Hi all

Hello,

It sounds like you have made a good start by telling those close to you and getting support via counselling. Hopefully you have felt able to be totally honest about you gambling problems so they can all help you out as much as you need. Honesty takes a massive weight of guilt off compared to walking around with it as a secret or half truths being told.

Its about breaking the gambling triangle; Time-Money-Location. Remove one and you can't gamble. If you can't gamble its going to help you battle the urges.

The usual places to help you start recovery is to block and limit access to the ways and means you gamble. If you gamble online you should self exclude all accounts for the maximum time and strongly consider using blocking software such as K9 or Gamban. If you gamble in bookies then the same advise as the self exclusion.

Its very likely you would have lost the real world vaule of money. Whether or not you are in debt would make some difference to how to move forwards with money but even if you are not in debt i would say give yourself and strict budget to get through the week/month and stick to that. You've told friends and family so they can help you by looking after bank/credit cards that you use. Personally i withdrawl the cash i need on payday to get me through the month for food etc. My bills are on DD so i don't have to worry about them and therefore have no need to have my card(s).

Keep learning about what a gambling addiction is. It'll help you understand 1) How it makes us think/act 2) That you are not alone with this problem 3) You can move on and be gamble free.

Keep posting here there are many good people that can help you along the way.

A gambling addiction is normally as a result of some other issue so its about learning why you have the problem and what triggers it. This will help you better control it and your life moving forwards without it.

All the best

Hi M,

Welcome to the forum, and thank you for your post.

It seems like you’ve been struggling for a while with your gambling problem, and that seeking help from Gamcare is really yielding result for you. No one anticipated that having some few bets here and there will turn into an addiction for some of us, unfortunately.

You have taken a step in the right direction by reaching out for all the help (professional help) you can get to overcome your gambling problem, and the good thing is that you also have support from your family and friends as well.

Another positive is that you’re receiving counselling (online) support to help you control and eventually stop your gambling. You also seem very determined to beat this illness, and it’s that perseverance that would see you through , so keep going; you can do it M!

You can also contact our free phone Helpline on: 0808 8020 133, and speak to one of our advisers and also find out which other help options are available to you. Our lines are open everyday from 8.00am to midnight.

The more you’re able to speak about your gambling problem, the more support you get, and the lesser the impact that it’ll have on you. Thus try and stay in touch, and keep posting!

Best wishes,

Beatrice