Gambling and the Downward Spiral - Gary Fahey

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Gary and I discuss what it was like to be on the Australian Prime Ministers Protection Team and the fact he spent 18 years with the Australian Federal Police. However, it wasn’t all glory. Gary silently struggled with a major depressive disorder and gambling addiction that cost him almost $2 million, his career, his reputation, and had him very close to taking my own life.

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From mistake maker to responsibility taker, Gary spent almost 20 years with the Australian Federal Police building a career that included such prestigious roles as leading the team responsible for the close protection of Australia’s Prime Minister, managing the Office of Commissioner, international liaison, and orchestrating several overseas missions.

Riding high but living a lie, in late 2016 disaster struck.

Delivered by his own hand, Gary’s life collapsed around him as years silently and privately battling mental health issues including depression, anxiety, and addiction spiraled out of control.

Gary’s destruction had cost almost two million dollars, his family, his career, his reputation, and by the time his story leaked to the media there was nowhere else to hide. It became obvious to him there were only two ways out.

Battling the darkest of demons Gary began the process of understanding EVERYTHING he could about his behaviour, his habits, his escape, and himself. It was punishing, it was painful but it was positive.

Gary learned from, worked with, and trained under experts from around the world and over the course of 18 months developed his own systems, structure, and stability to turn his own life around.

Knowing all too well he couldn’t 'saw sawdust' and change the past, Gary has made it his sole focus to do the ‘next right thing’ and focus forward, continuing to work on himself by dedicating his efforts to helping as many ‘blokes’ as he can avoid finding the depths that he did, or helping to drag them out through a mix of honesty, experience, and action.

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