Hi I find myself here with a little hope having read some of the other posts. I have been gambling for 20 years and I never learn. I gamble on football, dogs, horses, fobts, online casino and I don't stop until all my money is gone. I mainly gamble in betting shops but sometimes find myself gambling online too. I could go into a shop tomorrow, win a few grand and then I would go back the next day and give it all back. I'm unable to quit while I'm ahead or enjoy my winnings, I just want to win more and more and more. It always ends in tears! It's probably more the buzz of the win that's got me, it's probably beyond the money stage now, although I do find I need to gamble with larger amounts to get that buzz.
So why am I here and why now? Well after making life a misery for myself and plenty of others along the way I feel it's time I fight back and try to take control of my life. I've recently had a better than usual spell where I've not been gambling as often as usual and have found a little control. Albeit not enough to stop me having the odd binge, sadly these binges often cost me a few grand. My last one was on the 29th of March. I was doing so well, thousands up on horses, but I eventually gave it back on a crazy run of football bets!
Its time for me to change, I've made my life a misery but I've just had the most amazing news, I'm going to be a dad. I want to be the best dad ever, gambling can't be a part of my life anymore. I've gone 8 days without a bet and I'm hoping I can use this service to help me along. Any advice would be appreciated.
Hey you, welcome to recovery 🙂
Advice would be to accept gambling has you beat (we cannot win because we cannot stop), quit trying to control it and put barriers in place to break your gambling (Time-Money-Location, remove one & you cannot gamble) triangle then get help. Self exclude, use blocking software (K9 is free but there are paid for versions), hand over your finances to a loved one anything to make it harder to act when the urges come! GamCare offer free counselling, GA works for many, for some a trip to the GP, have a good read around the site & figure out what tools suit you best then put your heart & soul into recovery! I am a compulsive gambler, like my mother before me & it is not a healthy environment for children to be in! Congratulations on your pending fatherhood, something there to drive you when you feel weak!
Gambling doesn't make us rich, any money we walk away with is returned 10 fold! To quit is to win & you have been winning for 8 days solid already, what a great platform to move forwards from - ODAAT
Thanks for the feedback it's much appreciated. I have already taken some steps to help me out. These are having my wages paid into a friends account, calling and getting myself excluded from as many local bookies as possible, self excluding myself from all my online accounts and of course joining here. I did try GA many years ago and it wasn't for me. So as it stands this triangle is broken, I can get money but my friend try's to discourage me taking large amounts unless it's for a bill or shopping. As for the time part, well the next 3 days are a danger point as a big race meeting is on so I'm trying to keep myself busy. The final bit is location, well I would need to drive a fair way to get to a bookies I'm not excluded from and I'm banned from all the online sports books so that ones covered too.
I have to say in these early days it's so nice to be watching sport on telly without being anxious about a bet coming in. Or chasing money into the early hours of the night on random South American football matches. It was also nice to be out today enjoying a day off work without worrying about getting away from my girlfriend to get a bet on. Long may this continue!
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