Friday I attended a racecourse for only the 3rd time ever... this was an event organised before deciding to be gamble free. The only reason I booked it was for my partner to see a band she's always wanted to see after.Â
I decided in April of this year to finally try and become gamble free (GF) I had booked this trip in January... so made the decision along with my partner that I would set a budget for the evening, agreed a very sensible budget - while having in my head a thought of well it's still a double figure if I lose it all which I no longer wanted to do...
It was a great evening, gorgeous weather, great concert.. it's also something I'm not necessarily looking at doing again, it was interesting to see how emotionally I reacted to placing bets and watching racing / results... there was no longer that buzz... even when winning it no longer felt special, when I lost a felt a little annoyed and I thought oh that would have paid for the food instead or that would have covered the next drink etc.Â
I have no regrets of going. I'm glad I stuck to the budget, there was highs and lows in the day and I have fully left the day behind me.. So what has changed? How come it feels so different?
Is it because I'm older now? Maturer? Is it because I'm now happier in my homelife? No longer using gambling as an excuse to cover lots of other cracks in life as I possibly was back then? Is it because of the counselling etc that has given me a different outlook on gambling etc. It felt so strange to no feel that buzz, to not feel that result is the be all and end all, for a result not to have a major effect on my mood...Â
I'll never say I'm not a gambling addict, things can always change and turn around again I'm sure, but for now everything is controlled. Gambling is an open discussion and something I no longer hide from or try and turn a conversation away from.
I feel very lucky and very fortunate to be in this position, the GF days start again with no plans on the horizon for any of that to change again.
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All the best everyoneÂ
Lovely to hear from you again on here brownie. 👍. You had a plan and you had a budget and you kept to both!👏👏.Â
Wishing you the best of luck going forward. 🙏.
Pink Lady 🩷🍎.
@j5a6meyr4z Thanks pink! I was reluctant to post about it so took my time to find the correct words, didn't want to come across as beating betting etc, the timeout on the online account my partner let's me use had expired before the trip to the races so first thing I did this week was block that for another 6 weeks. So all the right steps to ensure a one off day was exactly that.
I'm keeping track of your diary glad to see your doing well and hope your exit meeting goes okay, seems like an exciting time for you at the moment and nice to see the positive coming back after the understandably tough time.
All the best 👍🏻Â
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