Hi,
I'm 23 years old, been gambling for the past 3 years or so. Mostly online slots, although have been engaged in other forms of gambling.
Started with a fruit machine in an amusement park, won 30 pounds from a 50p bet, kept coming back to it, would win and lose at times. Then went on to online gambling. Never really had any major wins but I guess the few bigger ones I had were enough to get me hooked.
I don't earn much, but I am pretty good at saving money. For a while I was convinced that I was gambling in moderation, and it took a while to realize that I have an addictive personality.
Eventually I started to deposit more, bet bigger, stopped withdrawing winnings altogether. I would just be playing for the buzz, or hoping for something big. A lot of people here describe entering a sort of trance, that's pretty much how I would describe it, just clicking the d**n button like a zombie, kinda hoping to lose sooner so I could just self exclude and not play for a while. Then after some time would find another site and back to zombie-land...
Luckily I never reached a point where I would borrow money or spend the money needed for rent and other bills. However, the way things are going, I am afraid to reach such a state..
So here's me, gamble free day 1. Thanks for reading:)
K.
zombielike congratulations on making the first step.
admitting that you have a problem and taking positive steps towards stopping before your problem causes debts is fantastic.
have a look on the challenge 2014 by mr Brightside, it gives you support when you need it and you will be able to read other peoples stories.
best wishes for the future
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