introducing myself

You have come to the right place friend.
Welcome you are not alone.

Hi Joe

Thought I would take the time out, by responding to a post, something I haven't done for a while. Like you, I too suffer with many of the same issues as you. I used to love gambling, purely as it offered an escape, sometimes with a little financial reward, which sometimes gave me an emotional boost. The losses however, we're more frequent.

In the end, gambling is only ever a form of escape for many of us, or a bad habit that slowly spirals out of control. For me, I stopped gambling 187 days ago, purely due to my promise to a weekly check in, everything else just fell in to place. Anxiety is awful and controlling, so I find that facing my anxiety is the best way forward. I have suffered from irrational thoughts and the feeling that I was not in control of my thoughts, often feeling uncomfortable in social settings, avoiding people as best as I could. Playing computer games and gambling, allowed me to get away from people and forget my problems.

Despite all of this, committing to a weekly check in has given me a reason to stop. I hate failure, so if I can at least succeed by not gambling, my life will improve and so will yours.

I really do wish you the very best

Paul

Hi joe,

I,like you am new here. I too gambled for very similar reasons and too tried to handle it completely alone. I had no idea that a place like this existed but after my first call to Gamcare I felt empowered and even more determined to stop.

You don't have to do this alone. A perfect stranger who understands and chooses to write just a few words of support can sometimes be the one thing you need to get you passed a potential slip up, or give you that essential spark of enthusiasm?.If you feel that you can accept that and believe in the power of group support then you can gather so much strength from it. I wish you all the best for your recovery. You're not alone.

Godspeed, OtterLady.