She lost $12,000 chasing one machine.
Months later, she nearly lost her life.

In this deeply emotional episode of Slaying Sober, Kate Seselja shares the devastating reality of gambling addiction, shame, suicidal thoughts, recovery, and hope.

Kate opens up about:
• Losing everything to gambling addiction
• The emotional impact on her family
• The night she almost took her life
• The powerful moment her son changed her perspective forever
• Why she founded The Hope Project
• How the gambling industry manipulates people by design
• Rebuilding identity, dignity, and hope after addiction

This is one of the most raw and honest conversations about addiction, mental health, recovery, and healing you’ll hear.

Trigger Warning:
This episode contains discussions around suicide, addiction, gambling harm, and mental health struggles.

00:00 – Introduction to Part 2
00:46 – Trigger Warning
01:04 – Irrational behaviour during gambling addiction
01:19 – Losing $12,000 chasing one machine
03:10 – Sitting in the car after losing everything
04:07 – Family impact of gambling addiction
05:51 – “Addiction by design” explained
06:17 – Kate’s rock bottom moment
06:55 – The night she almost took her life
08:23 – What kept her alive
09:17 – Living with shame and self-hatred
10:30 – The counsellor who changed everything
11:30 – Reconnecting with her identity and humanity
12:00 – The “plastic bag of shame” analogy
12:48 – James shares his addiction experience
14:42 – Compassion from loved ones during recovery
17:23 – Gratitude for family and survival
19:00 – The moment her son saved her life
20:33 – “Everyone makes mistakes”
21:51 – Hopelessness and suicide
22:22 – Why Kate founded The Hope Project
24:42 – Addiction and isolation
25:28 – Gambling harm in Australia
27:11 – Fighting the gambling industry
28:47 – How gambling apps manipulate users
31:21 – Betting apps and psychological targeting
34:10 – “Gambling almost took everything from me”
35:00 – Helping one million people find hope
36:17 – Final reflections on recovery and healing
37:05 – Closing message

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