Hi everybody, trying this for the first time. I don't know, maybe talking about it with others might help.
This thing has taken a very destructive turn for me.
I was a heroin addict for 10 years, trying to escape reality due to some family traumas. I cleaned up completely about 4 years ago, but 2 years ago it seems like gambling slipped in as a replacement addiction.
I don't understand it at all, it feels like a form of madness. Every week I walk out crying and tell myself never again, and every week the second I get the text message that my pay is in my account I'm running in there, heart racing.
Self excluded from all my local betting shops. Self excluded from all online casinos. Self excluded from Admiral through the BACTA system.
But I can't very well go up to every bar owner and say "Please don't let me into your bar to use your machines because despite being a grown man, I can't control my own behavior."
And today I found this "Silver Coin" amusements place, which took most of my paycheck.
I've repeatedly gone weeks without eating and lost about 10kg. I'm accumulating debt. I'm behind on my rent.
Monday I've finally decided to try and get medical help. I believe the reason this spun so out of control so fast is because of my addiction history, which likely made my brain more susceptible to this.
I'm reading about medications...has anyone tried it? Do they help? When I was on drugs, there were several medications that helped in my eventual recovery. Is there anything that's been shown to reduce that urge to gamble?
What's worked for you guys?
Thanks if you read this far.
Hello dayhawk. It certainly seems like you have an addictive personality and even at this early stage with gambling you are experiencing a traumatic experience. The gambling addiction is complex and it is often not understood. You can go from zero to hero in moments. You can go on a winning streak only to lose everything and more. It's really not worth the risk.
It's great that you have self excluded from sites and betting shops. But I don't think there's any medication to help you stop gambling. Ok, there's various happy pills to keep to on the 'straight and narrow' but ultimately you will have to take control and decide that you do NOT want to follow any destructive course of action.
Dear Dayhawk87,
Welcome to the forum and thank you for sharing your story.
First of all I would like to congratulate you on your recovery from a Heroin addiction, although you feel you have replaced one addiction with another, it’s important to recognise you have already shown the strength to recover from one addiction. The tools, strategies and inner strength you have already shown can be invaluable in recovering from this addiction too.
You have done well with your self exclusion from the local betting shops and also the online casinos; these steps already reveal your determination to overcome your problematic gambling. However, I do understand your concerns about not being able to exclude from all bars, but there are strategies you can put in place that could help limit the opportunity to do so.
If you haven’t done so already, one of our advisers would welcome the opportunity to talk these through with you. They are available 24/7 on either our HelpLine on 0808 8020 133 or our NetLine.
Although we are not qualified to give advice on medication, we could talk through other options available to you like 1 to 1 treatment support that many of our Forum Users can testify has been a real help in their recovery.
Kind regards
Forum Admin
Welcome Dayhawk87,
it is fantastic to read that you have recovered from a heroin addiction, that shows the strength you have within you. It sounds as though you have put a lot of effort into putting blocks in place. Maybe you need to explore one to one treatment. It has definitely helped me. Please contact the helpline if you haven’t already.
We are available 24 hours a day, every day of the year. You can also contact us for free on 0808 80 20 133. If you would like to find out more about the service before you start, including information on confidentiality, please click below. Call recordings and chat transcripts are saved for 28 days for quality assurance.
