The chatrooms are great especially the 8pm-9pm although if they were longer especially when its busy would be more benefical however i understand the timing been like this my main concern is it would help if their a seprate room with the newbie for the mod can have alittle chat as they are the most vulnerable and require extra support the chatrooms can be too laid back when i first came on before i went on chat i had 121 chat with the advisor which helped me calm down before joining the chat most people after some time in recovery tend to talk about general stuff which is understandable however for someone starting recovery isnt going to be in the right head space and is going to require that abit of extra attention thie where places like Ga have an advantage as they give them first priorty
Hi Taz,
I second to your suggestion. For new comers they really need more attention and advice . I was desperate when I first joined and I needed to speak to the advisors a lot. If they could get extra attention by the professional staff that will reassure they get the right advice and won't be neglected at the chatroom as that could accidentally happened with so many chats among the big turn out within an hour's meeting.
👍
Hi Taz
What a great idea. Maybe if they extended the 8pm to two hours and finish at 10pm, then the first hour or second hour could be newbies and a few regulars to help ?
😔
I'm the beginner you're talking about, and I don't know how or where to start to get support and reassurance. I feel alone and overly anxious.
@m64iqujdor there is so much support out there, I can offer some insight if you use online slots/online gambling. I am a beginner too, on day 3, though I have been here before about a month ago. I ended up gambling again but I learnt a lot from that experience.
The first thing I would say is start one of the recovery diaries, it's a thread you start in the forum that becomes your own diary. I have found it helps to write in that every single morning. But I would say if you can engage in some way in this community every single day, that will be so helpful, it could be your own diary, commenting on others, joining the chat rooms or jumping on the live chat with one of the support staff here. when you come on here every day you are reminded every day as to why you are no longer gambling, this is what got me to stop for the first time in over ten years. after about 1.5 week of stopping, I stopped coming on here, I thought I didn't need it anymore; thats when I went back to gambling, so I have realised that coming on here every day or engaging in support every day is so so so important.
Next thing is get all the blocking you can possibly get set up done. that includes self exclusion, register with gamstop, and install gamban on any device you have. if you have an iPhone email gamban and ask them to be put on their new beta tester, it works on an iPhone. Once you have done that, get rid of, or install gamban on every device you have access to. I installed gamban on my main phone, but then found a few old phones under my bed and used them when I couldn't get on my main phone, so make sure you install it on them all or get rid of them.
Hold onto that anxious feeling, that is your power to stop because whilst ever you are gambling, you wil always end up back in that place. It never gets better, even if it does it never lasts, we always end up back in that dark anxious place. Just by posting on here you are showing that you are ready to do something different. That is HUGE.
You can do this, we are all here to support you, and we all understand how hard it is. there is NEVER any judgement.
For me personally with the chat rooms and I have only been in them a handful of times is that…..the messages fly through so quickly that someone’s important question is missed as others are writing “Hello” or “welcome” and before you know it the important message you wanted advice on is missed and disappears as people are replying to others.
Hi mate
I had that problem so I clicked the side bar up one thread and it stops automatically moving through them so I can go at my own pace.
Hiya
What hopeful said is so true. If you really, really want to stop then you would need to lay the foundation work to start with. That's all about building as much friction between you and the first bet. Blocking software, self exclusion, banking blocks, limiting cash, accountability on your spend, just anything to build time to change your mind on placing a bet, whatever the format of your poison
After that's in place and the foundation is solid, you can start building your support network with people and things you can turn to when needed.
Building connection is incredibly important to move away from the isolation of the addiction. Talking to people, anyone at all, going to the chatrooms, coming on here and reading posts and replying to them, engagement, connection with nature and your surroundings through walking, just getting back to being present.
Then you can start rebuilding the way you think, the way you act and who you really are.
It's not easy but I spent 44 years gambling. I will always be a compulsive gambler but today I am 146 days gamble free. It can be done, it's an amazing life without gambling
Brilliant suggestion!
If their was enough funding, more themed chatrooms for newbies specifically, for the regulars to support and answer any questions.
It was intimadating joining a chatroom and trying to ask for help as a newbie for me, so I started using the forums and the same people in the chatroom offered up so much wisdom.
Something added for new people without taking anything away from what is valued by the regulars.
I think you are right Dom, the forums are superb because you can receive advice and have it saved on there to go back to
@lp5vut869c i agree stuart if they can make them longer if they can the chatrooms are ideal for people with some form of recovery to all the Ga meettings i have been over the years the good thing with Ga any new member had 30 mins char with one of the members and all the Ga meetings i went to had a proffesssional approach they were never chilled like the chatroom for some people that kind of approach works fine however each person is different once u get some time away from recovery naturally some people just want to talk about general stuff whether it football shopping or what ever interests they may have and may not have any interest in talking about gambling which i have found few peoole stop going to Ga meetings for this reason and the chatrooms are great for this as it open minded u dont have to share anything gambling related and dont need to respond to everything
Maybe like you said, topic based chatrooms like I'm trying to do with the daily film title
Hello,
Thank you all for taking the time to share your thoughts and ideas around the chatrooms.
It's great to hear your views and we're certainly open to trying new ways of working. We're currently in the process of reviewing the times and themes of the chatrooms and would really value your feedback which you can share through our feedback form here.
Thanks in advance!
All the best,
Claire
Forum Admin
We are available 24 hours a day, every day of the year. You can also contact us for free on 0808 80 20 133. If you would like to find out more about the service before you start, including information on confidentiality, please click below. Call recordings and chat transcripts are saved for 28 days for quality assurance.
