How do I cope with the huge losses due to a gambling addiction since my parents passed away? I lost all inheritance money and probably my only hope of buying my own house. I am alive and have a job but now 48 and feel I have ruined my whole life and future I’m trying to be kind to myself but it is often very difficult to cope with these feelings when the losses are life changing amounts.
Hi there,
I’m truly sorry that you expeerience such a mental torture due to the losses….but they are already gone and it would be more beneficial if you stop thinking about this over and over again.I’ve been there.In 11years time of gambling on everyday basis I prefer not to think about how much I’ve lost.Now being almost 1year GFree?I can clearly see what damage I did to the quality of my life:(No money on my account,living in horrible conditions-and my situation unfortunately will not change soon.
But I hope you are also at the stage where you realise that gambling is a pure nonsense to continue carrying on-and you can start fresh.
Please just focus on the future.Appreciate every small thing in your life, spoil yourself when having some spare money-that’s really important to shift your thinking to “normal”stuff.The guilt will lessen with time.
I wish you all the best?
I understand how you feel as I too have lost a large sum of money, just under 50k in just a year… it’s heartbreaking and it hurts to think about it… You learn how to live with it, if anything it’s a powerful reminder why I should never gamble again. You channel that anger, that pain and that regret to making yourself a better person. I’m learning how to turn it into a positive…My experience will not destroy me, but will have enlightened me to become the person I once was before the gambling started or even better. What I have really learned from all of this- it’s just money and you have spent it- that’s it. I’m lucky to have come out of this and my mental health is much better again. I feel free and no longer imprisoned by the evils of gambling- that’ the best feeling. Focus on that. What really helped me is The Minimalists blog- they talk about a lot of things including consumerism, how every ad drives us to spend impulsively on things that really don’t add value to our lives- the blog and book is really worth a read. They talk about how a happy life is achieved by having a more fulfilled with less stuff and things, please check it out, (The Minimalists) or their book Love People, Use things because the opposite never works. I guarantee these feelings will disappear because currently you are focusing on the money that isn’t there anymore. It has helped me a lot and changed my perspective on things.
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