Hello everyone

Thank you for sharing your story. Unfortunately we cannot go back and change the past but we can try and be better than what we were. Its good that you have your family to support you, and I am sure you will get through this. You havent taken anything from your children, dont worry , you are very young and they are very young too probably. dont beat yourself. As long they are raised with love, good education and support the kids will find their way. Money will come. I hope you use your time wisely and dedicate more time to the kids rather than dwelling on how bad you are. Wish you all the best

kind regards

Hello liveinhope. I do feel for you because I'm the same with regards to the "loss" of time I could have spent on loved ones, as opposed to time all-consumed with gambling. We somehow live a half-life, here but "absent". It's a tough realisation but it can be thought of as yes, things could have been different but it was under 5 years. It could easily have been 10 years. If you look at life as a jigsaw puzzle you will have pieces that are shiny and bright and others a bit murkier but as time goes on, the shinier pieces will far out number the few pieces that you aren't pleased about. Gambling is like a virulent form of 'flu. You come into contact with it, it enters your system and runs amok before finally burning itself out. It steals your energy and zest but you can get it back. You are a good person that got caught off-guard. I came into contact with gambling after losing my Husband to illness. I don't like the person it turned me into. It came at a high emotional cost and I only haven't gambled for 2/3 days so I'm not experienced enough to offer you any wisdom on recovering but there will be many on here that can. I just wanted to say I've read your story and truly empathise. Take care.

Regret is a hard thing to live with and difficult to shake. All you can try to do is only look forward as what's happened has happened and unfortunately it won't change.
I don't have kids but I believe children should be taught more about money management and loans and credit scores ect.. so maybe using what you've gone through you can steer yours away from your mistakes and I know you're pressed for time with working 50 hours but if they reach their potential maybe one day they'll be successful enough to buy you your dream home.

I wish you the best

Thank you all so much for your replies. It means the absolute world to me. I have booked an appointment with my GP for next week. I have had counslling before, but not for gambling. I am going to be upfront and ask for help. My sons are absolutely beautiful souls, so I suppose so far I have done something right. I hope I didn’t sound materialistic in my post, as I really am not. It’s just we rent a very small flat at the moment and have no room, and the boys share a bedroom, I just want better for them like any mum I suppose. I don’t know about anyone else but I think the hardest part is making peace with all the wrongs over the years gambling has caused and trying to forget the losses. I’m sorry for all of you going through this too, and I hope I can help support each and every one of you. Much love

Hi,

First off well done with sharing your story— to be totally honest when reading it, it’s almost identical to what happened to me. Same time frames, situation everything even age. I got sucked into what can only be described as some sort of whirlwind over the space of three years where nothing else seemed to matter other than gambling, for me it was almost trance like. Really was very bizarre. I never lost my job but it did put enormous strain on me financially.

I think it’s really important to stress that you shouldn’t feel guilty for what’s happened. It really is an addiction and a very powerful one at that. I can assure you that there are a lot of people in a worse situation that you find yourself in. Keep cool and stay positive. I was the most financially prudent individual you’d ever met before this happened to me, so It really can happen to anyone. A bit of me even now, still looks back and goes “what the &@“& was I DOING!?”.

The best thing you can do now is stay positive and look forward. My life now is a million times better and more fulfilling without gambling in it. Good luck with everything.

Thank you so much for your kind words. I honestly feel dreadful at the moment. Trapped in my financial situation, embarrassed of my debt, overwhelmed. I can’t change it, I can only try and repair all of this over the coming years and get better for myself and my family. I wish you every success with your journey 🙂

Hi,

First off well done with sharing your story— to be totally honest when reading it, it’s almost identical to what happened to me. Same time frames, situation everything even age. I got sucked into what can only be described as some sort of whirlwind over the space of three years where nothing else seemed to matter other than gambling, for me it was almost trance like. Really was very bizarre. I never lost my job but it did put enormous strain on me financially.

I think it’s really important to stress that you shouldn’t feel guilty for what’s happened. It really is an addiction and a very powerful one at that. I can assure you that there are a lot of people in a worse situation that you find yourself in. Keep cool and stay positive. I was the most financially prudent individual you’d ever met before this happened to me, so It really can happen to anyone. A bit of me even now, still looks back and goes “what the &@“& was I DOING!?”.

The best thing you can do now is stay positive and look forward. My life now is a million times better and more fulfilling without gambling in it. Good luck with everything.