I have only just signed up so thought I'd say hi and tell you a little about myself! I have been reading these forums for the last week after I decided enough was enough and I needed to give up wasting money. Every time I get an urge to gamble this last week, I have stopped myself and just read a few of the posts on this forum. That has been enough to put me off and resist the urge, and remind me of the situation i have got myself into every month for the last year!
Having read a lot of posts on here I consider myself to be quite lucky, even though I have been gambling for a few years the last 12 months has seen me upping my stakes and losing more and more money (I estimate 10k+) on online slots. I say I'm lucky cause I haven't yet got myself into debt. What I have been doing though is spending most of my wages the day I get paid and then being skint for the rest of the month!! I have found myself counting down the days until the next pay day just so I can try and win it all back. This has now started to effect my lively hood, I'm missing events cause im skint, I no longer have the money for holidays, new clothes, and I can't treat the misses. All of which were a regular thing before I got hooked on gambling. I can now understand that no matter how much I keep trying my luck I am never going to win and I will always be chasing. So like I said enough is enough 'NO MORE GAMBLING' and feeling sick and wanting to just curl up in a ball cause I've lost all my money!! this site is going to be my saviour and help me through the times when I get the 'urge'!!
Hello mjc83 and welcome to the forum.
It is good to know that you found that reading the forum helped you to avoid gambling when you had urges over the last week. It has helped you to stay motivated, and you’ve recognised that your pattern of chasing left you feeling low and deprived of the financial comfort you enjoyed in the past.
Many of our members who are stopping online gambling have posted about their methods, in particular ways that they try to block easy access to online gambling, like deleting Apps, self-excluding from sites, installing browsers that filter out gambling sites, or installing parental control software… and various other strategies. If you’d like to talk with a GamCare adviser about possible self-help steps or other ways to obtain support locally, you can call us on Freephone 0808 8020 133 or on the Netline.
http://www.gamcare.org.uk/get-advice/what-can-you-do/blocking-software#.VFEKkfmsX1Z
Do feel welcome to continue posting; perhaps you’d like to start a diary in the ‘Recovery diaries’ section as a way to maintain your engagement with the forum.
Take care,
Forum Admin.
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