Morning Folks.
Why I'm here needs no explanation but I'll start with a bit of background about me and my situation.
I am 25 and have now been gambling around 10 years. It started with £5 fruit machines in my local arcade, then onto £25/35/70/100 machines in the but and inevitably onto the £500 slots/FOBT's. I would say that I've had a problem for more than 9 of the years that I have gambled. I never really saw it as an issue as I am in a great job which pays well so I thought I would never end up THAT bad as never gambled the lot. It goes without saying, that that period did not last long.
That being said, I believe that in order to stop gambling successfully, you must want to quit. In light of this, I have deleted all gambling related Apps, Games etc from my phone, tablet and PC and notified my Father and other half of my ailment.
Now, in recent years, i have tried a number of therapies to stop including counselling and hypnotherapy but neither (clearly! ha) have worked. This time round, I intend to through GA into the mix in a bid to kick this in the back side alongside writing a diary.
I have self excluded from all of my local and not-so-local betting shops, amusements and arcades.
Could anyone lend some feedback with what worked for them? I am stricly agnostic, thus do not see religious means as a way of help for me.
Thanks in advance all
NW
Hello there, I think for a lot of us we all started with the arcades. I am in no doubt whatsoever the only way for me personally to stop stop gambling is to not have any money in my account. I got paid a few days ago and thought I would be a ble to "fight those urges" - I couldn't. For me, and others if we have money we want to gamble. If I have money I think maybe I will have "a little go" - ring any bells? There is no such thing as a little go!! We are all different, but obviously you know what you need to remove from the equation - cash and opportunity. When I do start to think about gambling I come on here and have a read of the forums. There is also a chatroom on everyday for 1 hour between 20:00 - 21:00. It's a friendly room where we all support each other etc. If you get the chance, come and say hi. But for now, I wish you all the best T x
Hi there and welcome to the forum . Firstly a big well done on getting the blocks in place , such as the self exclusions and deleting the apps , there's also blocking software available for the online side of things .
Another big positive is telling your loved one's about your problem , something we all dread doing but it's the only way toi move forward , have you thought about handing control of finances to your other half , sometimes helps with temptation and your accountable to somebody else ?.
Youve done the big things , regarding the time ,money , location triangle , remove one and you can't bet , it works !!.
The biggest thing your gonna need is a bucketfull of willpower , without that you'll always find a way to gamble ?
You just need to focus your mind on other things , everytime the urge comes , and it will , get up and distract yourself , the craving s will pass and get easier to deal with as time passes !.
Also consider a diary on this forum ?, it helps and gives you the chance to comment along with others on how your getting on with your recovery !
Best wishes for now my friend and good luck!!............................Alan
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