Need to to talk to people about my addiction

Do you plan on recouping this 13,000 pounds back by gambling ?

Yeah that's what I have in my head. I feel beaten, and it's a stupid number that sticks in my head! I told myself before to just stop, but I can have a mad 5 minutes and place a bet. I lost £1000 last night betting on Chelsea to go through! I'm jut worried I could place a big bet and another and it keeps going!

Ok mate , listen im in recovery so I'm no way near An expert In all this but I shall give my opinion .

Rather than thinking about winning that money back you need to accept that that's gone now and it's not coming back.

You said your still up so walk away now before it's too late.

Start thinking about how much you could end up loosing rather than how much you could win.

I promise you if you don't walk away you will loose every single penny you have to your name.

How much have you actually won since doing these bets?

I Made roughly 30,000 before I started losing. I know people will think I am mad and I know I am not in a situation a lot of people are in. I Know I have a problem. I tried stopping, but I still can't help looking at the odds when I don't place a bet, I kick myself and I'm so bitter about the fact I didn't bet and could of won, then lately evrythin I do bet I lose!

I just feel like I need it in my life to feel in control. I feel like if I just stopped and received my monthly pay it wouldn't be enough. I just need to stop I just find it so hard

Hi BG350

Jonny5015 said..... "Rather than thinking about winning that money back you need to accept that that's gone now and it's not coming back." All of the members of my GA group 'chased' their losses. To get back what we had lost, we gambled longer and harder, rarely ending up ahead at the end of the night.

You are in a better position than most when they realise that they have a problem. Give yourself a clap on the back because you deserve it. Getting the courage to talk about your problem is a good sign.

You need to put barriers in place to help prevent you from gambling. One of the first suggestions of GA is to hand over control of your finances to a partner or relative. If you gamble online, there is apparently some software available that can restrict you from getting to certain websites. I'm from Australia, not sure what the software is called, but I think it is "K9".

Think about attending GA meetings. Continue visiting these forums. Remember, the stories told here have happened, and continue to happen to real people. They are not fiction. If you do not address this issue now, you could be back here in 1,5 or 20 years, with your own tale of misery.

Best wishes

Thanks Wal,

thinking about it, even if I got back my losses today, I don't think it would be enough. I think it's emotionally coming away from gambling that's the problem. My losses won't make or break me at this point, Its just not betting again that's the problem. Iv got in a habit of using my winnings as disposable income and getting back to normality of having one pay check coming in will be hard.

I guess in the long run everyone loses, so I should just quit now. It's a real mental battle! I used to think people that were addicted to smoking were crazy, just stop I used to tell them!

Wow now I really know what an addiction is!

HiBG350

"Wow now I really know what an addiction is! ".... Good. Understanding how hard it is to stop yourself from gambling is only 1 part of the recovery process.

When I was gambling, all of my disposable income plus whatever I had left on my 7 credit cards all went down the pokies...I think you call them fruit machines in the UK.

As a result of this, I regularly feasted on those 2 minute noodle meals. That was all I could afford. That was me, living within my means when I was gambling.

Given a choice, I would always choose to have a regular income, the ability to pay bills on time, buy food when I need to and maybe have some money left over to put in the bank. I don't miss lieing and decieving my family and friends,having credit companies ringing me at home and at work, dreading what bills the postman was going to put in the mailbox, and worrying about what I could do to fix my problem.

Experience has taught me that you need more than your own willpower to beat this addiction. It's a good start, but I remember how many times I chastised myself, and promised myself that I would stop. The next day I would be back in the venue feeding the machines. My will alone was never going to be good enough.

Keep coming back here, and as I said in my previous post, seriously consider GA meetings or similar. The people in those rooms have a wealth of experience/knowledge, and can help you overcome the addiction.

Best wishes

just being honest not sure i could stop either if i was still £20000 up

Hey Triangle,

This is the problem. I feel like I can get it back because I was profitable! And done really well for a while.

Wal... I've self excluded myself from all the sites I gamble on. It's going to be hard, but I best walk away now incase I come back saying I've lost everything!

In your 1st post you talked about a system. Why do you think your so called system no longer works. Perhaps it wasnt the system & you just had a good run of results & now its evening its self out.

Theres no such thing as a system when results are random & have no pattern .
Let go that it was your genius that got you those wins, you got lucky brother plain & simple.

You could get even luckier if you take the choice to walk away from gambling & focus on things that really matter in life.

Yes I know I got lucky I was just on a streak, I think it was the mind set that I got of feeling like I couldn't lose etc. and it was a big come down.

It's just adjusting to that now and not betting again is something I'm going to have to get over. I guess this is why people get addicted due to the fact they get on a streak

Hello BG350,

I am sorry to hear that you have won 30,000 and feel the need to keep gambling. Because your 30,000 win will turn into a 90,000 + loss over time. The 13,000 is just the start. We have all had streaks. The worst thing that can ever happen to you is win money. Because now it is easy. Now you are telling yourself, its just bad timing. I did it before, I am sure it will happen again. Just one more big win. I am lucky! I am a great person. I can do all these good things and treat people well with this money. That is the start of the fantasy world that gets created when you win. It is this fantasy world you have to fight and bring down before the loss of your money brings it down for you. Unfortunately for me, it was the later that brought down this fantasy world. Hopefully that is not the case for you.

But me telling you this and you experiencing it are two different things.

This will be a constant fight.

I am hoping for your success in fighting this addiction.

Regards,

AM

Pure Justice is correct,

Our brains deceive us.............

The Bigger the Wins .........the Bigger the loss.

We need a higher dose to feel the same as what we felt previously...........until that dose which we seek costs us our life.

It's like Morphine...........that feeling of satisfaction can never be reached on the same dose time after time it is increased until we no longer have our lives..........!

Massive debt is no place to be..........its a long road........

If your lucky enough to be so called in credit and up.

STOP Now and add years to your life.......Even if you have to force yourself to trick your brain into it thinking you have lost it all it is better than actually losing it all...........(Trust me)

HI BG350,

Like you I did win BIG of £30000... Couldn't believe my luck and I got greedy wanted to win more.. So I started playing and losing and playing and losing.. Suddenly I lost all of that money and now I'm in £30000 in debt which im trying to pay back.. So my advice to is DON'T gamble.. I'm only day 15 gambling free.. To realise I need to stop gambling was when I hit rock bottom and felt suicidal.. I knew I needed help!! Which I am getting.. Gambling is a negative energy which I do not want in my life.

Good luck and hope u do the right thing 🙂 x