40 years of gambling.

This time last Friday I was losing money and in my own gambling world.DO NOT DISTURB genius at work.Will watch a bit of amazon prime tonight as I have noisy neighbors above me and might not be able to get to sleep much before 1am.Anyway that’s all for now.

It’s Saturday and for the first time in my life i am not watching the football or planning my day around football betting and it feels liberating.Am going to look after myself.

Stopped gambling on football but went to the Casino and lost £570 I had borrowed on Friday.Was a horrible walk home in the early hours of today.Feel sick.

Dopamine is a drug, and gambling feeds it.

Hi there the best thing that happened to me was having a bad credit score this stopped me from gambling more. Get rid of all debit cards, and credit cards they only give you easy access to gamble. A savings account is the best way you cant gamble online with that.

Hi Desperate Gambler,

Your story sounds so like mine. For over 40 years i gambled hoses football in bookmaker shops then online from 2006. I iknow how hard it is for a gambler to change his behaviour and of course once you lose its in our nature to try and recover the losses by continuating to gamble.Im 90 days GF today and if im honest i still have strong urges and often think of the big meetings ahead such as King George at Kempton on boxing day then Cheltenham. There isnt GA meetings close to where i live but through Gamcare ive done self exclusion and they have arranged counselling for me ( had 4th session this week ).

I think its important to think about how much weve lost over the years to realise that we are never ever going to win that money back. I know how hard it is to break the habit thats destroyed us over the years and change our behaviour. Sometimes i think were are no different to a heroin addict desperate for the next fix. I think it would help if you use all the tools available like self exclusion counselling GA meetings if theres one near to you. Personally i get a lot out of the chatline and counselling is having a positive effect on me too.

Please try and accept the help available mate and just take it one day at a time. For what its worth despite still getting urges im happier now than ive been for years and i only wish id got help much sooner than i did. I wish you well and hope you can beat this wretched addiction.

Kind Regards

AL

Hello mate,

Sorry to hear you're struggling. I tried everything to stop and couldn't. I think this was because deep down I didn't want to let go of the only thing in life that I enjoyed. If you want to stop, you must accept that there is no place in your life for it anymore as it's self-destructive and believe it or not, you can find other things to replace it. For over 25 years all i cared about was the next bet, I lost relationships, friendships and ended up totally alone. What worked for me was hypnosis. Check out the videos on youtube. Listen to it a couple of times a week. It changed my life so far and although it's only early, I feel i'll never gamble again. That means I have a future, there's a big world out there to explore, I've wasted so much time and money on a pipe dream, it's insane.

Good luck.

Thank you for your replies and words of encouragement.The realisation that I will not get my losses back is heartbreaking but also welcome.Am self excluding from the last ones available.It is my age rather than anything else that has led to these decisions.Am over 2 years of not smoking and only drink to fit in when I occasionally go out.This last bout of gambling was my last stand.The Desperate Gambler has waved the white flag.

Hi desperate gambler been reading your post and can relate so much , I'm 46 and have gambled over 30 years and I'm still struggling with it but it's is possible to stop and take control of your life back , I'm still in debt from gambling but trying to pay it off , chasing them losses is no good you carnt gamble your way out of it , I tried to and it became obvious that stoppi g is the only way. There is so much help out there these days and the problem is finally being recognised as a illness , so dont beat yourself up because its not your fault its not any of our faults we are compulsive gamblers and have to try and live with this illness . I wish you the best in your recovery you can do it it's never too late for you or me . All the best loz .

Thanks Loz and all the best to you on your recovery.Am feeling sorry for myself this morning as I am thinking too much which will lead to me having no energy to do anything constructive this morning.Have to try and get out of the chair soon.Will deal with my debts this week via Stepchange.Its like having teeth extracted.My debts are Satsuma,SafetyNet,Cash4unow,Oakham,Lending Stream,Swift Sterling,Ferratum,The Money Shop and last but not least Provident.The USUAL SUSPECTS.All used to chase my losses but only succeeded in getting me further into debt.Will have to pay back double on all the loans.£850 with Satsuma will mean paying back nearly £1700.This is the same story with all the loans.

Oh I nearly forgot about a £1500 loan with Avant credit

Also the dentist wants £180 to fix partial denture.Am on holiday for two weeks soon.Its come at the right time as I need a rest from this mental stress.

Hi just read your posts and hope your ok , debt is horrible and a constant stress but there is help out there for help and advice . You'll be ok just remember no more gambling , no more debts . Accept your losses and no more chasing it will just land you in a deeper hole . You can turn it around and today's the day to start , I've had a terrible week having a big loss on Monday it was my Christmas money and to top it off my partner has just lost her job so the pressure on me is really high , I've not been waiting or sleeping with worry but I'm determined to keep going and stay positive maybe we could help each other , your not on your own there's loads of us out there with all similar story's. Stay strong . Loz

Thanks Loz.Chasing and dreaming of the big win has been my downfall since day one.Finally getting the message but the danger time is after I get things back on track I forget about the previous pain and repeat old behaviour.

LOSING IN THE WINTER is more painful than losing in the summer.Losses in the winter are so painful as you need more money to survive in the winter than you do in the summer.Payday is approaching on Friday 30th November and I feel that my desire to double or treble my wages is not there.The bookies want my custom because I am not going to do a 4 Timer on both teams to score for a £1000 that might return £6000 or £7000.I am more likely to lose £200 then £300 and then the anger will set in and I will gamble the final £500 on emotion.If that last £500 wins I have no gratitude or plan I just plough on.Sports betting on football is a hard market to win at.If you have anxiety and you are not in charge of your emotions kiss goodbye to your hard earned cash.I have had those lucky runs when you get the goals you want in the last five minutes of the game but I forget about Brazil 1 Switzerland 1 where the bookies cleaned up in the World Cup.I was. one of the punters wanting over 2.5 and over 3.5.Never mind those losses where in the summer.