Any advice please?

Hey Adam,

Are you in any kind of debt or are you just blowing all your wages when you get them? First thing you need to do is to exclude yourself from the sites you use or bookies. Tell your family/partner what you've done even if it seems embarassing, they can help support you. You should ask your parents or partner to handle your money for the time being so you are not tempted to chase your losses and only take money you need for transport and lunch etc when you go out. Take it from a degenerate gambler, you must let that money go, do not chase it or you will end up in an even bigger mess, explain to your family what you've done and why you may not be able to get them gifts this year, I'm sure they will respect you being honest and try to help you rather than you doing something stupid.

One thing you should defintely not do is loan money from companies, I was in your situation not too long ago and I took out a bunch of payday loans and now I'm probably close to 5k in debt. You may feel like your in a bad posistion now but if you continue it can be so much worse, read stories on here if you have to as gambling can literally destroy your life, it doesn't seem like you've got to that point yet so now is the best time to kick the habit.

It really saddens me to read people just starting down the same path as myself but you can beat it if you act now, don't go further down that road mate, it only gets worse. I wish you the best of luck, matey!

Hello Adam,

Green2711 (Mark) speaks a lot of sense and you would do well to read his story and the many others that are on here.

You are very young to have this demon playing with your head, but there are plenty in a similar position to yourself. You are not alone!!! If you seriously want the help and advice that others can offer then you have come to the right place. The money you have lost is gone. DO NOT CHASE YOUR LOSSES, it is a fruitless excercise.The gambling will in time become all consuming and will totally demoralise you and Family members. The gambling needs to be arrested NOW or your life will spiral out of control and you will become a shadow of your former self. Do not take out any loans under any circumstances. Put the neccessary blocks in place. Talk to a member of your Family and let them take control of your finances.

Start a personal diary on here and make your success become an inspiration for others to follow. You do not want to be on here again in 2, 3 , 5 years time having lost thousands, owing thousands (deposit on a house....gone) partners will come and go, family members will suffer alongside yourself because of your illness, etc etc etc there is nothing positive about gambling it only ends in misery. You will become unrecogisable to others, a shadow of your former self. There is no get rich scheme.Bet three six five the online bookmakers CEO has just had a payment given to her of over two hundred million because lots of people are throwing away money and ruining there lives through betting. Do not contribute further to her and other fat cats associated with the betting industry. They are laughing at you and you are contributing to someone elses wealth off the back of misery for many.

Please, let others read your success story, you can make a difference to others with a mindset of positivity. How good would that feel to know you have helped other to beat this awful addiction.

Be Strong, read the stories on here, you can do this if you seriously want to. One day at a time

Good News first Adam, your a young man who has realised he has an issue. If you address it now, you can easily enjoy all the good things in life. I am 40 and have been gambling since I was your age, 20 years of hard work and very little to show for it. I would have decent wins every so often which would keep me coming back but the overall picture was the same, as downward sprial to rock bottom.

Gambling is just not for us, but its a hard habit to break as we have conditioned ourselves to chase our losses. Forget the past losses, they are gone. Now is the time to focus on you and how you can stop this. First thing is to get barriers in place (hand over finances to someone, self exclude from sites and shops), really this means ideally opening up to someone close who can give you some support. Look up your local GA meeting, go there and tell them about your problem.

Hi Adam it's great you are reaching out for support. If your mood is low it's most definitely down to gambling, if you continue your mood will worsen. If you gambled because of your low mood, thought you'd win, get the buzz, then you should address that too. Stopping gambling should help you feel better. If not you should also see your gp. Sign up to gamstop, this blocks online for 5 years. If you're finding it difficult to manage money and it's too much temptation ask someone to handle your money. Tell someone, get support, make yourself accountable. Find a GA meeting, you will learn so much, get support and understanding from others. My husband gambled for 30 years with a few gaps, he didn't listen, he chose to continue. He's been going to meetings and is 18 months gamble free. Take one day at a time. Go and spend money on presents, that will make you feel so much better.