New to gambling.. Think I have a problem already?

Hi Player, welcome to the forum 🙂

It's not greed, it's addiction & yes, you are incredibly lucky to have stabilised yourself financially & identified you need help so quickly. Rock bottom is nothing more than a phrase used without true meaning because there's no coming back from 6 feet under which is where this easily hidden addiction can take us. We can tell ourselves until we are blue in the face to "be sensible", "I'm in control" but the reality of it is, we can't win, because we can't stop! I'm yet to come across a compulsive gambler in recovery that is genuinely able to control their gambling (an alcoholic can't just drink wine) although there are posts a plenty from people who think they can.

Your post is a bit different because most people aren't able to identify that they are out of control & need help so quickly but we all started where you are now. The standard advice therefore follows in getting your loved ones on board by opening up & asking for their help. You need to break your gambling (Time-Money-Location, remove 1 & you cannot gamble) triangle & get some help either through counselling (the helpline can arrange it free) or GA. Feeling cold whilst gambling is very common as it is a tool for escape allowing people to forget about life's stresses for a while...You tasted rock bottom when you risked all your money, you really don't want to go back there.

I hope you're not a one time poster & you have a good read round the site to see where gambling can take you. Get out now before it becomes a way of life that you struggle to break. Only you can decide what choices you make, choose wisely - ODAAT

Thank you so much for the response and the time you took to give me that advice. I do plan on understanding this situation better and not start a bad path of gambling addiction.
What's strange in my situation is that I feel in control right now. I don't feel like an addict. I just enjoy the feeling of winning. As I explained I've lost control when I'm playing betting seriously high amounts beyond my means but I don't feel like I have played long enough to be considered an addict. I've played in desperation and hope which ultimately could of had a big negative effect on my life and if it continues that will happen without a doubt.

I guess I need to say enough now and not look to gambling as a source of extra money. In the back of my mind though I think to myself, if I'm winning more than losing why stop?

Hi

I've been in your situation many times. Gambling amounts I can't afford to lose, only to catch a few lucky spins of a wheel, or a winning river card. You say you feel in control now but I can assure you that if you are a compulsive gambler you will go back and you will lose eventually. I’d love you to prove me wrong, to take your winnings and sail off into the sunset but if you have a problem this is a very hard thing to do.

I’ve found from experience that my biggest losses come after my biggest wins. Put blocks in place, tell people who care about you that you need help and never get complacent. I’ve been trying to give up for over a decade. Time heals wounds too quick and you don’t have any wounds to heal yet. Don’t become another victim because it aint pretty

Please stop for good

I will definitely let that sink in for a while. I haven't gambled now for almost 48 hours and Im fine with it. i would definitely feel different if I knew I had losses. I think it takes a bigger man to walk away then. Is that what you are finding hard to do??

Hi, my advice to you (and probably everyone else's on here too) would be to call it a day now when you can sense a problem arising.

I've hit rock bottom many a time by gambling the big money I can't afford with a view to recovering losses in one spin or turn of a card... the reality is that once you miss on that big bet it takes a long time to fix!

Once your savings are lost the only way to feed the habit is to borrow, and that is a long lonely road we all wish to have avoided!

I am yet to meet anyone that made a living or has an enjoyable life on the back of gambling, it just doesn't happen. And in realty if we get a big win we give it back over time anyway 🙁

I wish you all the best whichever path you choose though

this is the harsh reality that gambling ad

So on Monday evening the 19th June came my judgement day. I did the inevitable and lost so much money it is going to take me years of work to make up for. I started my day with £2000 in my debit account and ended it almost £7000 in debt. The pain has been so tough to take that I haven't been able to go on sites like this. I've now stopped and will stop until the day I die. Unfortunately I knew I had a problem weeks ago and I didn't get out when the going was good. I had had a counsellor session yesterday but might stop these. The only way to get over my grief is to work my a*s off and pay the debt as quickly as possible. I've planned that it's going to be two years. This is the harsh reality that gambling causes