Advice welcome please for giving up the dreaded disease of gambling

Hi,

Welcome to the forum. This is the place to find lots of information on how to quit gambling, if you are determined enough.

I understand when you say 'trying' as I've been trying for a long time. However, I have had periods of abstinence, with the hell of this site and Gamcare, which I am grateful for. It's a really hard struggle for me but I am determined this time.

I wish you all the best.

Keep reading and posting.

Hiya N*****d , Advice well . how about a change of name ? If youv'e come here realising you have a gambling problem then like all of us youv'e woken up and smelt the coffee and a N*****d you are no more , it takes guts and ba.lls to make your first post so give yourself a pat on the back and some credit for that , weve not got all your story so I look forward to reading some more when your ready to share ity with the forum .

Weve all been where you are right now , so know exactly how you feel . There all a great bunch of peole on here all Compulsive gamblers or family and friends of CG's just offering help and guidance where we can .

If bookies is your thing then you need to look at self excluding or if it's online then downloading some blocking software , k9's free or Gamblock you can pay for , they will help you to block any sites that you gamble on and the self exclusions will hopefully keep you out of the bookies , It's all part of what we call on here , " The Time , money , location triangle , if you remove one it stays broken and you can't bet , simple but effective !.

Lots of other options open to you for support , gamcare offer a counciling service or you could think about GA if thats something you feel would be of help ? .

Gambling is entertainment until we become compulsive about it and it no longer becomes about the money , just the buzz and just like drugs the buzz now is more and more harder to satisfy and never as good as the first hit or bet , the bets get bigger but even if we win , enough is never enough and we gamble until it's all gone again , thats the cycle right there my friend !

" We cannot win because we cannot stop "

I'm sure a few of the gang will pop along soon to add to what I've said , so until we speak again , I wish you well and Welcome to recovery and the forum !!.

Alan

imuzbmad wrote:

Hi,

Welcome to the forum. This is the place to find lots of information on how to quit gambling, if you are determined enough.

I understand when you say 'trying' as I've been trying for a long time. However, I have had periods of abstinence, with the hell of this site and Gamcare, which I am grateful for. It's a really hard struggle for me but I am determined this time.

I wish you all the best.

Keep reading and posting.

Thanks for the reply and I wish you all the best as well mate.

ALAN 135 wrote:

Hiya N*****d , Advice well . how about a change of name ? If youv'e come here realising you have a gambling problem then like all of us youv'e woken up and smelt the coffee and a N*****d you are no more , it takes guts and ba.lls to make your first post so give yourself a pat on the back and some credit for that , weve not got all your story so I look forward to reading some more when your ready to share ity with the forum .

Weve all been where you are right now , so know exactly how you feel . There all a great bunch of peole on here all Compulsive gamblers or family and friends of CG's just offering help and guidance where we can .

If bookies is your thing then you need to look at self excluding or if it's online then downloading some blocking software , k9's free or Gamblock you can pay for , they will help you to block any sites that you gamble on and the self exclusions will hopefully keep you out of the bookies , It's all part of what we call on here , " The Time , money , location triangle , if you remove one it stays broken and you can't bet , simple but effective !.

Lots of other options open to you for support , gamcare offer a counciling service or you could think about GA if thats something you feel would be of help ? .

Gambling is entertainment until we become compulsive about it and it no longer becomes about the money , just the buzz and just like drugs the buzz now is more and more harder to satisfy and never as good as the first hit or bet , the bets get bigger but even if we win , enough is never enough and we gamble until it's all gone again , thats the cycle right there my friend !

" We cannot win because we cannot stop "

I'm sure a few of the gang will pop along soon to add to what I've said , so until we speak again , I wish you well and Welcome to recovery and the forum !!.

Alan

Thanks pal, I dont really bet online much as I have self excluded myslef from 99% of bookmakers but still have two accounts open with a 25 quid limit, however i opened another tote sport account up on friday using a different email and managed to lose £800, ive not lost online heavy for years im more of a cash punter, my main punts were on the football but i can literally stay in the bookies and bet on the horses all day untill every last penny is gone, the last straw for me was friday, i put £550 on over 1.5 goals in the cork city game, it was 1-0 to Cork at half time so only needed one goal but it finished 1-0, they even missed a penalty lol, the amount of hard luck stories this last six months has been unreal, like i say friday was the final straw and im really hoping i can resist tempation, as for self excluding myself for the bookies i would be immposible as my job takes me around the country sso it would be hard to police.

Hiya again Bud , well you could look at ways to limt your funds if exclusions aren't going to work ? There's cards available that can be used for purcahses only instead of cash withdrawls , ultimately anything can be got around and its more about how much you want to stop gambling and howmuch willpower you can find ? You could always carry plenty of photo's with you so if you go in a bookies then exclude instead of gambling , just a thought ?.

ALAN 135 wrote:

Hiya again Bud , well you could look at ways to limt your funds if exclusions aren't going to work ? There's cards available that can be used for purcahses only instead of cash withdrawls , ultimately anything can be got around and its more about how much you want to stop gambling and howmuch willpower you can find ? You could always carry plenty of photo's with you so if you go in a bookies then exclude instead of gambling , just a thought ?.

5 Days now pal without a bet, longest ive gone in years and ive never felt better, done jobs in the house ive put off for years and loving the fact im not rushing aroung after staying in the bookies longer than i should, also a lot richer than i normally would, long way to go but Im heading in the right direction,

Huge well done to you, 5 days is a great start, soon will be a whole week. Not sure if you have got a diary up on here yet, but it is a great way to keep yourself focussed and to receive a lot of support from people here.

Hi MickMUFC,

Well done on the 5 days - bet your head feels a bit clearer!

Compulsive gamblers cannot bet like everyone else. We cannot shrug our shoulders 'oh well' and let it go when we lose.

If you are more of a cash bet man, maybe you could start carrying only one card for everyday purchases - petrol, shopping etc (possibly a credit card). If you can use just one card that is CONTACTLESS then you will find it easier not to have cash on you. I always used to withdraw cash all the time for small purchases - a sandwich for example but then think 'oh well stick the other £16 into bandit, slots on the football etc'. That £3 sandwich would sometimes end up costing me hundreds as the £16 lost would result in me dashing back and forth to ATM until I had taken out £500 across 2 cards etc - that's a bloody expensive sandwich!! I could have flown down to London gone to the RITZ for afternoon tea with my Mrs for that!! Also I find with using a credit card (knowing this from past experience gambling) not all ATM's will allow you to withdraw from the card and if you know that it's gonna cost you quite a bit to withdraw cash with fee's and interest then it's just another small measure to deter you.

Wont work for everyone and don't know your situation but for those of us who have to pay for things daily shopping, petrol or have a payment card incase of emergencies then just a tip that has worked for me so far.

All the best mate.