First time post

Hi Stella1978 - No need to apologise for a 'ramble' - you have articulated what most of us have felt like. Well done on resolving to kick this destructive and demoralising habit for good. Most people feel better for telling their loved ones - whether you tell your partner before or after the holiday is something for you to judge, but whenever it is I am sure she will support you if you can show her that you are making a real effort to give up. You will be surpised at how much better you can feel after just a few days 'clean'. Have you self-excluded from sites (if you gamble online)? You can of course also self-exclude from bookies if you use those. And installing an online blocking program is also the best thing you could do, to simply prevent you from further temptation.

Try to visit this site as much as possible - the support here is fantastic.

Best wishes for your journey to sanity.

Joanna

Hi Joanna.

Thanks for taking the time to read and reply.

Just reading your reply and all the other posts has helped, knowing that I'm not the only one going through this, even though I hope that every one of us gets through this.

My problem is in-play betting on anything that is playing, thinking that there are 'easy' wins but now everything has sunk in what a mess I've actually got myself into and the people it has affected that are close to me.

Yes I've self excluded myself from the sites and am going to install the block on my phone.

I will be visiting this site whenever I have a spare 5/10 mins it really does help a lot!

Thanks once again and I hope that you and everyone are beating this!

Hi Stella

I'm 36 and had a serious gambling problem for 12 years. I suffered relapse, after relapse, after relapse.

I've not had a bet in six months but I'm no expert. I've managed to stay gamble free by:

- Being complete open and honest with the people I love about the extent of my addiction, my financial situation and my debts.

- Handing over management of my financial affairs to someone I trust. In my case, 70% of my salary gets transferred to my wife every month.

- Going to two GA meetings a week

- Accepting I'm done, I can't win back the money I've lost and I can't ever gamble again.

The first was pretty hellish initially but was the best thing I've ever done in hindsight. The second relieved a massive pressure from me and took away an excuse I used to escape back into gambling.

By going to GA I recognise that I'll always need to be aware I've had this mental obsession, but I can move on with my life.

The last step was the reason for all my relapses. I couldn't accept I was done, I couldn't let gambling go, I was still in love with it despite the hurt and destruction I caused. I wanted it to stop but I couldn't let go, it was always in the back of my mind that the next time would be different.

Day by day, you're life gets better. No one's life gets worse if they stay away from a bet.

All the best and keep positive.

Hi Stella,

I'm new to this forum and your story is very similar.....I'm not sure of your extent but mine is 15k 7 months ago it was 3k 6 years ago 800 15 years ago it was pennies...is what tryin to say is that it never gets better while your still gambling.....is what I did was face reality that it was strangling me....I decided to be open and honest, I expected that no one would support me but when they realised the seriousness the people that loved me stuck with me....what you need to do I'm not sure only you can decide but I would advise calling gamcare and getting some 1 - 1 sessions. As much as you owe it to your family you owe it to yourself it's seems that you don't want this in your life