Back Again

Welcome back. Have you started your counselling again?

Hello triangle,

Yes i have re-started counselling. Today has been a good day, i have achieved all i set myself to achieve. Taking it one day at a time.

Out of interest what is the counselling like and what does it entail? I'm on a waiting list so it could be a while yet.

Well done K1 on returning to the forum, never easy to come back and admit gambling after a period of abstinence

Sorry Sam, i thought you meant counselling as in being on Gamcare. I haven't received any professional counselling regards gambling before.

It has now been a week and i am doing well with regards rebuilding my life and moving forwards in a positive manner.

With the Euro's being currently on, i cannot say that i am bothered about placing a bet; however this has never been my shortfall really. The gambling i take to extreme is online live blackjack. That said i haven't had the urge to go online and make bets with regards to this either.

Money is very tight at the moment until payday and some regular bills will not be getting paid this month. Its a choice of put food on the table or pay a bill so its a no-brainer.

We are currently going through the process of selling our house and hope to complete in the next few weeks. The whole process of this has been stressful, let alone with me adding to our financial situation. I think the sale of this house is what is keeping me going. I know that once it is sold we will be debt free and 100% more financially better off. The best we would have ever been.

I am banking on the luxury of being debt free and having more money in our pocket each month will result in me not wanting to gamble. The reasoning i do have my moments of gambling irresponsibly in the past has mainly been in the hope that winning a good sum of money would relieve the monthly financial struggle we have month in and month out. Obviously this never happens and ends up making things a lot worse.

I have started a journal which is helping. Every morning as soon as i wake and before i even get out of bed i write in my journal. I have key questions in this journal that i ask myself each day and i answer them. I also reflect upon what i wrote in it the previous day. This is part of my personnal development and preparing myslef for the day. I feel that as long as i can start the day focused and take this time first thing in the morning to devote it to myself and myself only i will be fully prepared for the challenges of the day in whatever form they may take. I also take a few minutes to listen to a motivational video or speaker such as Tony Robinson.

Here is looking forward to another succesful week.

I login every night to hear and look at people's struggles and triumphs against gambling, it is helping greatly and stopping me from the urge to gamble,thank you for sharing your journey too.

Welcome back k1, you have no other threads so not sure what you have already apart from your journal but I have to warn you that becoming debt free is very unlikely to stop your problem! Us compulsive gamblers need to address our whole outlook in order to manage this addiction & I speak from experience having 'downsized', remortgaged (more than once) & until I found recovery blown every single penny and more including substantial inheritance sums!

Preparing for challenges @ the start of the day is great because it allows you that time to decide you will make the right decision & choose 'no' to gambling but beating this on willpower alone is very tricky! I'm not sure what you are doing differently this time but make it something...Don't keep flogging yourself with something that doesn't work!

You are so right, we can't change our past but you absolutely can change your future - ODAAT

Thank you ODAAT for your advice.

I am now just over 2 weeks into my new lifestyle and i have to say that during this time i haven't wanted to gamble.

I set up my mind right at the beginning of every day with my journal and self reflection; so far this has helped me ten-fold in comparisson to doing nothing in the past.

By the time i have written some lines in my journal i get out of bed positive and focused for the day ahead. Not every day has passed without its challenges but from starting the day positive i take the challenge on in a positive frame of mind. When i feel i am getting a bit low i remind myself of what i wrote in my journal for the day. This helps me get back ontrack and back in the game.

It may not work for everyone but for me so far so good.

I am looking forward to watching the England game shortly (without a bet) and going to bed ready for tomorrow.

Conquering one day at a time & when i add up all of thse days that will be the difference between overcoming my evils within & loosing everything.

Another week down, been quite a stressful one with work and tying up the loose ends of our house sale.

Have i wanted to gamble, the answer to that one is no.

The work i have been doing with my journal has certainly been helping with getting through the days. Especially the tougher ones. It has also helped me ensure i get things done that would have usually been passed off to another day. I find that if i set myself the task(s) in the morning in my journal and i do not get a task or tasks done then it gets to me that i haven't achieved the goals i set for the day, so i ensure that i make time to get it done the following day at the latest.

I am feeling optomistic for the future and enjoy; at the end of each day, feeling hopeful and at times excited for the following day to come.

I even look forward to getting on GC and updating my journal and looking at others. I remember when i have previously had a journal on here to update that i felt; more often than not, that it was a chore. I knew why i was doing it and wanted to help myself in overcoming my compulsive addiction. I think i see now though that i was destined to fail because i feel differently about it now over how i felt back then. Back then i was honest in everything i was writing just like now; it just feels different this time around.

Maybe its down to my financial future being less of a burden in the near future; if it is i need to ensure that i take on the advice given in previous responses (ODAAT) and not fall backwards to square one and probably worse.

I am very optomistic but at the same time i acknowledge that i must not get cocky and ensure i am cautious in the future.

Looking forward to my next update in a weeks time.

Hi,
How do i go about starting a new thread?

Hi Tarniot

If you go back to the section where you want to post your thread (eg New Members intros) then scroll down to the bottom you should see a button called 'new Topic' which will allow you to start a new thread.

Look forward to your intro.

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