Last week I nearly lost everything due to my gambling addiction, it started around 1 year ago where I received a decent size of money before Christmas I started to win 400+ everyday for around a week and was obv on cloud 9 but then the fall began i was easily spending the same amount every night for over 2 weeks and before I knew it I had no money left until my next payday I never had any restrictions in place so I stopped for a month but with a wedding coming up I started to gamble around 1000 a month plus and started missing payments on every payment I had coming in I knew what I was doing was wrong but the satisfaction when you did win would overcome any money that was lost even if it was only a couple pounds profit I tried to stop many times but I was already in too deep to stop and it kept getting worse over the year December there was the worst i ended up gambling a full months pay in around 2 days after winning what I lost back I put that all straight back in as it wasn’t enough I had a massive gambling guilt and it was time to tell my wife first few days were rough but a week and a bit on I’ve received amazing help from her and my family and I know it will be a long road but I’m determined to not let anyone down and not wanting to go back to the same person I was, it defo lifts a massive weight off when telling just wanted to share my story as it helps me talk more and see how others are coping l
Dear @jlid3,
Thank you for sharing your story with us on the forum today.
I am happy to hear that your wife and family are supporting you through this. Having a good support network around you can be really beneficial in helping you move to a more positive place with your gambling.
If you haven't already, I would recommend maybe getting in contact with us on our helpline Tel: 0808 8020 133, live chat or Facebook/WhatsApp. We can offer you further support if you feel this would be helpful.
Please do continue to share your story with us on the forum
Kind Regards
Forum Admin
George
Well done for coming out with everything. I did the same this week and it has been hell at home. The trust issue is the worst and we don't really talk to each other aside from 'would you like a coffee' kind of thing. We have a daughter and things are more complicated in other areas too but I won't touch on that yet.
I just wanted to know how you got talking about everything with your partner? She is so disappointed and I don't blame her one bit. She can't stand the sight of me right now.
I just want to put actions to my words now and get things back on track - will have a second job by the end of this month, worst case scenario. I just want to be able to talk to her about things - hate what this has done. Hate that I've done this to myself and my family. Need to sort out the debt so I can sort out my marriage
Well done on making a start, i wish id done this years ago. I know it seems hard but i would suggest telling the people close to you, its very hard if not impossible to beat on your own.
Gambling has cost me a marriage a daughter lots of money and many friends. I only wish id been honest with myself sooner
@wishididntgamble she actually confronted me about it as I never had any money and was having a terrible week was going to tell her as I didn’t have the money for bills for the month and I told her, she was the same and was disappointed and angry and had a few nights in the sofa but she started to understand that it was a massive problem I told her everything I owed money too and she is now taking my wages in her bank account and will sort bills etc I have just been showing her that I’m wanting to change there’s a big change in my mood I have tidied the house everyday just simple things the now until I go back to work, she still is angry but is very supportive because of the effort I’ve made and being more open about what I’ve done and I’d say our relationship seems stronger as I’m not hiding nothing anymore. I encourage you to just keep at it as they will understand just show her you want to change and try not to feel sorry for yourself you’ve done it now but now it’s time to change and by doing the simple things it will make you feel better hopefully all works out for you and your family?
That's the thing about gambling, it makes you secretive, stops you being honest and destroys relationships.
Being able to chat to your wife/partner about anything, just general chat, is the basis for a strong partnership between you. When the communication stops, things start to crumble. When things start to crumble, gambling can be an escape from that life you created for yourself....except it's gambling that caused the problems in the first place.
It's a nasty vicious circle that's hard to break free from, but it's doable if you REALLY want to.
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