Gambled for over 10 years but the last 2 years have been disastrous

Hi,

I totally feel your pain ive ended uo with 12000 of debt and were trying to buy a house. I opened up to my partner about it and they were understanding I had every intention of stopping and got my debt down to 7000 but now back up to 12000. I hated myself and was thinking about ending it all. I have since found this site and learnt about Gamban, and just having that in place has helped so much. I Think with gambling the compulsion is so strong there needs to be physical barriers in place whilst your brain adjusts to not gambling and the thoughts become fewer and further between.

I had gambstop and ended up on the dodgy sites. I had a blocker in my cards but was still able to gamble its ruined me to be honest but im a couple of weeks in now and its the longest ive been for ages. Just need to figure out where the hell im gonna get money to pay a chunk of my debts off! 

Listen youre young, you've got a family, a job and you can buid that money back up again. You say you cant lose it all again and I agree, you've now got safeguards in place so that will help, but you most definately can build it up again.

Youve got this.

Hi C,

I just want to start by saying well done for telling your story. It takes guts to open up and be honest about your addiction, and you've come to the right place. 

Gambling, especially online, can be very, very harmful. It draws people in and can get very out of control very quickly, and it's scary how easily accessible and advertised it is despite its harms. 

There are many people like you who have got sucked in and lost more than they can afford. I know of people who have lost their homes through gambling. 

You say you need help and support, and you've definitely come to the right place. GamCare offers a range of support both virtually and face to face. Perhaps counselling, or a support group could be beneficial for you? This could help you learn more about how your addiction started and explore patterns of behaviour. 

It's great you have already put some blockers in place to stop you physically gambling and, with the right support, we can help you through your recovery to beat this addiction. 

Keep talking, we are here for you to get you through this. 

Kind Regards, 

Jade 

@pertwnj0u2 thanks Jade for your kind words. It’s time to act now, it’s bizzare because in a bookies there is no way I’d lose tens of thousands of pounds, yet online it’s a complete different aspect and feel. Particular the live games. yes thankfully I have an assessment on Monday with NECA, via Gamcare. Hopefully this will put me in the right direction. 
4 days gambling free, things as the song goes, can only get better! 
have a good weekend 

C 

Hi C

Come on the chatrooms at 8pm and there are some great long time gamble free people on there that can offer advice.

If you really want to give up there is so much help now. I gambled for 44 years and gave up 51 days ago using the following methods

1. Registered with Gamstop

2. Installed Gamban

3. Joined Gamcare and went to all the chatrooms I could

4. Joined GA and found a really good group for me

5. Started counselling with Breakeven (Gamcare referred me)

6. Spoke to the live chat help on here a lot and I mean a lot

7. Told everyone and started to have conversations about it

8. Made sure there were no more secrets or lies with anyone

9. Built myself a support network of people I could talk to when I needed to or felt low

10. Saw GP who prescribed anti-depressants

11. Got counselling off NHS for mental health

12. Watched recovery videos on youtube and read as much as I could

13. Started doing a lot of walking to replace the dopamine and repair the brain

@lp5vut869c thanks Stuart, and congratulations on putting the steps in place to quit, 51 days is a great achievement. 
Thank you, for sharing your tips; I will do, and hopefully I can beat this horrible illness. 

I start with NECA Monday. 

I really appreciate your response Stuart,

C 

@swt1kl8nyu Hi there.

Like you, I gambled so much and in just one short period of a few weeks, gambled 27k of my own hard earned money!! When I point this out to people on here, I can’t believe I am talking about myself!! Me, sensible, money savvy, good at budgeting me - all when I am not gambling!

I am much much older than you and have had several slip ups over a 16 year period. During that time however, I did manage to go 5 years g.f after installing Gamstop for the maximum period. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of not renewing my membership! Won’t be doing that again!

The next best thing was Gamcare support sending me the link to register free of charge with Gamban, as I went down the road of using “dodgy” overseas sites. Gamban stops you from doing this which is great as even though I had blocks on my bank cards, I was still able to use them on these sites.

I went g.f from March 24 until August 25 before I stupidly engaged with these overseas sites and did some more damage of my hard earned salary and savings. Well no more thanks to Gamban 💪👌.

You are young with a well paid job. Make your money last and plan wonderful things to do with it, instead of doing what we have all done on here - just hand it over to rich gambling establishments 👎.

Wishing you strength and determination on your journey. 🙏

Pink Lady 🩷🍎.

@j5a6meyr4z Hi Pink Lady, 

It’s fascinating because the first paragraph, I never thought it would be me either. It was always when it’s online, that’s the crux of the issue. 
Similar to you I can’t believe the amount of money gone. 

I have now signed up for 5 years with auto renewal, so that is a positive, and I start with NECA Monday. 

furthermore I also have done the dodgy site route also. Not anymore, I’ve installed Gamban. 

you’re right, the money is gone but I do have a well paid job, in which I can do nice things with and the money will return eventually, instead of pain and suffering, I have to see it as an expensive but valuable lesson, that it can’t happen a third time. 

it won’t I’m more determined than ever. 

also you are right again! The richest woman in the UK owns bet 365, so let’s stop making the rich richer, with our own hard graft!

thank you for reaching out Pink Lady, I wish you a lovely weekend. 

C

@43x79odb1l thank you, for the response . 

We share the same sentiment and I know we both can beat this horrible thing. 
I also was down the dodgy websites and that’s even worse, the worry of scam, the worry of whether if you are fortunate to win, you receive money as you’re not protected at all. They are evil sites and pray on people such as us. Stay away and clear, easier said than done I know! 

I'm glad you have spoken to your partner, this is a positive step. 

Gamban is on, as is gamstop and I have something called bet blocker, maybe that could help? 

thank you again for your reply, and good luck with your journey, to beat this. 

we can do this 

@swt1kl8nyu . I look forward to reading your progress on here.  Feel free to go through my diary too - it’s a long one!!😆.

Thank you. Hope you have a lovely weekend too.  You are doing all the right things to prevent you from gambling again 👌💪.

Take care.

Pink Lady 🩷🍎.

Hi Gamblehelp

How are you getting on ?

@lp5vut869c hello Stuart! 

really really well thank you. 

positive start with NECA and a plan in place, blocks are on forever and online gambling will never be anymore for me. 

how are you? 

@swt1kl8nyu 

I'm good and working everyday on my recovery to learn more about addiction and myself.

Glad to hear you are doing really well and sounding positive. Have you tried the 8pm chatrooms on here as they have helped me in a huge way alongside my GA meetings

Stuart

yes, I’ve had a look and it has helped knowing there is support! 

Hiya

How are you getting on now ?

Stuart