Addiction (Australia)

At a Melbourne rehab known as the Manor, four addicts are beginning a 28-day program that they hope will mark a new chapter in their lives. Self-confessed bad boy James wants to escape from an all-consuming drug habit that has wreaked havoc on his health and his family. Former teacher Denise wants to be rid of the gambling and alcohol addictions that have caused her financial and emotional ruin. 32-year-old Tim is addicted to an over-the-counter cough medication and now realises he’s wasted his youth on drugs. And 49-year-old tradesman Mick wants to beat the booze so he can reconnect with the niece and nephew he loves. Whatever their motivation for getting clean, rehab at the Manor is no easy ride. The addicts undergo intensive physical and psychological therapy, designed to help them understand their addiction and equip them with the skills to manage it. They go through rehab side-by-side, but each addict must face their own challenges: Mick has to confront the tragic childhood cause of his addiction; James struggles to control the anger that he used to quell with drugs; Denise must fight demons of denial and isolation; and Tim needs to find a place to live that won’t lead him back to drugs. Every stage of rehab leads up to the most difficult moment of the journey, when the addicts are released to face the temptations outside the gate. Will they return to their old ways, or begin a new chapter in their lives, sober and drug free?

In this second and final instalment of Addiction, the four addicts who have just completed rehab at the Manor now face their biggest test: can they return to their old lives without returning to drugs, gambling or booze? In Moe, Victoria, 49-year-old Mick seems to be on the road to recovery. He’s organising his return to work and his elderly mother is pleased as punch with her rejuvenated son. But every afternoon when Mick does the grocery shopping he has to walk right past his old drinking holes. It’s a vulnerable moment that tests Mick’s fledgling recovery to the limit. Meanwhile in his hometown of Shepparton, 22-year-old poly addict James is trying to put his bad-boy ways behind him. But the friends he used to take drugs with aren’t being supportive of the new direction his life is taking. Unless he can find some new friends, and some new ways to spend his free time, his recovery will be on shaky ground. Tim and Denise are also embracing life after rehab, and they’re facing their own challenges. Tim has to bond with his new housemates who are also recovering addicts, while Denise has returned to a lonely homeless shelter where isolation could lead her back to the pokies or the booze.