Hi all

The only play is to let it all fall and to step away from it all. In your map of the world, you can only see a way out of your gambling with that huge win that will save you. Well, that huge win is just going to get you gambling harder and faster until the next win and so on and so on. You may swear that it's not so but it is universal by all gambling addicts. We use our gains to put more fuel in the car so we can drive further. And if you want an even better metaphor once we get into that car and attempt to drive it (gamble) we put one foot on the gas and one on the breaks. So we are fundamentally stuck and we just burn our energy (cash) till the engine stops or burns out. 

And what happens when you break down? You get service for the car. You will need to seek help to get yourself going again and that is where therapists and forums like this are great. The roots of gambling are deep. In some cases, you will be acting out an impulse to gamble before you know it. You may be turning a deliberate corner without even knowing that you were supposed to walk down that street just to end up where you were not supposed to go. It is tricky to try and understand yourself. You will need daily rituals and discipline to overcome the worst of it but. It does get better and if you can believe in that you have lots of good tools to get you going. Talk to people here. Do not be private with this problem. That benefits the gambler and not the person, you.

Also, time to start to like yourself again and work on that you are an ok individual and you have just as much right to success as anyone else. If you want some good tips on being in the moment you should look up books on mindfulness. That will keep you from drifting into a state you do not want to be in. All the best. You have taken a good first step and you will see many more in the near future. Don't give up. If you fall stand up and brush off the dust and walk on. Never stop moving forward. Learn as you go.

Best

C

Hi.. I relate to your thoughts. I am much the same situation, am a key worker, modest wage, large debts the only difference is that i replace the words "sports bets" with "slots".

I think what we constantly have to remind ourselves of, is that even when we win (which statistically will occasionally happen)... do we then use that money to pay off our debts??... no, it just becomes more ammunition for the next bet. Sometimes I convince myself that am not that bad if I use "some of my winnings" for debt payment or spend it on something else constructive, but there is always a percentage of the winnings put aside for more gambling.... and before I know it that's gone and then am spending new money on more gambling. Like you say.... vicious circle.

Only solution... don't place the first bet. Its not easy, but its the only way.

I relate to this so much. A few months ago, I won a considerable amount of money.. did I put it towards my debts... no. I thought, if I just win a little more most of my debts will be covered. Ended up losing it all, of course.. then the cycle started again. 

Its nice to know im not alone. None of my friends/family no this about me. They would be mortified. So would I actually when I accepted it myself. This seemed a good place to start on that journey ?

.... so the bottom line is that we crave the need to be "in action", its not the money. We crave the excited feelings of taking the risk and in doing so we switch off from normal living "for a while" whilst in action

That's the addiction.

Wow I can relate. I barred myself from gambling online for 5 years. I had a total of 24,000 debt. Set up a repayment plan to repay creditors at the rate of £400 a month. So in 60 months I would be debt free. In 18 months life was beautiful, no more anxiety or debt letters and more money to spend on myself.

My choice of poison is roulette, but as the bookies had reduced its stakes- the game did not appeal to me. Everything was going great till I found the casino. I was winning and loosing too much - felt I had cracked the game. Had used credit cards to fund gambling before you know I had racked up 10,000 in credit card debt in a matter of weeks.  

I used 1,000 and set some limits and in 12 days made 10k. But only paid 3k of the debt. Now I’m 7k in debt untop of my other debt and now very quickly thrown away all my gains. 

I just think gambling is not for all. The same way alcohol is not for all. Today I’ve gambled a further £1500 that I don’t have. Now just really dissapointed in myself.