Rock bottom. Please help! !

Hi, welcome on board.

First thing, if you haven't already, I would get a diary up in the diary section here.

Give members, a bit of a story about your gambling habits etc. Nothing to be embarrassed about, most of us have been where you are now or on the other end of it (i.e. a partner of a compulsive gambler).

Good luck, hope to see you in the diary section, ready to beat this demon.

Hi Liggy

Welcome to the forums!, really brave of you to get signed up. Tell us a bit about your story

Tonight isn't going well . wanting so much to gamble, not good at the mo.

Hi liggy,

Welcome to the forum.

My advice, especially for early days, is to get as many barriers up as you can. Exclude from sites, useblocking software for laptops and phones, give money to someone else to manage. Doesn't have to be all but anything that makes it more difficult to gamble will really help you just now.

If you read other people's diaries on here you will see that a lot of people find they have underlying issues that cause them to gamble....everyone is different and you need to find d what works for you.

I wish you well.

Damo

jI've just told my mam who is getting chemo that I have gambled a grand of her money cause I had her card to do her shopping. I'm 37 and can't believe how quick online gambling got ahold, gambled first time in Jan this year won and you know the rest. The thing is I actually didn't realise how bad a problem I had til recently, doing that with my mams money, which I also won back, then lost again when I got my withdrawal, got a payday loan 2 days ago got upto £960, withdrew and self excluded I was so happy I could pay her card off. Got the withdrawal today it went in 5 mins on blackjack. We all know the ashamed feeling, times it by a million when ur mam has cancer, I'm 37 and rang her crying and had to tell her. Which brings me to these forums, I wish I had read them 5 months ago. I have got into debt and personally and mentally changed so much in the last few months but compared to a lot of people I'm lucky I have realised after just months the problem. For me it was only blackjack online so will do everything to prevent me from having access to the sites and Damo I agree I think there is a link with underlying issues which made me get hooked. Fingers crossed but I'm confident that today was my last day on black jack online.

John

Thanks for sharing your story/is with me and words of support, I for me it's like withdrawing from drugs (never taken drugs )but it's the only comparison I can make,believe me I have tried before to stop ,soon has payday looms there I am ready to gamble,sometimes I can't think of anything else. What I do now though is pay ALL my bills first and then see what I have left,but it's really hard .

Is there no one you know and trust you can give your money to? No money no gambling. How old are you? Do you go to gym or have hobbies? I've just cancelled my direct debit card when new one comes I'm just going to give it to my mam. My only problem was online casinos once I've blocked them I won't think about it, i think I've been lucky and although I've lost money and got into debt I'm more glad that I realised I had a problem and accepted it and told my mam then saw all these stories. I never thought about it all the time like what it appears you do, but when I did it I was always chasing and u know the story ur lose it all, u hate urself, why have I done it again etc. I would say for you u really need to change something in your life to help you stop. Gym, cinema, go for a walk, find a routine, if it's all online that you do it block the sites, get a cheap s**t phone, if you really want to do it you can you have to be strong, go swimming anything so that your mind is occupied and your not thinking of gambling. It's hard to suggest more cause I don't know you personally or your interests. You know you will never win and if you do you will just lose it again so really why do it. I know easier said than done. I honestly think this comes down to an escapism from something in our life's and your so stuck in a rut the cycle needs to b broken.

Yes I do go to the gym ,like playing role playing games (no gambling involved, also like to do Zumba, I do take care of myself, gambling is not like being a alcoholic or druggie there are no physical signs to anyone else,I know you might show anxiety or depression but that's more in the mind,even now I'm sat here wondering ways to get round the blocked sites to play and gamble it's doing my head in.

My journey started four months ago and touch wood I haven't gambled since. Somebody gave me a great piece of advice - take it one day at a time or even one hour at a time. Question - if you gambled now what would you get out of it? If you won would you use the money to keep on playing? Is it any fun or pleasure really? If you lost would you feel ashamed and disappointed that you had "given in" to the compulsion? Keep posting - as many times as you want. You will get a hell of a lot of support on this forum. Distract yourself in these early days anyway you can. Anything is better than gambling if it gets to be a major problem. Take care, Phil.

That's the thing for me, I always thought I was so strong minded, I never ever thought that I would get depressed, or lonely, it wasn't until i,looked at my life the last 6 months and I realised that the gambling was definitely an escapism, I still want to make a doctors appointment and talk to someone but just realising myself for me the bigger picture and to not be so confused as to why I am gambling and making absolutely stupid decisions that normally I would never do. Maybe it's different for you and I seriously hope you find your answer. I still haven't gambled since last Wednesday, it's crossed my mind but that's just it. For me now I still need to go to doctors and change other things but hopefully that's the end of the gambling.

Ok,I gambled last night, don't feel good this moment but going to try again. I think this is gonna be harder than I thought, not going to give up tho.

Hi Liggypops,

Dust yourself down and get back on it, us CG's have false starts sometimes but the important thing is to learn from it. This is going to be hard, I wont lie, read any of the diaries on here and to stay gamble free its a battle - but it can be done! I have just just joined the 100 day gf club today and there are many others on the site that have done this and more.

If you gambled then the barriers arent in place, break the time/money/location triangle. So it you dont have time, you cant gamble. If you take away your laptop and or phone and install blocking software on it, you cant get online to gamble. If you use a card, snap it, order a new one then scratch the 3 numbers on the back off so you cant deposit. I am afraid a very small amount of us can beat this with willpower alone - most of us put as many barriers in place so that when an urge hits, we simply block our way to gambling.

Have a little think about your triggers and why your gambling - a lot of the time it is to hide away from something or to fill boredom. Addressing that can also help in this battle. Also, GA and therapy are widely used - I presonally speak to a therapist who has helped me understand why I gamble so I can address that. Ring Gamcare - they can offer you advice and arrange free counselling sessions.

You can do this, there is proof out there on this site - create yourself a diary and immerse yourself into this site because we are behind you 110% to help you conquer this. All the best, stay strong!

Thanks Rose and I am on the wagon again now x

First weekend I haven't gambled or wanted to gamble. ..feel fantastic! !!!