I gamble through boredom. Ive gambled since I was 15/16 . Ive always looked older than my age and got into local bookies. Im now 20 and wake up wanting to gamble every day. Horses and football have never been a major issue. Never registered losses on them really however roulette both Fobt and online ruin me on a regular occasion. After every big win Illl just and stop but it just results in me giving them it all back and more. Its a never ending cycle. I had one major binge last night after being 600 up and ending 400 down. I need to stop and last night has made me realise that its the final straw and I need to stop. Ive been on here before and gone through few week stages of stopping but never permanently. I have a job and uni that I should focus on and i play a lot of sport but I always find time to gamble. 21st January is the day that i hope will change me. Ive seen grown men in 10s of thousands worth of debt and although my 2k overdraft is bad. It certainly isnt the end of the world. I want to cut the problem before it worsens. Ive told my mum before and she does understand.I feel my gambling is also when I get a life setback and I gamble as a comfort but it only gets worse. Lets hope i can make the change starting today. Tom
Hi Tom and welcome to the forum , your absolutely right about the cycle this habit of ours creates , I totally empathise with you as the Fobt's were my biggest problem and as you said any winnings are just pumped back in the machine .
As compulsive gamblers it's no longer about the money , just the rush or buzz we get, all common sense goes out the window along with our cash as we chase and chase until there's nothing left , we cannot win because we cannot stop !.
You need to break whats known on here as the Time, Money, location triangle , keep it broken by removing one and you can't bet . so you need to self exclude from as many bookies and sites as you can .
For the bookies you just need a couple of photos and afew minutes , with the sites you can put blocking software in place to stop the access to gaming sites , gamcare will be able to advise on these things if you need help ?.
It's gret that at an early age youv'e relised you have a problem , youv'e got your whole life ahead of you but if you carry on gambling it will pnly get a lot , lot worse !
My advice is don't hide this from mum or whoever else you can confide in , addiction thrives on secrecy and I'm sure mum would be more upset if she found out another way ?, It also allows you to move on easier and thats the other thing , let go of all the losses , just write them off and put it down to experience , were all human and allowed to make mistakes , so beating yourself up over it won't help !
Take care for now fella and keep posting , there's tons of help here if you need it and no judgements just support !
You can do it , you just have to want too !!
Best wishes Alan
Yeah ive read on some earlier posts that the traingle in the first thing to focus on. It starts today anyway. Lets hope it can be the first of many gamble free days. Thanks for your support!
Id like to think Ive made my first step. Wallked past 3 bookies on my way home and didnt look at one.
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