Hello all, I have just signed up to Gamcare. I gamble on and off with FOBT's. I go on gambling binges on these machines for a few days or weeks. They always end the same, with me losing. After a big loss at the end, I then usually stop gambling for a few weeks or months and the cycle will the restart at some point. I am unsure what triggers each binge but once I start it is like my brain wants to complete the cycle. I am well aware of the tools out there for problem gambling and I have used many of them including self exclusion - nothing has worked long-term. During a gambling binge, I am very focused and how much profit or loss I am currently on along with plans on what to do with potential winnings. I will always end up gambling until I incur a big loss and only then does it stop for a while. While my main gambling issue is slot machines, I have found that if I play other forms of gambling such as roulette or blackjack at a casino for example then this can trigger a new slot binge. I have decided to stop so many times but I always relapse. This time I am hoping to stop once and for all. I wondered if anyone on Gamcare has had a similar problem and if so, what did you do to help stop gambling?
Hi Fallout
Thank you for your share, it was a very interesting read. There other binge gamblers on here who I hope resonate with you and reply. It's your journey so I'm not going to tell you what you need to do. You have said you know about all the blocks etc but would you mind if I asked you a question. I gambled from 12 years old until 56. A long the way I got big losses and stopped playing those. I stopped fruit machines, then stopped casinos and going into bookies but replaced all this online. I believe that I was born with addiction. I just had to cultivate it into a monster which I did. I have realised now I have numerous addictions and am just pleased I don't include alcohol or drugs in those. My brain is wired differently to people who can gamble responsibly.
It sounds like you recognise you have a problem and want to do something about it. When you have stopped gambling between binges, did you really want to give up ? Did you just stop rather than give up because of the feeling of the big losses, not being able to cover bills, regret or not having money to carry on ? If you really want to stop, it's obviously going to take will power because I am sure you know that we are all very resourceful. I'm on day 100 today. Never thought I would ever say that but I am. I am determined to give up.
Have you tried counselling ? Do you have any accountability to anyone on your finances ? Have you tried GA ? Have you been on the 8pm chatroom on here ? All of these support systems do help. Do you have anyone to talk to ?
I think it's important to have a support network of people you can talk to and things you can turn to when you feel week. An urge on average only lasts up to half an hour and then it's gone. I love to go for a walk when I feel down or need to "escape".
Hopefully see you in the chatrooms
Hello Stuart, thanks for your reply. I'll answer your questions:
"When you have stopped gambling between binges, did you really want to give up ? Did you just stop rather than give up because of the feeling of the big losses, not being able to cover bills, regret or not having money to carry on ?"
The answer is yes - I really wanted to give up for good and in some cases, I truly believed I had stopped for good. Even during the binges after the first few days/hours, part of me looked forward to me losing a lot of money because the way my brain worked was that after a big loss, the cycle was complete and I could stop again.
“Have you tried counselling ? Do you have any accountability to anyone on your finances ? Have you tried GA ? Have you been on the 8pm chatroom on here ? All of these support systems do help. Do you have anyone to talk to ?”
I will be trying the chatrooms relatively soon. Unsure about GA at this point. Giving up full autonomy of my finances is a step I planned to take if I relapsed again more than once but once the shock and numbness at the end of a slots cycle wears off, I move on and never end up doing this. After a little bit of time passes, I end up starting a new cycle. I have not partaken in counselling but I have used AI for guidance and it has been helpful. In fact, AI is what advised me to start my Gamcare account and post on here.
I don't really have any 'urges' to gamble before I start a new cycle. It is more that the more I consider the idea and think about it in my head during an abstinent phase, the more I negotiate with myself and engage with the idea in my head and the feeling of inevitability sets in and I just go and gamble. Some of the time the process is frighteningly quick - especially if I have just finished a slots cycle around 6 weeks or so before, that period of time if often the danger zone.
For me I need to build up a really good and robust support network of people and things I could turn to when I needed to. Gamcare chatrooms, youtube recovery videos, podcasts, GA, the 12 steps, my GA friends and sponsor, Parents, mother in law believe it or not, walking, crosswords, meditation - yes it works and I didnt think that would ever work, evive app
I do a bit of recovery each day so it's like taking medicine and keeps the monster at bay
Hopefully see you on the chatrooms. They are amazing. They are text only so no cameras
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