Thank you for your support over the years - Untoxicated events are closing

As the Founder and Director of Untoxicated it is with a heavy heart that I write to let you know that regrettably the time has come to stop running our events in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. We will be deregistering as a charity/not for profit and ceasing operations.

This isn’t a decision that’s been taken lightly – a huge amount of blood, sweat and tears has been put in over the past 5 years to grow Untox to today. Despite our passion, commitment and the incredible support we have received, we were never able to secure funding to run Untoxicated and the challenges of dedicating the necessary time to manage the entire thing as a totally volunteer-run organisation has become unsustainable.

I want to take this opportunity to express my deepest gratitude for your support and involvement in Untoxicated. Your participation, whether as a member, volunteer, or supporter, has been the backbone of our community.

There are so many people to thank who have contributed along the way – a huge amount of work that has gone on behind the scenes across legal, governance, Board, leadership, grant applications, recruiting volunteers, hosting events, running the FB group, sharing stories, supporting each other to gain and maintain life with less or no alcohol – just way too many people to mention here.

I could never have done it without you all and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. The connections made and the experiences shared will always be a testament to what we accomplished together – we made a difference, guys.

It's been an amazing ride, and I'm so grateful for the community we built together. Keep shining bright! xxx

Faye Lawrence14 January 2024adhd, addiction, alcohol dependence, late diagnosis adhd, women adhd, addiction adhd, brain, neuroscience

SXSW🎉CHANGING THE ‘GETTING WASTED’ AUSSIE PARTY CULTURE: SXSW Sydney

CHANGING THE ‘GETTING WASTED’ AUSSIE PARTY CULTURE: panel discussion at SXSW Sydney

Boom! The opportunity to speak on this topic with the fantastic panel Caterina Giorgi from FARE Australia, Jasper Vallance from Xstatic Sunsets and Murat KILIC (DJ, Producer, Conscious Club Events) was ah-mazing.

As was the strong interest; we were moved to a larger capacity space at the last minute because crowd numbers were double the expected.

We talked about how we can shift our overconsumption of alcohol as a nation + its heavy enmeshment in our culture and ways we socialise, the impact on mental health, and paths forward to creating change. It’s not about telling people what not to do, or judging them. It’s about providing real options for people to do things differently.

Faye Lawrence19 October 2023adhd, addiction, alcohol dependence, late diagnosis adhd, women adhd, addiction adhd, brain, neuroscience

Sober legends and leaders share their number 1 best thing about being alcohol-free!

It’s Sober October! And for some inspo, I thought I’d ask a whole heap of sober legends and leaders in various areas - advocacy, podcasting, coaching, influencing, community etc - what their NUMBER ONE BEST THING about being alcohol-free is for them.

Many of them have several years alcohol-free under their belts and hopefully their words will provide you with some insights that might just be in store for you on the AF journey! Let us know at the end in the comments what your best thing is, or the what inspires you the most!

Thriving Minds Podcast: Why high functioning people use alcohol to medicate stress and trauma

If you haven't yet heard renowned neuroscientist Professor Selena Bartlett's amazing podcast on the brain and in particular brain health - Thriving Minds - it is well worth checking out. I was invited onto her podcast recently to talk about the interplay between the brain and addiction. We talked about:
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🧠 The impact of trauma on the brain and the associated chronic dsyregulation that leads to addiction
🧠 Adverse childhood experiences: https://lnkd.in/eHaAvYBW
🧠 Susceptibility to addiction is 60% related to your brain structure, and the illusion of choice in addiction when it comes to the brain you are born with
🧠 The need to belong and why we sense check our drinking with those around us which is problematic when everyone else drinks like we do
🧠 Intergenerational addiction and how it gets handed down (inc the brain. Changes we make now benefit the next 3 generations, not just our own kids
🧠 Taking a community approach with Untoxicated and tapping into social prescribing

Faye Lawrence5 September 2023adhd, addiction, alcohol dependence, late diagnosis adhd, women adhd, addiction adhd, brain, neuroscience

Lessons learnt from my first sober overseas holiday …

Living life without alcohol is full of firsts. They come thick and fast in the beginning days, weeks and months. What will that first meal out without alcohol be like? The first social gathering? The first date? The first tough conversation? We are constantly leaning into the unknown when we navigate life sans booze.

But there’s nothing as daunting as a month’s trip overseas sober - throw in family, old friends, a big birthday, long haul flights and a heap of different countries and you’ve got triggers galore! So, what did I learn about navigating an overseas holiday alcohol-free?