gota stop

Hi Strachs, welcome to the Forum - a very positive step my friend,

I gambled for twenty years before stopping over five years ago.

For me, the key is acceptance - accepting that you will never be able to spend any money that you win, and that effectively, winning is more dangerous than losing because all it will do is make you crave more at higher stakes.

You also have to accept that, for a while at least, you are going to experience urges; but they are always temporary, they soon pass - if you learn to "ride the storm", and get used to it, then they will lessen in time.

It is also important to keep past experiences at the forefront of your mind; even after five years, I can still remember that living death, those long days and nights being haunted by constant worry, the upset, the lies, the inner turmoil, the obsession, the lack of self-worth. Nothing in the world is worth feeling that way, no amount of money, nothing - if you are on the verge of gambling, then take ten minutes to run through what has happened to you in the past, and what is likely to happen to you again.

Then there are practical, preventative measures if you are very vulnerable; you can place blocking software on your PC/Laptop, you can self-exclude from Bookmakers, you can hand over control of your finances to someone else; these techniques aren't a cure, but they will give you time to gather yourself and plan a way forward.

Well done for coming here, and I hope this is a turning point for you my friend.

JamesP

Hi strachs,

Welcome to the forum, and well done for seeking advice on how to stop gambling from here.

It is good you’re trying to do something about your gambling problem as it gets worse if you do nothing about it.

You’ll have a lot of advice on strategies and boundaries that you can read from the postings here, and thus apply to yourself those that you think you identify with.

There’s also great support from forum members to remind you that there’s hope here if you keep to the advice given, and that there’s no need for you to suffer in silence or, isolation. You have to keep trying though, and also be patient with yourself; one step at a time.

Perhaps it would help to understand your situation better if you had given some briefings regarding the type (online or, bookies, or both) of gambling that you do, how long you’ve been doing it for, and how it has been impacting on your life in general.

However, no matter your circumstances, I’d like to make you aware that Gamcare is ready to provide you help and support for your gambling addiction if you get in touch with us via our helpline/ Netline. We can even offer you 12sessions of free counselling if you feel that would help you to overcome your gambling problem.

You can contact our free phone Helpline on 0808 8020 133 for a 1 to 1 chat with one of our specially trained advisers. We’re open everyday from 8.00am to 12.00midnight.

Thanks again for posting in the forum, and please keep posting as often as possible.

Kind regards,

Beatrice