With all the best willpower in the world Ive found relapsing overpowers me and yet again I've lost to machines. It's the most awful feeling in the world, to walk away and my money has gone into a machine. The problem is our society makes it too easy available. I cut all my bank cards up 6 months ago but found I could get cash by using my phone contactless in a family arcade arghhh so frustrating. You can switch contactless off but just as easy to switch it back on so there's no control if your an addict. The thing I've learned is you can't have access to money and yet modern society doesn't help. Gambling is so toxic it saps every bit of joy and happiness out of life, so today my resolve is to stop playing these wretched machines coz ultimately they always win and I'm going to fight this one way or another
Hello Jennyj,
Thank you for coming on here and sharing with us how things have been.
It sounds like you’ve recently had a relapse, however you’ve gone through the process of reflecting on this and learning from this to strengthen your will power in continuing to march forward with your recovery journey! Reflection can be a powerful tool in allowing you to learn, pick yourself up when you experience bumps along the way on your journey which can strengthen you to make changes going forward to build healthier habits, which seems to be exactly what you are doing right now.
In your post you mention that you have already taken measures such as cutting up your bank cards and switching off contactless. I’m wondering if you have also tried self-exclusion methods? Exploring ways in which you can self-exclude from gambling can help you work towards gaining back control from the present gambling cycle. You can put self-exclusions in place for various arcades and gaming centers as well as other betting shops in your area – you can find more information on how you can do this here: https://www.gamcare.org.uk/self-help/self-exclusion/
We are also here to listen and support you through your recovery – Please do contact us through to our helpline to speak to one of our advisers for a debrief or if you want to access more of a 1 to 1 support through GamCare. Our helpline is open 24/7 and you can contact us via call on 0808 8020 133 or you can go through our website and chat to someone here: https://www.gamcare.org.uk/get-support/talk-to-us-now/
Best wishes,
Brielle
Forum Admin
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