Anyone available

Dear 4aron,

Thank you for your post and welcome to Gam Care. It sounds like you are going through a difficult time at the moment, feeling overwhelmed by your circumstances and unable to see a way out. This is not uncommon. 

It is often a relief to talk and the Forum and our chat rooms are great places to do so; our members are a brilliant source of advice and support whenever needed. If you were however, to find yourself in an emergency situation or things were really feeling too much I would strongly encourage you to reach out to services offering crisis support or to dial 999. 

Please don't be alone with any of this, we can offer you practical advice around gambling blocks (self-exclusion, putting restrictions on money and so on) and also refer you to free treatment support which would allow you the opportunity to address and get support around anything else that may be contributing to your gambling as well as supporting you in to recovery. 

If you feel like you need any additional support, our helpline 0808 8020 133 and net line (web chat) are available seven days a week, 24 hours a day.

Wishing you all the very best, 

Helen

Forum Admin

Hi aron... just don't gamble and hunker down like the rest of us. Register with gamstop if you haven't done so already.

If your thoughts are very dark just go to bed and hug the duvet. Dark thoughts do pass.

Your ok 

Hi Aaron,

Welcome to the forum and well done for having the courage to seek help.

I used to gamble everyday and was hopelessly addicted to roulette. It took my money, time, ability to sleep, ability to concentrate on anything and generally it was ruining my life.

I had to forgive myself for what had happened and accept that the money was gone. I had to make the decision that I couldn’t gamble ever again. I always say the start is the hardest because not gambling after gambling for so long was strange. I set a goal of 21 days and got there by posting and reading on here every single day (reading posts constantly through the day to begin with). Prior to 90 days it became normal not gambling. Tomorrow will be 6 months bet free.

The most important thing for me was to focus on the positives every day no matter what they were. Better sleep, less worry, happier thoughts, sense of worth, more money etc - there are unlimited benefits - be aware of them and be grateful for them.

You can do the above one day at a time or one hour at a time regardless.

You’re in hell right now but you can get out one day at a time. Eventually, you’ll stop focusing on gambling. I know for sure that this happens. Today, my life is good and I’m a better, happier person.

If today is horrendous for you then take it on the chin and promise yourself the biggest promise that you’ll ever make that no day in future will ever be as bad as this one. If today is bad then it never needs to be as bad again.

Make the choice to stop. Put blocks in place to prevent gambling then fight the fight of your life to get through the first bunch of days because if you can do that with gratitude then it gets easier thereafter.

Ultimately your worth giving it a go. You’re worth your best efforts. 

RR