First time

heloo Marlo10 , I have the same problem at the moment and we have to be strong , we can help each other ! today i have lost about £250 just on stupid football bets . We have to stop this today , tonight ! are you still thinking about it ? i do every minute and it is not easy to stop , keep checking results and games that i can make money on . it is all for nothing ! even if we win , we will loose all and the rest , we know that but we still doing this right ?

listen 4k is not end of the world ! remember , you will be a real winner and hero if you stop gambling !then you will win against bookies by not given them any money , not a cent of your wages !

@Revenant

Nice to here from you mate. Actually, I just played again tonight and lost another 600 quid which I jusy borrowed. I'm losing it really. Same goes for me. I keep checking the scores, who's winning and who I can bet to.

I know what I lost is not too much compared to others but it's what all I got really. I'm so disgusted with myself and to think no one knows about it yet.

I hope you're doing better than I am mate. All the best!

I'll do my best to stop it tonight! No peeking or checking the scores or goals for me

Hello and welcome for the forum both Mario and Revenant.

Having a gambling addiction can be devestating to ones sanity, especially when you lose and try to chase back what you’ve lost. Most of us have been there at one point.

a few small pointers for you both jf I may.

1. Gamstop

Block yourselves for 5 years. Anything less and I think most will agree you are not serious about kicking the habit. If the site you use isn’t signed up to it, get them to exclude you. Most are on it though as far as I am aware as a part of the responsible gambling firms.

2. Get someone else to look after your cards. By doing this the temptation is removed as you haven’t got them to hand and if you are out in town you are unable to withdraw money from your wallet. I carry £10-20 depending on the day.

3. Talk about it. Talk about how you feel, what made you gamble k that day. It helps to get it out there like you are doing and stop it being a dark little secret.

4. Take each day as it comes. You may have relapses but so what? Don’t beat yourself up over it.

5. Listen to the advice of others on here who have been through a lot worse than what we have. They are much further down the road and have lost everything. At present yours is just financial.

You are who you are and it’s ok to be a compulsive gambler. Just set things in place to prevent yourself losing more money.

Remember, one day at a time.

CJ.

Hi Marlo. CJ has already offered some great advice, but I would just like to say that your financial losses may seem big just now, but trust me, they are manageable. The important thing now is that you don’t compound these losses by continuing to gamble. You’ve wasted another £600 tonight. If you continue on at this rate, those losses are going to go from manageable to out of control.

Take a step back. Take a deep breath. Follow the advice CJ has given above as a starting point, then focus on paying back some of those losses. You still have time on your side if you stop now.

All the best.

Thanks for the pointers Cj. I'm thinking about telling my girlfriend about it just so she can hold on to my savings for now and prevent me from spending it in gambling. I hope she takes it as best as she could cause I know shes gonna be deeply disappointed in me.

Thanks for the advice as well Martin. I'm honestly itching to win back my money but I'm doing my best to think how much further damage it would do to me if I gambled again. Like you said, my lost is still manageable at the moment,which I'm fortunate enough I guess.

I'm literally doing these slow deep breaths now just so I could plan my next step and get back on my debts.

Thank you guys for all your support!
Marlo if u spent another £600 its too late now , forget about it and try to not do it again today .
Lets do it together!
Keep posting here , how is your day etc .
Day 1 for you and me and many others, first week is very difficult but then should be much easier!

How u doing Marlo ?
Keep posting here , how was your day ? I did not gamble today , trying to keep myself busy, it is not easy

Hey Revenant! I'm doing ok at the moment. Got a bit of thinking earlier about my lost again but then again I just try to keep it out of my mind because it's gone now. I'm glad we're on the same boat mate. Really encouraging. I'm on night shift today so I'm able to keep myself distracted. I just move, move and move. It's like flushing out gambling in my system. How about you? Its day 1 without gambling for us. Let's go all the way mate

How are you two chaps doing? Not heard from you guys in the last few days.

Have you blocked yourselves from Gamstop?

CJ.

https://www.gamcare.org.uk/forums/family-friends

If you want to stop gambling, any time you get the urge to gamble, read the stories in that forum. I'll fortify you to NOT gamble. Some are just brutal what your gambling does to others around you.

Hi Marlo, well done for making it here. What can I say, but try to give you my experience and doses of reality.

Firstly, do not underestimate the mental battle you have just begun. I promise how this and you may choose to ignore or take this wisely, but this a fight for the rest of your life - once gambling grabs you by the ankle and pulls you into the quicksand, it's going to keep finding you, keep grabbing you, no matter how far you get out.

You are at risk of being another 600, another 1k, three months later, afteryou think your free, another 2k, and soon you'll have spent 20 years like me, easily lost 100k over a lifetime, currently 30k in debt and in social and mental crisis.

People told me when I first joined here, of the troubles ahead, I thought I could cope and recover and never gamble again... Oh oh!

There will be many strategies. Utilise all you have the energy for.. Get as much help as you can form sources available to you.

And be strong. This is a long road.. The great thing about this forum is you realise you are not alone, their are solutions, their are successes and there are mentors here that prove we can be happy and successful once more.

Contact me any time.

Thanks for all the support guys. Day 4 of no gambling now.

@mccawpa
I'm gonna try and read through those links mate. I have to be honest, I still get that urge. Can't think straight whenever I'm getting that feeling "you can win it back".

@JuneBug81
You're definitely right about that. I'm only on my 4th day away from gambling and I'm already worried how it's going to affect me. It's my worse addiction. You're a strong one mate. You have one hell of a story there. I don't know what I'll do if I'm in your situation. But good thing you've turning things around now, little by little. I wish you all the best.

I'm trying to cope now for my lost. Thinking of ways to pay my debt. Hopefully, and if I get through all this, I'll be able to pay it within 6 to 8 months or so. All the best you guys! I'll still send updates on me here.