I have been gambling on and off since 17 and i am now 41. I think my profession had something to do with it and as a professional golfer(not a famous one i might add just a club pro) playing for a few quid was always the done thing, so from the age of 17 when i turned pro i have always gambled. the sums of money i have lost over the years could of probably bought me a nice car. Luckily i am not in any debt but also have no assets to show for 25 years in full time work.
as we are all aware the winter has been awful and in my trade it has hit me hard, so since december last year my gambling has stepped up a notch. I had some big wins on the roulette machine but always new that it would end in tears.
and this sunday/monday it did with 3k going in the machine over the 2 days. giving back all my winnings and more. so i am on day 2 as i write this and i never want to feel this way again. reading all the other stories on here is bringing it home what a terrible addiction this is and hopefully we can be here for each other. i am determined never to bet ever again. anyway i am saying goodbye to golf after the summer to start a new job working for my brothers company which means no working weekends and no more boredom which i think has a lot to do with this problem. one day at a time.
Hi Delboygolf, welcome to the Forum and well done for posting what you have here,
We are about the same age; I gambled for twenty years before stopping over five years ago - my weakness for FOBT Roulette also took me places where i'd never been before.
As you said yourself, nothing is worse than the way you feel now my friend; that is what you must remind yourself of, when you are tempted or bored; remember this £3000.00 loss, remember how it made you feel. Not every day can be an adventure - there will be times where things are tedious or they don't go right for you, but if you "ride the storm", then the urges will pass and tomorrow is almost always a better day.
I still have debt that I am paying off and no home or assets of my own, but I am the happiest I have ever been in my life. You say that you have nothing to show for your 25 years of work, well, you have to ask yourself whether you can handle facing the same again in another 25 years; there is only so much regret that anyone can handle.
I wish you well my friend. I am slightly odd in that I am an avid golf fan and watch every European/US event each week, ever since I was tiny but I have only ever played a handful of times. If you are a club pro, then you have a gift, whether you make a living at it or not - why not think about sharing that gift? There are blind and handicapped golfers who could use someone like your good self to help them; I started doing charity work since I stopped gambling and I found that it gives me happiness and fulfillment that gambling never could.
I hope this is that start of a brighter path in life for you my friend; draw a line under your past and move on - don't let the regret build and the years fly by; your life and time is worth more than that.
JamesP
Thanks James much appreciate the response. As i said i am getting away from golf in october but i can always go back. I have a great family 2 lovely kids(dont live with me) a great girlfriend although she has no idea of this. But i feel this is something i need to do on my own. i actually feel great from reading some of these positive posts and i look at it this way....the 3k i just done is probably going to save me 10 times that if i beat this addiction.
Regards
Steve
We are available 24 hours a day, every day of the year. You can also contact us for free on 0808 80 20 133. If you would like to find out more about the service before you start, including information on confidentiality, please click below. Call recordings and chat transcripts are saved for 28 days for quality assurance.
