Steven Febey opens up about his battle with drugs and alcohol after Bali bombings

UPDATE: STEVEN Febey has revealed shocking details about how a three-year drug and alcohol-fuelled haze took him to the brink of contemplating taking his own life.

Steven Febey reflects on his 10 painful years after surviving the Bali bombings.

• Febey reveals problems began soon after the Bali bombings in 2002

• Now wants his story to act as a deterrent for others

• Admits week in week out he was spending thousands

• Pays tribute to those who helped him ‘survive’

FORMER Melbourne star Steven Febey has revealed how a three-year drug and alcohol-fuelled haze took him to the brink of contemplating taking his own life.

The 258-game ex-Demon’s descent into hell began soon after the Bali bombings in 2002, when a decision to walk to the Sari Club instead of taking a taxi almost certainly saved his life.

He progressively got worse around the 10-year anniversary of the attacks that killed more than 200 people, including 88 Australians.

Febey, now 46, admitted to using cocaine and alcohol to excess, saying his partying contributed to the breakdown of his marriage, considerable property losses, near financial ruin and saw him put on 25kg.

It certainly got to stage where it was week in week out, spending thousands of dollars

Steven Febey

Now six months’ clean from drugs and with his life slowly getting back in order, Febey credits his former captain David Neitz and the AFL Players Association for assisting him in getting the appropriate medical and mental health treatment.

“Drugs certainly played a part in that and I’m not proud of it, but I was escaping, living a lie and thinking what I was doing a bit of fun and games until it started to impact on my life financially, family-wise, friendship-wise, health-wise,” Febey said.

“It certainly got to stage where it was week in week out, spending thousands of dollars, whittling away a livelihood that I’d set up from football.

“Cocaine ... was like an energy pill for me, a thing to straighten me up and keep me going. Then, what happens over time, is that you keep doing it and doing it and you need more of it. (In) the scene and the people you’re around ... it’s there in your face everywhere you go, to the point where you couldn’t go out without it.”

Steven Febey celebrates a goal against Geelong in 2001.

Now he wants his story to act as a deterrent to other footballers, and young people, saying that “it’s certainly better to prevent it than try to cure it”.

“Right as I sit here now I couldn’t be any more content and thrilled with life, purely from taking those steps that the AFLPA helped me do,” he said.

“If you can, take the advice of others. Hear my story, other stories. Post-sport depression, anxiety, addiction, it’s very, very real. There are some support mechanisms there that when you are having issues in your personal life . that you can seek some help.”

He admitted, at times, he thought about suicide: “There were certainly suicidal thoughts, not to the point of executing anything. It wasn’t that dramatic, but I would always have those thoughts.”

“Cocaine ... was like an energy pill for me, a thing to straighten me up and keep me going.

Steven Febey

Febey has previously spoken about how his life changed after Bali, telling the Herald Sun in 2012 of how he used alcohol and sleeping pills to function after seeing “dead bodies, arms and limbs and the smell of burning flesh”.

But even as he detailed his harrowing tale, his life spiralled further out of control in late 2012.

“I was going out, drinking, sleeping in my car, borrowing money, doing crazy stuff like walking down the street in daylight and looking for my next drink and then trying to justify by all these events that happened,” he said in an interview with the AFLPA.

“I was kidding myself thinking ‘It’s OK to do this because of all of this bad stuffs happened’. And that lasted three years I suppose. It was constant weekend after weekend. Midweek on any occasion that someone would open a drink, I’d drink.

Brothers and former Melbourne stars Matthew and Steven Febey.

“I was back being single at 37, 38 years of age and I was looking for something. It was a bit of escapism. … and then some poor decisions that I made in terms of business, property, trusting friendships, lending money, all became too common.”

He doesn’t think he would have survived the ordeal if not for the AFL Players Association and Neitz.

“My ex-captain, David Neitz, helped push me towards the AFL Players Association in terms of talking to someone and getting the ball rolling and really taking charge and getting back control of my life,” he said.

A few times he had tried to do so, but found “the littlest things would tick me off and I’d go on a bender’’. Then last year he finally accepted Neitz’s advice and sought professional help.

Febey went to a medical facility on the Sunshine Coast to battle the alcohol and substance abuse. He began exercising again, and the AFLPA put him on a program to get his physical wellbeing and financial life back in order.

In the process, he lost 25 kilos and won his life back.

To see the full Steven Febey video go to aflplayers.com.au

Originally published as Steven Febey opens up about his battle with drugs and alcohol after Bali bombings