Good afternoon, I'm new to posting but I've read a lot of the forum posts over the past few months, i reached out to gamcare about a week ago, I'm 6 days GF but today I'm very tempted so I thought I'd reach out and ask for help and encouragement from people who have been there or are in the exact same place as me right now.
Hi
Going to meetings was very helpful for me.
I handed over my finaces to my wife that was a healthy move on my part.
And how every many times I went back to gambling I went to more meetings.
When I feeling vulnerable,
Talking out side meetings was very helpful.
Often got more questions that I needed asnwering after meetings.
The time and effort you put in to your recovery willl help you chooose ehalthier choices in you new life.
Dave L
@q86r2ugj5p Hi, thanks for replying.
I have given all financial control to my husband, I have a gambling service appointment in a month's time and I start CBT sessions tomorrow.
I have the software provided on here which is helpful and even though it's not been long , I do feel a lot different from last week.
A week ago I felt like I had to be stopped. I felt like I needed to be in a padded room where I couldn't access anything.
Yesterday I made the post instead of finding a way to gamble and that's progress ☺️
You've already done the hardest but which is acknowledging the problem and being open about it with your husband.
Everyone's different - but I found it took me a good few months to really feel like my brain had been deprogrammed. As well as doing a 5 year gamstop, I told my closest friends, including the ones who I'd share my betting stories with and instructed them to never let me talk them into putting something on for me. Other chat groups I'm in, where betting was part of the everyday chat, I made them harder to access and turned off notifications so I didn't see all the wins on horses and football etc. that might have triggered me. i also try and block any ads that pop up on my by using the settings on the advert, although 6 months on, they don't really bother me other than making me feel a bit sad. I can watch football now without being overly concerned about shots on target and number of bookings (I was pretty big into bet builders).
When I have found it tough, I come on here and read others' stories, partly for inspiration but also to remind me I can never get complacent because while I'm doing OK just now, all it takes is one wobble and I'm back to where I started.
Try and find something else to occupy your time that you enjoy. And when you are enjoying yourself doing something more positive, remind yourself how good it feels to not be on that win/loss hamster wheel.
Best wishes, and stay strong.
Well done so far. Admitting defeat and asking for help is a huge step. Temptations are always there, but the urges will quickly get less and less. Try to keep yourself busy, especially if you had a gambling routine. Break that routine with something else. For me I used to gamble at night. I removed the phone and replaced it with a book. Small step but it really did help.
Take on board all the advice you find in here and make it work for your situation. You can do this.
Stay strong 💪
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