Hello I'm new today and I hope this helps me

Hi Linds. Welcome to the forum. You'll find plenty of advice and support here. I was a gambler on bingo sites and slots. 49 days ago I said no more. It's difficult at first but I promise you that feeling will get better. Advice I have been given is to put blocks in place like self-exclude from all the sites, K9 software for your computer and devices and get someone to set the password for you. My husband is the only person who knows, I feel too ashamed to tell anyone else. He only knows because he found out. I gambled for around 7yrs, more and more and got myself into some really difficult situations but you can get through this. The first few days I felt a complete mess, didn't know what to do with myself and had constant thoughts of going back to it, despite knowing it was the wrong thing to do. Now, I can honestly say that most days I don't think about gambling at all and have put so many blocks in place that even if I wanted to gamble I couldn't. It's a difficult thing to go through alone, I would suggest you find someone to confide in. Also, Gamcare offer free counselling which I have found really helpful. It's someone I talk to regularly and helps to make sense of things. They also have the helpline. No one will judge you here, we've all been at day 1. Read through some diaries and posts, you'll soon see you are not alone and we're all here to support you. Keep posting and keep reading. I look forward to reading your recovery. My diary is called Starting the Road - feel free to take a look. Try to focus on one day at a time.

hey linda welcome to the forum

this is a community of people who struggle with gambling and what it does to the brain , it really can take control and you lose all ascept of reality , i been there last 2 months blew almost everything i earned on a computer screen in a bookies , would of lost my flat if not for family support , its a illness a psychological illness that unless dealt with right will progress into a beast ,you seen the teeth of this beast , no food ? how can no food be worth a spin or a game , your get sum gret adviicwe on here i just wanted to say hello and get to know you ,

have you got a partner now ? you say you dont want to tell family but the secrecy can lead to more gambling you have to stand in the spotlight and admit problem and tell everyone inc websites and bookies and take it from day 1 its very hard and u need to want it 100% , im struggling to abstain totally even though i know i have a huge issue

anyway im joe im a compulsive gambler and im 32m from suthampton where u from ?

Hi Linds,

First of all welcome to the site.....you've taken a massive step by coming on here and admitting you have a problem. You will see there are many people out there who have similar situations to yourself and I’m sure more people will be along to welcome you and offer advice. Everyone is here to offer honest advice they believe will help you going forward…..some you may not like to hear but its best to take in all that you can.

In the early days its best to get as many blockers as you can in place.....you can exclude from any gambling websites, bookmakers, install blocking software and looking at handing over control of your finances if possible. Anything that makes gambling more difficult is a help…especially at the beginning.

I know you said you haven’t admitted it to anyone yet but is there anyone at all you can talk to about it, because believe me once you have told someone it will feel like a massive weight has bene lifted off of your shoulders.

Also try giving gamcare a call here...they have trained people who can offer advice and the option of counselling which has certainly helped me.

Anyway best of luck going forward.

Damo

Orp123 wrote:

Hi Linds. Welcome to the forum. You'll find plenty of advice and support here. I was a gambler on bingo sites and slots. 49 days ago I said no more. It's difficult at first but I promise you that feeling will get better. Advice I have been given is to put blocks in place like self-exclude from all the sites, K9 software for your computer and devices and get someone to set the password for you. My husband is the only person who knows, I feel too ashamed to tell anyone else. He only knows because he found out. I gambled for around 7yrs, more and more and got myself into some really difficult situations but you can get through this. The first few days I felt a complete mess, didn't know what to do with myself and had constant thoughts of going back to it, despite knowing it was the wrong thing to do. Now, I can honestly say that most days I don't think about gambling at all and have put so many blocks in place that even if I wanted to gamble I couldn't. It's a difficult thing to go through alone, I would suggest you find someone to confide in. Also, Gamcare offer free counselling which I have found really helpful. It's someone I talk to regularly and helps to make sense of things. They also have the helpline. No one will judge you here, we've all been at day 1. Read through some diaries and posts, you'll soon see you are not alone and we're all here to support you. Keep posting and keep reading. I look forward to reading your recovery. My diary is called Starting the Road - feel free to take a look. Try to focus on one day at a time.

