Hello,
I had a serious gambling problem back in 2015, lost my wife, kids and house etc. I managed to stop after that for 5 years and life started to become good again.
I'm remarried now and have a nice life.
In Nov 21 I got interested in cryptocurrency and I lost a lot of money, having no knowledge of the space and just seeing £ signs, I realise now I got in at the peak prices and that was pretty stupid.
The financial pressure then started and I atarted to get interested in football betting, eventually placing a few small bets and I enjoyed it, I was winning and helped to give me some extra cash.
I had a losing run and that lead to me playing the fobts to try and win money to place a larger bet on the football.
As I'm sure most know I never make it to the football bets, the money is usually gone and lots more than I planned.
I'm now in a position where I am 20k in debt (I'm in contact with step change trying to sort it)
I gambled yesterday, lost the last £100 of "spending money I had" I now have the bare minimum for bills.
I'm not at the level of destruction yet where I am gambling away priority bill money but I know from experience that is around the corner.
I want to stop, I want to remember what life was like during my 5 years gamble free. I want to watch football and not be angry that someone scored instead of my player of choice. I want to be normal.
If I'm being really honest though, I do love gambling, I don't want to but I do.
I do know my love for gambling will eventually destroy my life again and I need to remind myself that I loved my gambling free life too. I was fit, went to lots of concerts, nights away with my wife. Lots of things I can't do because i didn't get hit a number on a fobt roulette.
I have gamban and gamstop in place. I also have a gambling block on my bank account and I can now only withdraw £50 max per day.
I also have Moses in place but to be honest the staff don't notice me and I end up just going back in.
I wonder if it's a good idea to actually go in to the bookies and talk to the staff?
Anyway this is my position, I need to stop and I want to `want` to stop. So here I am.
Thanks for giving this a read.
Scott
I was wondering when the crypto posts would begin to start appearing here
Obviously this is speculative gambling at its core , but there's such a cult like community of people surrounding it people like yourself get drawn in and never really have a chance
The entire thing is based on FOMO and greater fool theory
I suspect we will see more and more of these stories in 2023
The strangest part of your story is that despite losing nearly everything you say you still love gambling ?
How can you love something that is so destructive ?
Its like having a relationship with an abusive partner
i gambled on and off for around 15 years in that period it got me into about 10K of debt , forced me to move back into my parents and then cost me the most important relationship i ever had with my ex girlfriend
I am out the other end of it all now and have just about made peace with the whole ordeal , but the thought of going back to that lifestyle gives me nightmares
It just consumes you entirely
I would stop it will only be enjoyable if your winning but everyone knows that 9/10 times your going to loose no matter how much research or tips you take in my experience I said I loved gambling too but as soon as a bet was lost I was straight on to another to try and get that winning feeling before you know it your ignoring everything that’s real in front of you and more worried about if such and such scores or gets booked if you’ve had a problem before it will appear again because it will only be just another bet to try win again and your down again hope you get the help you need
I understand where you are coming from. I to have lost everything built it up to lose everything. As a compludive gambler I seem happy to do this.
However things got real a few weeks ago and nearly ended up with me taking my own life. Since then I've told myself I'm gonna be 100% honest with everyone. Me just trying to hide my problem doesn't help. I was amazed by people attitudes and willness to help.
Therefore have you thought about telling your wife. Or I'm happy to chat about it with you. Admitting and communication is key for me
Thanks for the responses.
I know, it's pretty backwards saying I love it but the truth is I enjoy gambling. I enjoy hitting a number on roulette, I enjoy getting a bonus on a slot machine and I enjoy when a coupon comes in.
That being said, I realise it's destroying my life and it could be more that I enjoy the rush of winning rather than the activity itself. The addiction is probably confusing my brain that way.
Yeah the crypto thing was horrible for me and there must be so many more who got into it at that time and lost 80% of their money.
You enjoy the endorphin dump your brain gives you when a ball lands, not the actual ball landing in the slot. When you realise it's the high you crave, then it becomes clear. you need to find something that gives you that high again....just not by gambling.
I found the gym workouts give me that natural high, been gamble free for 4 years now
@nomorebetspls hi I am not defending about 90% of the crypto space which is basically gambling but there is a small percentage trying to help build a better future which I agree with. I have been in the space about 9 years now and the only serious problem I see is the gambling sites that allow crypto currency as a form of gambling basically avoiding the gam stop system which is horrible for anyone who is a addict to get sucked into another crazy gambling world.
of course the speculation and speculative tokenomics get people hooked too to tokens which could be scams or rug pulls and indeed the high volatility and risky returns.
I personally own a few tokens in a couple of them and have held for many years, I guess this is a lesson for myself as they both have some sort of gambling aspect to them and I get a return on that holding the tokens.
maybe I am just not willing to let go or need some sort of financial exit point in the decades ahead so I see them as a investment more so than a gamble.
if you’re ever new to some thing, learn about it for some time before getting involved.
dave101
At my most lowest I was involved in crypto, stocks and betting. In my mindset at the time they were all gambling.
That’s unfortunately what this addiction does, if you are in that zone it’s so easy to block out logical thoughts and just chase a dream of a big fast payout.
Having the blocks in place is good Scott. I’m in a similar position, went back to it over Christmas and last week after 2 years away. Feel like it’s back to square one, can’t consider speaking to my partner about it.
I hope this week is easier for you.
CJ
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