Anna was addicted to pokies. One sentence from a stranger saved her life.

Content warning: The following post discusses addiction and suicidal ideation.

Growing up, the pokies were associated with "joy and positivity" for Anna Martin. The youngster, of course, didn't use them until she was of legal age, but she watched in delight as her grandfather escaped into the gambling area while the rest of the family were at the pub.

Watch: Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation: Have you had 'the talk'? Post continues after video.

"All I remember was the laughing," Anna told Mia Freedman on Mamamia's No Filter podcast. "I remember the coins clinking in the cups before note acceptors came in. I remember people coming out with smiles on their faces."

Then, when she turned 18, Anna's grandfather gave her a cup of coins to join him. And during one of her first times gambling, she won. A lot. It was more money than she made at her part-time job, and it gave her an unbeatable rush.

At first, the pokies were an activity reserved for Anna to share with her grandfather. But eventually she would find herself gambling solo in between university lectures.

"It quickly became a hobby that was destructive," Anna recalled, explaining that she wouldn't leave the venue until she had run out of money, or until the shame felt unbearable. Avoiding eye contact with fellow gamblers, the university student was there to "indulge in the addiction and leave". 

Seven years later, Anna reached rock bottom. She had started her full-time job and began hitting the pokies every night. Struggling with mental health issues, the 25-year-old would use gambling as a means of "not being alone with her thoughts".

She tried to justify the addiction, telling herself she could stop whenever she wanted. But Anna spent all of her disposable income on gambling. "There were times where I couldn't pay bills. There were times where I had to borrow money to exist," Anna told No Filter, confessing she even considered stealing.

Then, a sentence from a stranger changed her life.

"It was one night when I was sitting on the bed at home crying with a knife next to me, thinking, 'This is enough, I can't do this anymore'," she said. "'And if my family ever found out what I've been through, it would be easier for me not to be here.'

"I realised that I couldn't do that to my mum, and I couldn't do it to the people around me who I knew would be there for me if I needed help. I stopped and I went, 'I need to get help'."

So, Anna rang 'Lifeline' and spoke to a woman about her addiction.

"I'll never forget what she said," Anna told Mia. "She let me talk, she let me cry, and she said: 'Love, you're going to be OK.' And I remember going, 'No, I'm not. How do you know that?' She said, 'Anna, you have survived 100 per cent of your bad days and you will continue to survive.'

It was a simple sentence from a woman she had never met, but it was the beginning of a new life for Anna.

"She talked me through putting the knife back in the kitchen drawer, she talked me through having a shower and going to bed, and she said to me, 'Here's what you need to do next'. And she made a plan that I believed saved my life."

The woman gave Anna a list of therapy services, and told her who to call if she felt unsafe. The 25-year-old also joined the self-exclusion program for gambling — which involves an individual voluntarily banning themselves from venues where they can gamble.

Knowing she would do anything she could to get past the ban, the Adelaide local requested to be banned from a selection of random venues around the state; the only way she could find out where they were located was to ring up three separate times on three separate days.

After her one and only bad relapse, Anna extended this self-exclusion to be nationwide. Now, she is five years clean. But healing isn't linear, and when she is having a weak moment, it's Anna's mum that gets her through the tough times.

"It's always my mum, because she's always been there for me," an emotional Anna said. "And I always think, 'If I can't do this for myself, I'm going to do it for her, because I love her so much'."

Listen to the full episode of No Filter below.

Anna has turned her experience into action to help others through the Untangled Project - you can find out more about them here: Instagram: @theuntangleprojectaus

If you or someone you know needs help - the following organisations are a good place to start: GHLEE (Gambling Harm Lived Experience Experts)

If you would like more information about research into the current state of gambling in Australia including how gambling is affecting women today, start here: The Grattan report: how Australia should prevent gambling harm https://grattan.edu.au/report/a-better-bet-how-australia-should-prevent-gambling-harm/

And if you need mental health support, please reach out to Lifeline: 13 11 14