Hello, I'm new on here.

Hi Mark, You have come to the right place, the place where fallen gamblers have the freedom to vent out all the loses and where it has gone wrong, I'm the same as you, same age and I've got nothing because of this addiction and I'm also depressed and been contemplating suicide myself, BUT...

You must remember, The only way to beat this is to stop because you will only lose more and more, I've been there and done it too and now decided I will stop because I cannot win anything from this dreaded game.

I suggest you take time to read some diaries in the diaries section and also if you have time, create your own diary too to record events on the road to your life with gambling.

Stacey.

Hello mark and well done for going 4 months last year into this year and well done for making this big step, I like you don't open up much but since I started ga and this forum you can't shut me up I've made a diary and post how I'm doing every day I find it helps me massively you should do the same good luck for today and be strong.

Ste26

Hi Mark,

Thanks for your post, and you're welcome to open up on the forum anytime. I'm glad you found calling us back in October to be helpful. If you'd like to chat again or just would like a little encouragement or support, feel free to call us whenever you'd like.

If all of your gambling is through online casinos, have you thought about downloading blocking software? Betfilter ( http://www.betfilter.com/ ) and Gamblock ( http://www.gamblock.com/index.html ) will block any gambling sites from opening on your computer, and a lot of gamblers use them. They're a good way to protect yourself if you're at risk of opening up new accounts, like you've done.

You've also spoken about your depression and feelings of worthlessness. There's always a way forward, Mark. You're certainly not a worthless person, and no one would want you to hurt yourself over gambling. Your life can be easier if you keep trying and give it some time. Have you thought about getting any counselling for any of this? Individual counselling helps a lot of gamblers to work on their underlying reasons for why they're gambling, and helps them to work on ways to manage their urges more effectively. We could point you in the direction for that if you give us a call; we've got partner agencies in many parts of the country providing face to face counselling.

I hope you're finding the forum to be a supportive place, and I'm glad you've joined. Hang in there, and please let us know if we can help.

Travis

Stacey, Ste26 and Travis. Thank you all for your support. It's nice to hear some positive words from people who have had similar problems to my self. I wish you all the best of luck in the future, I will be having a good look through this site today. I really wish I'd done this back in October last year.

Travis, I'm certainly going look into those blocking software programs you suggested, I really don't want relapse again. Iv never considered counciling as I doubt I'd able to speak my problem on one to one basis. You could say I'm a bottler, it's rare I share my problems with anyone else. I'm surprised I'm doing this now, but I'm glad I am. I see this as my first step to recovery and a happier existence.