Feeling Positive

goidGood luck mate the blocks work my partner having my wages sport is so unpredictable that’s why gambling is thriving no punters ever win in the long run

Good luck

thanks for the support Twinboys and good luck to you as well.

payday today and everything went to plan, i gave my wife my wages, seperated whats committed for bills from spending money and she'll send me back my spending through the month as i need it. simple but effective i think. i try as well to make sure i am doing all my spending direct from my card so i have an audit trail of all my spending and therefore can explain and track everything.

nothing else really to report today, work was really busy so no spare time to think about anything else. 15 days strong, still feeling really positive, still not getting complacent!

Well done on reaching 15 days gamble free!

Keep up the good work! X

thanks Natpat89... its always nice to come back on here and see a message of support.

i read a lot of blogs that other people post and can just relate so much to how we all feel. its far too early for me to preach as though im in a different position but what i do know is that i feel worlds apart to the person that was gambling 16 days ago. we all have our own journeys, and levels of despair that have come with uncontrolled gambling but the one thing people on this site have is the recognition that gambling needs to stop and that life is better without it!

the hard thing i believe is keeping this realisation and never getting complacent that a new life including gambling will be any different to our previous lives with it! i have hit day 16 today and again have been through a day without wanting to gamble, but i swear i am never going to take this feeling for granted or believe that i ever have the capacity to have a controlled relationship with gambling, its all or nothing when it come to gambling and i choose to have all of my life and that nothing or no part of it will involve gambling! i so chuffing proud of myself, i love have full honesty with my wife, love how much better i have got at sharing the little thoughts in my head and i love how much motivation i have for my and our future. i think maybe i just came clean in time, even though i was coming clean to £30K of debt, we are already working together and making things better. i got paid yesterday... apart from the normal bills ive only spent £20 of my own money, £6.10 of that was parking!!! had i have been stuck in my old ways there no telling what amount i could have spent. in months gone by i could have been payday skint by now already. instead i know i am set up for the month. day 16 feels pretty cool. the next milestone i have in my head is day 21 which will be tuesday next week, that'll signify 3 weeks gambling free!! love this!!

we're going to the theatre in london tomorrow and i cant wait! i have a great feeling about day 17!!

good luck everyone! never get complacent!

day 18! i've had a really good day in terms of getting things done at home, and am really pleased that i've achieved a few things domestically (more work on the bathroom, made something really nice for dinner etc). i dont view thier purpose as being a distraction from gambling but its definitely a side effect. i watch some of Jeff and the boys on Sky sports this afternoon and can't help but note the teams that i used to like to put in my accumulators... i would not have won any money today, no way no how! this pleases me as it gives me further validation about the decision i made 18 days ago! i do find myself thinking though that its a shame that i cant partake in a 'friendly weekend wager'. but i still fully recognise that i can as i cannot just dip my toe into gambling, its not my nature! i am able to squash any mind wondering though with the complete realisation that i will always be much more of a winner ( in so many different ways ) by never trying to entertain a world where i make a wager again. i think what im harping on about is that yes i reckonnise it would be nice to have the best of all worlds, to be able to be a 'social gambler' but i fully recognise, and accept that this just isnt me. this i why i keep telling myself not to get complacent, never to believe that i can allow the ganbling drug into my life and believe i can control as i cannot!!

i feel super proud of my 18 days, this achievement motivates me, my desire to be financially stable motivates me, my motivation also comes to like/love the person that i am. but my key motivation is to do right by my family, to do right by my wife and upcoming baby.

day 19 tomorrow and feeling strong, feeling honest and definitely not feeling complacent.

Hello Chris,

Well done on the progress so far. I was a big sports bettor so the weekends (and most weekdays to be fair) were always a mad time of many, many accas. I know in the early stages you think "oh, i miss the option to gamble controlled". But were we ever really controlled? It becomes a life of madness. Money doesn't mean anything in our little world. When we win we just have more gambling tokens to keep playing.

Once you get past the first couple of months and you see and assess the damage gambling has done to your life you think "why would i want to do that again?". Im not saying you won't get the thoughts that gambling "might be fun" or something that we "should be able to control now we haven't bet for a while". Those thoughts still come from time to time and they are what we have to be wary of forever in recovery. Our addiction can be very sneaky so we must always be careful. But i have found that i really did move past that "gutted i can't even gamble a little, ever" thought process.

Keep taking it one day at a time, today is all that matters the rest will come. One thing i would say is be careful on and around paydays. Once you have credit available that is when you can be tested if you don't have good blocks in place.

All the best mate =)

Like sjw outlined the ‘wins’ only ever add fuel to the fire and set you up for a bigger fall further down the line, we know sometimes this doesn’t take long at all, it usually happens in a flash. Our actions our not our own when in a gambling induced haze. I’m glad I’m young and do not have access to life savings or loans of such, I’m almost certain that if I did I’d of rinsed through them and exhausted all means. It’s the act of gambling we are addicted to, money seems to be central in our pursuit but we always lose sight of it and get lost in the rush of it all. It’s fun in some sort of sick twisted way but I want nothing to do with it at this point, I hope that feeling continues. Research has shown people still get a kind of buzz when losing or recouping and breaking even after losing a certain amount. I’ve experienced the relief of getting back ‘up’ after a disastrous spell. The feeling is almost euphoric but then as we are addicted obviously continue to play until we can play no more. We sit there often alone trading our cash to be trapped within on our minds staring at our screens on an emotional rollercoaster. Only to be left feeling empty yet full of regret afterwards.

How is losing money only to get some of it back remotely fun. If we continue our total loses will continue to rise like they already have done over the years. We’ve got to let it go for good.

movingforward2017 - thank you very much for your post.

im on day 23 today, and still feeling great. keeping really good channels of transparency with my wife and other circles of support. off on a Stag do to Poland for the weekend. spoken to a really good friend to help make sure nothing goes wrong. have drawn currency out so should help ensure things dont go wrong!

feeling confient that when i get back on Tuesday I'll be updating with day 28!! still being honest and never getting complacent!!

Good lad, hope you have a blast on the stag man

Well done Chris! Enjoy your weekend! It's good to do the things you enjoy to appreciate what you SHOULD be spending your hard earned money on instead of gambling. Looking forward to your day 28 post 🙂

Posting from Poland! It’s that prime time on a Saturday where the footy is on and I’m exposed to it by the nature of a Stag do. However.... I’ve managed to stay strong, not even looked for ways to gamble. My mate is having a go on the footy this afternoon and I’m aware of it, cheering him on but absolutely not wanting to partake. I thought I’d post just as a reminder to myself to stay strong and never get complacent!! Till next time!

Day28!!! Completing today will be my first month gambling free! So happy!! Bring on the next month! Never getting complacent

Hi I’m Jamie I’m 18 and I gamble away nearly 500 pound a week needs to stop now

This is where it all begins for me now

Hello Jamieredfearn13,

Welcome to the forum. Well done for making a start here.

You might like to start your own thread, as you'll probably get more responses that way. To start a thread, go to the forum section where you'd like your thread to appear, scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the 'New topic' button.

Take care,

Forum admin.

Well done Chris! Pleased for you. Stay positive it helps keep the rest of us strong too seeing your good progress!