First start of a hard journey.

Hi

I too was a compulsive online slot gambler for years as well offline fruit machines, so know how addictive they are.

You need to ask yourself why you gamble. Mine was largely boredom but also because I genuinely enjoy slots, just like someone may like a TV programme or a sport.

Unfortunately though too much gambling has the consequences of leading to debt.

You need to immediately self exclude from gambling sites, also look at blockers such as k9. If sites belong to the same group you can ask to be excluded from all of that groups sites.

Once the gambling is under control, then you'll be able to start tackling the debt.

Do stick around so many great people here, who will offer great support and advice.

Hi Michaela.

They program hundreds if not thousands of these games to be highly addictive. They want your money and I know all about slots so I know they will be getting it from you

You are in exactly the right place to finally realise how dangerous slot gambling is and to start your road to recovery.

Please ring gamcare as many times as you like which is a good start. That one to one voice will be very helpful

With openness honesty and family support you will make gambling history You will learn about the addiction and all the reasons people got addicted. Its the biggest form of mind control going and you will learn about the power of the addicted mind to control the body.

You will begin to understand how dangerous it actually is and you have to be proactive in your fight. You dont want that industry on your devices and in your home so they must be blocked and you must self exclude

We all recommend that you talk about it with your family. There is no shame in admitting that gambling got to you.

A chat with the doctor is also a good idea just to see if there are any issues like depression which cause you to gamble for escape.

Being gamble free is a lovely feeling and I hope you will join us.

Best wishes from everyone on the forum

Thankyou both for your reply and advise. I suffer with anxiety and I see my doctor every four weeks. I have always worried a lot. I guess when I'm playing I'm not thinking about anything apart from winning ! I have self excluded from several sites. There are so many! Every! I would have to join all of them to then self exclude? I need something on my phone to block these sites but also something that I can't turn off my self. My partner knows that I have a problem and I talk to him but he doesn't no the full extent he knows I got my self in to debt before and he knows that was the reason. I've not finished paying on that 8 grand debt only to of accumulated pretty much the same debt again! I'm to ashamed to explain why again because I don't no why! He will ask why arnt we enough for you to stop. X

Hi Ya PinkBoots (I so want some of those), welcome to recovery 🙂

You gamble to escape...It's very common & @ the moment you are stuck in the vicious cycle of addiction! The debt (regardless of how you got it) makes you more anxious so you gamble to try & get out of debt & then when you lose, you feel even worse that you did @ the start! Daft thing is, we're all here because our lives have been affected by gambling...Us gamblers cannot win because we cannot stop! Any money we do win just goes straight back to where it came as we try to win more so we can play for longer & of course get out of debt & treat our loved ones the way we think they want to be!

It's nonsense & it took me close to 30 years to realise that gambling was the cause of my problems not the solution!

Why not ask your partner if he can help you break you gambling (Time-Money-Location, remove one & you cannot gamble) triangle by helping you download blocking software (k9 is free but there are others GamCare can help with) & setting the passwords so you don't know it! Maybe downgrade your bank account to a cash only card or report your existing one lost & scratch off the security number when the new one arrives (without looking @ it)?

Then you need help getting to the root of your problem! GamCare offer counselling services for you (& your partner if they think it would be beneficial) or GA have meetings all around the Country, your GP may have other options too. Having just come off of a dose of happy pills, I assume the 4 weekly visits are a bit 'Hi & Bye' rather than time to chat & discuss your concerns? It's good that your partner knows but it's hard for them to make sense of stuff that is nonsense even to us, despite is continuing to do it!

The only way us compulsive gamblers win is to not gamble & with the right help & support, we can choose to win every day - ODAAT

My doctor isn't the most chatty of men so I find it hard to open up. I'm on setraline for my anxiety and I've wanted to ask for a higher dose but I'm to worried to ask! I'm in touch with a wellbeing service that we're going to give me cbt and I'm wondering weather cbt could help me think different about gambling? Has anybody has cbt before? It's cognitive behavioural therapy? Thankyou for all of your replies it's good to read this first thing in the morning gets me feeling positive about the day ahead without gambling x

Yummmmm, after my initial side effects wore off the 50mg of Sertraline that I was munching each day really did the trick for me! Although I hasten to add, I was put on them to deal with a cycle of not sleeping rather than anxiety & a lot of the stuff I read online about how good they are was from people taking 150/200mg. The 4 weekly appointments should be assessment ones & if you think you need more then you should be able to tell your GP that. I guess it's like sitting in a restaurant moaning about the food & yet giving the waiter an appreciative nod & thumbs up when they ask instead of 'no it's bloody horrible, the chips are cold & where's the gravy (angry face)?" Could you do it over the phone? Maybe ask the receptionist if they are able to put a request through to see if your dose can be increased? You will need an appointment I'm sure or maybe ask if you can be switched over to a female?

But...Yes, yes, yes! CBT is definitely something that should help 🙂 Sadly I'm a preacher not a practiser but anything you do differently is a good start with recovery & some people will swear by this type of counselling, others by other types. Thing is, you are here so already you have your hands up in surrender to the addiction & that is half our battle, admitting we have a problem!

If the site gives you comfort, you may find creating a recovery diary useful! I find them easier to navigate & generally feel that you get a better response over there! Junebug was looking for help creating some sort or daily newsletter which you may find useful to jump on board with or maybe you could join the 2016 Challenge & see the rest of the year out alongside others with a weekly check in!

Good to have you on board Pink Boots 🙂 Life in recovery is so much better than what you know now! Time to start enjoying it - ODAAT