Hi Guys, I'm Chris. I'm 19 and have been gambling since I turned 18. I got into it by being with friends who were often gambling and winning, I can still remember the first five pound I put into the machine and lost. Originally I'd play Blackjack but I've since moved on to slots. I have banned myself from pretty much all sites, I'm just about to ban myself from the last site I have an account with, now I've just got to not go into the shops! I've determined my gambling is becoming an issue, I don't earn much but I end up losing a lot of what I do earn. I'm hoping that with the help of you guys on the forum I can get out of this horrid habbit and get myself into a better place!
Nice to meet you guys and hopefully I can be of some help too.
Cheers.
Edit. After reading some of your posts I figured I should say a little more about the situation. I am currently not in any debt luckily, I am however living month to month which I hate. I have lost about £160 since yesterday and I feel horrendous. I go to the gym straight from work and the bookies next door always ends up happening. None of my family know that I gamble so much and ideally i'd like to tackle this without my families involvment.
Chris if you have someone you can confide in then do it. Whether a partner or close friend you can trust. I've only just admitted my problem to myself and confiding in my wife has been huge already.
Good luck to you either way but if you have someone in mind give it some consideration
Hi Everyone,
This is my first day joining the forum and I am not sure what to say but I need help to stop. I have gambled away my whole savings and now in severe debt. It has led me to almost loose my job and it is destroying my life. I do not understand sometime my will power is good and I can stop for a month, 2 months and at best 3 months but something about the bookies and particularly the roulette machines that draws me in. I know it is a big con but cant seem to stop until all my money is finish. Sometime I gamble almost my whole pay check. Today I gambled almost £5K and this is money I could not afford to loose.
Hi Empty and Lost,
I know it's a horrible feeling and it's good you've found your way to the Forum.
Seems to me you need counselling. Contact Gamcare for that.
Your local GA meetings could help you as well.
Self exclude from High Street Bookmakers.
If you've any money left at all then allow a trusted relative to look after it. The same for future pay checks. Only take a small allowance for everyday expenses.
You've got to break the vicious gambling cycle by putting the strongest possible measures in place to prevent you from gambling over the LONG TERM.
What I think may have been happening is whilst you have had no cash due to gambling you obviously couldn't do it. When you have managed to build up some more cash or had access to some you have started up again. Hence the short term breaks from gambling. Please correct me if I'm wrong ? Whatever, you need to quit for keeps.
If you are that badly in debt then contact Stepchange or the National Debtline for assistance with drawing up a financial statement for your creditors.
Other people may post advice in due course. I was burning some midnight oil so I thought I'd post some ideas.
Take Care Now.
Thanks Mr. Stop
I have not missed any of my bill payments but because of my job if I stop gambling for 3 or 4 months I have the ability to save about £3K to £5K and I was really proud of myself that I had stopped and had savings again now I am back to square 1 again.
I contacted Gamcare that is who forward me to this site and will be attending the local goup this coming Tuesday.
I really need to stop - if it got out that I am a gambler it would be career suicide.
Thanks for the advice guys, I really do need to exclude my self from the bookies. Part of me is embaressed to go in there and do so, im not sure if anyone else feels the same way? Empty and Lost I've done exactly the same in the past, stopped for a month or so and then a friend will suggest the bookies and ill think "Why not?, just today" and obvisouly it doesnt stop there. Throughout that month of no gambling I didnt want to let myself down by gambling but a moment of weakness caught me out. You could try the same thing, think about not letting yourself down and reward yourself for not doing so. Maybe take a friend or loved one out for a meal instead? I am going to start leaving my debit card at home and instead just get a cash card, this could help you too?
One day at a time we can all stop buddy!
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