Thank you so much for your advice and just talking to me, it is such a relief being on here today. I would like to start a diary and I will have a read of yours for inspiration. Thank you

Thank you very much for replying and talking to me. I am in the process of getting counselling from this site and I'm going to call my network provider for my phone to get the parental controls put on, so will that mean I will not be able to go onto a gambling site? Sorry I'm new to all this....but day 1 and it will be soon another day. I'm not in a relationship as I don't want to put anyone else through this pain until it goes away and I stop gambling. I don't want my relationship to be built on a lie and until I don't have to say I'am a gambler, then I will be on my own. That is an incentive in its self to stop this once and for all. I'm 34 and I'm from Newcastle. I will be on this forum as much as I need to, to get through this. I wanted to tell my mam but she has just recently came out of hospital as she nearly died due to drinking. She has been an alcoholic for about 14 years and she has not had s drink for about 8 weeks now, so I'am so proud of her. She suffers from anxiety and I just don't think she could take the worry of the situation I'am in. I worry that if I tell her she will feel she needs to drink and I can't take that guilt aswell as my own that I already feel. Thank you again for your advice

morning Linda how are you ? i hope your feeling positive today lovely and sunny down south but not sure about in the toon , its a great city and lovely ppl i was partying there with mates few months ago , you have to put the same effort into recovery as we did when we were on it , work on it if ur single nad not telling family either its going be a lot to bear on your shoulders , keep posting on here if u feel weak or email me anytime at [email protected] , it so hard for real CG im same age as u at 33 and we the generation where the gaming industry really starting booming , adverts everywhere no wonder ppl have suffered and more will follow , it can leave u so gutted , anyway new day please say helllo and check in and hope u and your mam have a good day 🙂

joe

spraggy2014 wrote:

morning Linda how are you ? i hope your feeling positive today lovely and sunny down south but not sure about in the toon , its a great city and lovely ppl i was partying there with mates few months ago , you have to put the same effort into recovery as we did when we were on it , work on it if ur single nad not telling family either its going be a lot to bear on your shoulders , keep posting on here if u feel weak or email me anytime at [email protected] , it so hard for real CG im same age as u at 33 and we the generation where the gaming industry really starting booming , adverts everywhere no wonder ppl have suffered and more will follow , it can leave u so gutted , anyway new day please say helllo and check in and hope u and your mam have a good day 🙂

joe

Hi joe,

Thanks for the reply well feeling a little bit down just in regards to the debt I owe to friends and family. That's why I go on the slots to try and win to pay people back. Nevermind it will take time. It's nice and sunny here so I'm in my dads garden planting beetroot ha. It's quite relaxing haha. Thanks for your email I will email you that will be a great help. Thank you

Hi Linda. Your story mirrors mine. I'm 42 with 26k debt from what started as innocent bingo and progressed to online slots. The last straw was thins month when I realised that I had about £5O left to last me 2 weeks. My credit cards are maxed, my overdraft is maxed, my credit rating as the lowest it can be so can't get any more credit (probably a good thing)!! I had to sell things on eBay that I didn't want to sell just to get me through this month. I haven't gambled for 7 days and I have written myself a huge list of reasons my I must NEVER do this again.

I managed to stop a few months ago, but the. thought "Just one more go"... WRONG. I'm currently doing overtime at work just to try and get myself out of this mess. I am a nurse, so working extra 12.5 hour shifts just because I was totally irresponsible on gambling websites is heartbreaking. I think I used to go on them as a way to escape/relax but then it was about trying to win money back (WHICH NEVER WORKS because I can't just win, take the money and never go back......I always had to try and get more and more which resulted in me have ZERO by the end of the night).

My personal recommendation is to do the same.....write a huge list which is specific to YOU so that when you have any urges, hull be reminded of why gambling is the WORST thing you can ever do. I look at my list every day, and have flashbacks to all the times I sat on my and cried because I couldn't see a way out of the financial mess I had got myself into. I now have about 3 or 4 years (probably more) of paying for my silly gambling addiction (and even that is paying off a LOT of the money at once every month).

