Hi everyone
I'm Kirsten and i'm 26.
I have always enjoyed a bet, my main hobby (football) makes betting very in your face, i also see a lot of winning accumulator slips on twitter! Strangely, i don't tend to bet on football too much, but i would say its opened the door to other sports. I never really had an interest in greyhound or horse racing until this year. Now, i host an evening on a facebook site and bet on between 5-20 greyhound races a day. I am also part of a paid tip service through facebook for horses.
I suffer with bi-polar disorder and understand that gambling can be a common addiction with the disorder. There are a number of reasons I have joined this group:
1. I feel alone, at the moment it is just me and the betting apps, I don't have anyone that i feel could help me. Today on a paypal forum someone said to me " I prefer to earn my money properly rather than gamble it away". I guess i just want people to tell me its ok and whilst it is self-inflicted in a way.. isn't in another sense.
2. I'm a law graduate and am due to qualify as a legal executive this year.. I earn a modest salary for the work I do and although I have been told that I am a talented lawyer with a great career ahead of me, i feel as if i should be doing better at this stage of my life and bringing more money home. I have used gambling as a way of trying to 'increase my earnings' if you like, not neccessarily for the monetary gain for it seems to improve my self-esteem.
3. Gambling defines my mood in it's entirety. If i win, I will be on a high and be lovely to everyone. If I lose, i will cry and be completely devoid of whats going on around me.
4. I place a lot of bets. Greyhound racing can take over your life with the amount of races there are.
I think its worth pointing out that my losses are probably in the region of £1,000.00 since i starting gambling frequently in march. I am fortunate that I live at home and so financially it hasnt had as bigger impact as many of the stories I have read on here but i feel like this is the right time to open up and try and get things back on track.
looking forward to meeting you all.
Kirsten x
Hello Kirsten
Welcome to the forum and thank you for posting.
I hope you find it helps with managing your decision to get back on track from gambling. You mentioned feeling alone and your varying moods swings, which must be difficult for you.
I thought it might be worth mentioning that the recovery diary section could be useful with keeping an account of your recovery journey.
We also offer daily live chat sessions if you feel like talking with other recovering gamblers for added support.
Here is the current timetable:
Mon: 7pm-8pm, 9pm - 10pm
Tue: 2pm-3pm, 7pm-8pm, 9pm-10pm
Wed: 7pm-8pm, 9pm-10pm
Thu: 7pm-8pm, 9pm-10pm
Fri: 2pm-3pm, 8pm-9pm
Sat: 2pm-3pm, 8pm-9pm
Sun: 8pm-9pm
Hope it helps
Regards
Cade
Forum admin
jHi kirsten,
How are you? It's good that you haven't lost too much money and still live at home so hopefully you can put it to be quite quickly. This is a great place to open up, we are all in it together! Did you get through the weekend okay? X
J
Hi Kirsten, it's great that you've opened up and hopefully you're doing this before you've lost any more money.
Biggest thing I've learnt is that the bookies always wins. I used to work in a bookies - I've seen It, yet thought I was that good at it I could beat them. For many years have beaten them but my towering losses of over £7k in the last 18 months have eventually made me see sense. If I hadn't been found out by my wife, no doubt id still be doing it - but thank god she did - I think it's saved us. Luckily, she's helping me and not leaving me.
Never feel alone, come on here and have a chat, put something on the forum or go for a long walk and get some fresh air.
Come off the online sites - self exclude. You can do the same in your local high street bookies too.
Stay strong!!
DG
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