Codependent and a Workaholic who also liked a drink, Hilary has been a long respected member of the Hair Industry for 5 Decades.

"Codependency refers to a psychological construct involving an unhealthy relationship that people might share with those closest to them."

(reference; https://positivepsychology.com/codependency-definition-signs-worksheets/#overcome-codependency)

Owning 2 of her own Salons, she also worked for well known Hair company’s and began climbing the corporate ladder.

She finally hit rock bottom / burn out and attended Rehab in Sydney's prestigious Northern Beaches for 3 months, which gave her deep insight on her behaviours and learn how to change her life around. 

Hilary's recommendations below:

https://www.southpacificprivate.com.au/

meditation HQ

Co dependency  no more / The language of letting go by author Melody Beattie

Rebekah became active in an eating disorder (ED) at the age of 8. It swallowed up her teens and early twenties. Before recovery, she felt stuck, like she was running on the spot burning a hole in the carpet but never going anywhere.  Now, Rebekah has been in recovery  for 15 years, a day at a time, and the ED doesn’t run her life anymore. She lives in sunny Perth with her fiancé, where she works as a freelance writer and gets down to the beach as often as possible.   

Jo Cowan has been at the helm for an admirable 22 years with INSTYLE and Styleicons and now heads up all sales and commercial opportunities as the National Sales Director for each of Hair Festival’s four main pillars; Shop, Learn, Compete and Connect.

Also an experienced long distance runner, Jo Cowan’s story is one of persistence underpinned by a love of running that has never been extinguished. She consistently ranked in the top 10 for the marathon and half marathon in Australia.

Unfortunately in 2019, Jo discovered a heart defect and had to have immediate surgery, a decision that would forever change her life and spiral her into a deep disconnect from the world. She was eventually committed and had a lengthy stay in hospital to recover.

Now blooming and back in love with life she shares her story and her passion to de-stigmatise mental health issues. 

In this episode we speak to Ariel, a former alcoholic and user turned leader of a detox centre in the USA. 

"I love helping people and I want to continue helping people I work with at the substance - abuse facility. I live a beautiful, happy life today substance free" 

In this episode we chat with the legendary Australian actor, Martin Dingle-Wall, where he shares a deep dive into his life growing up in Australia, his career and his journey to celebrate 10 years of sobriety.

Martin was first introduced to Australian audiences with the arrival of his character Dr Flynn Saunders in Home & Away earning him his Logie nomination for ‘Most Popular New Talent’. 

He would go on to become a series regular on many of Australia’s most popular Award Winning shows including Satisfaction, Rescue Special Ops, Underbelly, Upper Middle Bogan to the Lead his own series COPS L.A.C. 

Martin was introduced to his American audience with his lead role in the Multi Award Winning Film HAPPY HUNTING (Amazon) which holds a 100% Critics Rating on Rotten Tomatoes