Keep strong, write your list. Stop NOW. don't be like me and think "one more time". There is no such thing as one more time when you are addicted to online gambling. No amount of money will ever be enough, and it isn't even the money that creates the buzz. Think of that money onscreen as real paper money sat in front of you. Would you go to the cash machine and take out £100 and throw it down the drain?? For some reason when it's on the screen I just used to shrug my shoulders and think "oh well, there goes another £100", but I real life I would be mortified if I lost £100 !!!!!!!

keep strong and good luck. I think I might start making diaries (if I have the time between all the extra overtime I have to do !!!!) maybe it will help me make sense of the delusional person I became. Let me know how you get on. We all need support through this. Love Suz xx

ihategambling wrote:

Hi Suz,

Thank you for the advice it means a lot to me and yes you are totally right, no amount of wind is enough and we keep thinking just one more spin. I will do a list tonight and I'm positive that will help me. Thank you. I'am paying a lot of my debt each month which means I have about £100 to see me through the month. It's going to be hard but each month that goes by is a step closer to being debt free and paying back what I owe. Thanks again I will chat to you soon hope you are ok

Hi Linda. Your story mirrors mine. I'm 42 with 26k debt from what started as innocent bingo and progressed to online slots. The last straw was thins month when I realised that I had about £5O left to last me 2 weeks. My credit cards are maxed, my overdraft is maxed, my credit rating as the lowest it can be so can't get any more credit (probably a good thing)!! I had to sell things on eBay that I didn't want to sell just to get me through this month. I haven't gambled for 7 days and I have written myself a huge list of reasons my I must NEVER do this again.

I managed to stop a few months ago, but the. thought "Just one more go"... WRONG. I'm currently doing overtime at work just to try and get myself out of this mess. I am a nurse, so working extra 12.5 hour shifts just because I was totally irresponsible on gambling websites is heartbreaking. I think I used to go on them as a way to escape/relax but then it was about trying to win money back (WHICH NEVER WORKS because I can't just win, take the money and never go back......I always had to try and get more and more which resulted in me have ZERO by the end of the night).

My personal recommendation is to do the same.....write a huge list which is specific to YOU so that when you have any urges, hull be reminded of why gambling is the WORST thing you can ever do. I look at my list every day, and have flashbacks to all the times I sat on my and cried because I couldn't see a way out of the financial mess I had got myself into. I now have about 3 or 4 years (probably more) of paying for my silly gambling addiction (and even that is paying off a LOT of the money at once every month).

Keep strong, write your list. Stop NOW. don't be like me and think "one more time". There is no such thing as one more time when you are addicted to online gambling. No amount of money will ever be enough, and it isn't even the money that creates the buzz. Think of that money onscreen as real paper money sat in front of you. Would you go to the cash machine and take out £100 and throw it down the drain?? For some reason when it's on the screen I just used to shrug my shoulders and think "oh well, there goes another £100", but I real life I would be mortified if I lost £100 !!!!!!!

keep strong and good luck. I think I might start making diaries (if I have the time between all the extra overtime I have to do !!!!) maybe it will help me make sense of the delusional person I became. Let me know how you get on. We all need support through this. Love Suz xx

hey linda , suz we been hit by the devil and just making greedy ppl richer , debt be paid off it time or just written off and credit rating repairs over time your both young really , and we going fight back stronger as better people and enjoy our money and save , remember that word lol we have an impulse to blow our wages whewn should be saving them after essentials paid, take care ladies

You are totally right and we need to be positive, every day I work is closer to getting paid which equals paying debt, which can only go down. Like you said in time it will get easier and then I can enjoy spending my wages on myself and others, just how it should be. Chat soon

hey linda how r u ? how u getting on been on holiday last week , so nice to swim in a nice pool and the sea in the sizzling sun rather than blowing money for a holiday in a few crazy hours binge gambling , and then feeling super stressed out