Hi, my name's Mark I'm 41 and a compulsive gambler. Just returned from a session at the bookies after losing £450 on roulette and blackjack. To be honest it could have been worse. I tried on 3 occasions (in 2 different bookies) to load the machine via my card however fortunately it declined even though I have funds in my account & ive also hit my ATM limit. I need to stop this craziness now before I throw away any more of my hard earned cash into a machine on or on a stupid sports bet. Prior to today I lost £100 yesterday and nearly a grand on Friday punting on the fobt. My head feels minced!. I need to understand that I can't ever win because I can't ever stop. My latest binge has lasted two months up to today and this can't continue. I had previously managed two months gamble free and when I do abstain I feel much happier in life rather than my head being completely dominated by gambling. I've gambled on the fobts for pretty much everyday for the past two months and as I have been on a winning run (up to this weekend) I'd convinced myself that this time I could control it. My meltdown this weekend proves otherwise. When will I ever learn. My life for the past 25 years has been dominated by these type of examples where I get suckered back in and the outcome is always the same. I need to remind myself what's important in life. Why chase a short term high blowing thousands of pounds. Thanks for listening. Any advice would be much appreciated.
First off all well done for recognising that you have a problem now the real hard work starts on your recovery believe me and the people on here will tell you its going to be emotionally and financially hard but providing you take the necessary steps and put all the strategies in place it can start to become clear and the main thing is your well being is important because gambling can take that away from you which can and will drive you back.Coming here will point you in the right direction reading the posts,speaking to gamcare,maybe look for a ga group near you,take a long hard look at your finances and look to gain some control or better still hand over your finances and money to some one because cgs are rubbish with money,consider the impact your gambling has on the people around you especially loved one because thats heartbreaking to them and believe you cannot do this alone and you need rock solid support and understanding which requires honesty and no bs yes they will be hurt and angry but remember the ball is your court and if you really want to address you problem you must promise to stop gambling of any sort this is something you have not been able to control and never will.Start living each day gamble free sadly the money has gone dont try to chase your losses it can and will get better it just takes time and patience the time you spent on gambling now spend that on your recovery .good luck
Thanks for your reply jayd....I opened up to my wife when she got back home this afternoon. Felt being honest is the only way to move forward. She was supportive as she knows from previous experience that I have issues with binge gambling. I've also transferred what was left of my savings to her so my access to funds is limited. At the moment I don't have any significant debt but I know how quickly this can spiral if I don't get a grip. I spoke to gamcare earlier and they are arranging 1-2-1 counselling. I'm also going to downgrade my phone to a non-Internet one as although my latest bout of gambling hasn't been online I want to try and put all the blocks in place again. The fobts for me are the real killer. Over the past two months I've been gambling in bookies which I'm self excluded from but this obviously didn't deter me. My gambling this weekend became completely irrational and compulsive, trying to claw back my losses in a panic. I was putting crazy bets on blackjack, mainly on side bets ignoring the main deal hoping prime pairs would drop. I looked at my debit cards receipts earlier from Friday. There was less than 20mins covering 3 card transactions totalling £600. Absolute madness if you think about it rationally!. I've always chased. Before fobts it was fruit machines, dogs and horses but these machines really mess with your head and make you lose any sense of perspective. There is no stop loss limit once I start to chase. I'm in a complete trance feeding note after note into the machine. It's now time to stop!
Well done it's going to be a roller coaster but it can be done but one day at a time
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