Hi all
Tonight is the first time I contacted gamcare as I'm so determined to break my addiction.
I'm 33 and have gambled ever since I was 18 so god knows the amount I have lost. I have found in the last 3 months my addiction has accelerated. Mainly fuelled by boredom, the want for more and the want to chase losss. After losing another £150 today, Iv come to the point where I confess I have a gambling problem- I'm not looking for sympathy but just want to reach out to you guys and say I know how low you feel. The self loathing, the effect it has on your family and social life. I'm so determined to put things right so it's day 1 for me tomorrow- wish me luck! I can't reiterate how much I want to beat this addiction. Paul
Good luck Paul. I'm 37 and haven't told my partner I'm also 51k in debt so I know the feelings your going through. I'm no expert and youll get lots of advice on here but early on I'd just try and get through each day . Make it to a week that's a big achievement for someone who's gambled as long as we have . Cut your access to funds and put blocks in place . Read diaries and post everyday . I wish you all the best and remember your not alone
Hi Paul. The first step is admitting you have a problem, so step one complete eh! Coming here really does help, there is an amazing amount of knowledge between everyone, and the support is fantastic. Call the help line too! Try and get some councilling. If you can and I know it's scary, but talking too a partner or someone close really does help, they can also assist you in controlling finances and putting passwords on blocking software, without these two things I would not have managed nearly two weeks! Think about a ga meeting too, meeting people who understand you face too face is for me a great help, a room full of strangers that don't judge, and completely get you, you can talk through your darkest thoughts and it really helps, as well as drawing on others inspiring stories and seeing how their lives have changed. It's not an easy road, and I have taken a few wrong turns myself but just keep trying and get support from as many avenues as possible 🙂
Hi Paul
Firstly well done on finding the forum and posting on here, something a lot of people find hard to do in admitting they have a problem with gambling. You have already being given a bit of advice from the couple of posts above and I would try and act on this as it all helps very much. I myself thought I gambled through bordem as well but it wasn't until I started my councilling sessions that we found out there were underlying problems throughout my life growing up from a child and my councillor pointed to these as trigger points for my gambling as I was a very guarded person and would never think of opening up to anyone or even ask for help, so for me councilling is helping me very much in giving me answers as to why I gambled like I did !! Like someone has said I find also going to GA meetings very helpful as you have so much in common with everyone else in that room and would recommend you try and get along to your nearest meeting.
"It's good to talk and take it one day at a time"
All the Best
Darren
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