Hi everyone, and thanks in advance for taking your time to read my post and hopefully reply.
I have just turned 21, so am quite young. I enjoy having a bet (small stake) on the football at weekends and this is no problem, I even enjoy going the casino with friends and I am always in control whilst gambling there. But I do have a big problem with betting online mainly on my mobile. It's either roulette or blackjack, I just lose control when it is online and I never know when to stop. As I get paid monthly I often run out of money with most the month still remaining, once I have paid off my bills I gamble my extra money away as I try to win more and then recover losses. This is beginning to ruin my life as since I believe I have been addicted I feel like I never am happy anymore as I never seem to have money to do nice things with my girlfriend , friends or family and this results in me being down and annoyed. I would really appreciate some friendly advice as I don't want this to continue and I want a happy and fun filled life from now on. Thanks again.
Hi Jord
Well done in coming on to this site and admitting you have a problem. That takes a lot of guts and you would be surprised how many of us wait until things have got really bad before attempting to even admit that there is a problem. I problem gambled for about 10 years before I came on to this site 50 days ago and it was the best decision I ever made.
You need to exclude from whatever online sites you use and/or change your phone so that you cannot use the internet on it. Put whatever measures in place you need to so that you dont carry on because it will get worse. You need to accept that whatever money you have gambled before today has gone and you cannot win it back by chasing it. From this point you can then start to take control back and believe me you will feel so much relief when you are not in turmoil about what you have lost and thinking about when you can gamble again.
My main problem was online slots but I took the decision to stop all forms of gambling as I threw away enough money over the years and felt I needed to ensure that I would never fall back into the trap of gambing.
There are some wonderful people on this site that will give you some excellent advice and you can also start a diary so that anytime you feel like gambling you can come here and write down how you feel or even take a look through other diaries as it will more often than not take away your urges.
I wish you all the best and you have a great chance to escape this now instead of coming back on here in a year or 10 years having lost an awful lot more. Gambling will take everything if you let it so stop now and you will soon see the benefits
All the best
Linda x
Hi Linda,
Thank you so much for your reply, it was very helpful. From today onwards I am going to try and be gamble free and am putting all measures in place to help me do so. Do you think it's possible to do so without any further help or without telling anyone close to you?
Hi Jord
Yes it is possible if you really want it. I did tell my dad the full extent of my problem and I told my other half that I had to stop because I had a gambling problem but I didnt tell him the money involved- he would find it too hard to understand. It all depends on how much it would help you personally. If you want to talk to someone else you can speak to counsellors provided by this site- either online or in person. This site is where I do my unloading because everyone here knows and understands what I am going through and provide excellent support. It is hard to put all that has gone before behind you because if you are like me I am very competitive and do not like losing so I had to retrain my thinking about never getting that money/time back. I do wish I had decided to seek help back when I was your age as it would have saved me so much money/time/stress/heartache. But however now i can use my experiences to help others and also to stop myself from ever relapsing.
One thing us CGs have in common is that we cannot win because we cannot stop and that is so true for me so I realised there was no point starting in the first place. Anytime I get an urge (urges getting less and less as time goes on) I say it out loud or in my head if someones around and it kills the urge.
The only way to win and beat the bookie is to keep your money in your pocket.
Linda x
Hi jord
I've just been reading through your post and Linda's reply. I fully agree with Linda that this site is a place to get it all out. People here DO really get it. I had/have an online problem. I tried to do it alone and relapsed badly recently. I ended up in a position with no choice but to tell my husband, something I really didn't want to do but it was the right thing for me. He doesn't know how much I've spent as I don't either - I can't face it yet but he does know the extent of the debt it's left me in. It was one of the worst days of my life but also one of the best as I could stop trying to hide my problem. I found self excluding useful and also changing my bank card over so I had different details. I've found using this site very helpful, I read or post (mobile or ipad) instead of gambling. It's early days for me but I do feel a little bit positive that I can be ok in time. Different things work for different people, ask advice, seek help whatever works for you. Hope to read another post from you soon Ali x
Ps have you tried setting deposit limits?
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