Starting on a journey

Hello Nik,

Sounds like you've taken some big steps towards moving forwards without gambling so well done for that. For me the biggest help was to talk out my issues with people close to me that i know i can trust. If you can/haven't told anyone other than the counseller it will help you with some support closer to home. Another thing this could allow you to do is hand over financial control. Take the pressure off yourself and just live on a budget for a while. Withdrawl the cash, see and feel its value and how much you can get out of it. This forum is great and i often visit when im feeling a little down and to read through others and mine own posts does help to show the journey and the hard work needed to tackle this daily.

Getting a few days gamble free behind you will help you start to see things a bit clearer and then you can start to work on moving forwards in a more productive way outside of gambling.

Hope to read more of your journey over the coming days/weeks/months.

All the best!

Hi guys, brand new to site and feeling now is my last chance to beat this horrible addiction. I'm 37 and have been gambling since about 12/13 and seriously since I was around 18, I have gambled on everything from horse/dog racing, football coupons and FOBT machines which for a good few years was my preferred betting escapism. I've gambled most weeks forthe last 27 years but had it sorted and under control for a number of years butnow relapsed big time blowing around 3-4K in last 3 months, all good previous work undone and credit used to feed my awful want to gamble. This time I'm doing it properly and this is why I'm here, I honestly think today is rock bottom for me and the only solice in this whole affair is the only way is up. Just4 2 day I'm startimg that journey too, all the very best

Hi Nik,

Welcome to the forum, and thanks for sharing your story with us.

It seems like you’ve been struggling for a long time with your gambling problem, and now ready and determined to do something about it.

I do agree with you that gambling problem can affect different areas of your life, such as you mentioned in your post – physical, mental, financial, etc., and it can get worse and easily get out of control if you don’t do anything about it.

Glad to learn that your first counselling session with Gamcare has gone very well for you, and you hope to progress on that.

You’ve also taken a step in the right direction by self excluding from all your online accounts.

I’m in agreement with the counsellor that it’s by making effective changes to your lifestyle or routines that can give you different outcome from your problematic gambling, and I’ll encourage you to go for those changes as intended.

If 1 week of abstinence is giving you a better feeling, can you imagine what your feelings would be when you finally get full control of your gambling?

Please do continue to read from our Chatroom/ Forum for more ideas on strategies and support to help you with your journey to recovery.

You may also think about calling our free phone Helpline on: 0808 8020 133, and speak to one of our advisers for any worries and advice you may have regarding your gambling problem. Our lines are open everyday from 8.00am to midnight.

Meanwhile, keep up the good work, and please keep posting!

Best wishes,

Beatrice

Thanks all for the positive words of encouragement. It’s good to know there are people out there that understand. As I said I’m not new to gambling, or new to wanting to stop and have managed to stop for decent periods of time over the years. I’ve tried GA and also Hypnotism which both helped for a while but What I haven’t done before is change things enough, like self exclusion, like use the gamcare forum, like put my salary into a joint account with my partner. With the experience comes the knowledge to some degree I think. I know from experience now that it’s when the pain and suffering from gambling subsides and l have control of my life again that I am at my most vulnerable and I can see I need to change things so when that time comes (and it will) I hope to have removed the opportunities for me to go back to gambling. It’s going to be a yet another journey to go on and one I hope I can finally master this time. But right now it’s just for today,

[quote=Just42day]

Thanks all for the positive words of encouragement. It’s good to know there are people out there that understand. As I said I’m not new to gambling, or new to wanting to stop and have managed to stop for decent periods of time over the years. I’ve tried GA and also Hypnotism which both helped for a while but What I haven’t done before is change things enough, like self exclusion, like use the gamcare forum, like put my salary into a joint account with my partner. With the experience comes the knowledge to some degree I think. I know from experience now that it’s when the pain and suffering from gambling subsides and l have control of my life again that I am at my most vulnerable and I can see I need to change things so when that time comes (and it will) I hope to have removed the opportunities for me to go back to gambling. It’s going to be a yet another journey to go on and one I hope I can finally master this time. But right now it’s just for today,

Putting your finance available into your partners account is a great idea, stay with this, I have did all this in the past but through time have managed to lie about my need for money and open up other accounts so I can gamble, it's really tough on those closest to you, myself this time I have confessed everything and have managed to convince my other half that I am willing to leave gambling behind once and for all for the sake of my family. It's hard to ask them but they also need to stay strong and refuse any money to go to me no matter how hard I plead, I understand this is the only way it can work. I don't know about you guys but for me I used to feel at ease even though I had lost a lot of money on a gambling session because there was no money left, so my theory is that I can't have any access to cash and hopefully that will ease the urges. Wishing you all the best