Struggling to not think about gambling

Dear ck9910,

Welcome to the Forum.

You are not alone in having experienced relapses. It sounds from your description that you have been able to see the cycles that occur with your gambling. Identifying your particular triggers is likely to be helpful in your plan to try and stop gambling. You may benefit from a more detailed discussion with one of our Advisors on the National Gambling Helpline 0808 8020 133. If you have been trying to stop through willpower alone we can discuss some practical blocks and self-exclusions and also options around talking support for your underlying thoughts and feelings around your gambling behaviours.

One of our Chatrooms may also be a good place to find some peer support and ideas of how others have been successful in their recovery journey Chatrooms - GamCare

Best Wishes,

Louise

Forum Admin

Hi ck

Welcome to an amazing community which has literally changed my life. I spent 44 years in a similar state to your share above, always wanting but never managing to give up. The reason why ? Because ultimately I didn't want to. I always thought that the problem was only financial and at some point I would get the win and stop. I got the wins many times and never stopped. For me I had crossed the line and it became part of me with absolutely no control. Last year I finally admitted that I was broken and I couldn't take anymore. I hope more people realise this earlier in their life before more damage is done. The day I moved into recovery I soon found out that it wasn't about the money. No amount of zeros on the end of a win would be enough. I joined this site and started talking to the advisors on here who are amazing - text chat or telephone just click the talk to someone button. I also started going to the chatrooms, if you want to talk further I will be on the 8pm which is text and not camera etc. I joined GA and put my maximum effort into recovery. 

The problem with a gambling addiction is that there is no magic pill. There isn't one system which works for everyone and it's your own recovery journey, no one else's.

For me, I've come to terms that I thought gambling was the problem but it wasn't. Gambling is what I saw as the solution but the problem was myself and the way I thought. Fix that and I wouldn't need to gamble. 

I wrote a topic on here in the newcomers section "so you want to give up gambling". If you go on the forum it's there and plenty of other food advice. I detailed everything that has helped me to stop gambling and that I use regularly so it might be worth a read and try a few things. Anything that seems weird to you is still worth trying, what have you got to lose ?

First things first in those early days is beating your urges. They won't last long but it helps to do something to distract you like walking, crossword whatever you fancy doing to take your mind off it. This is the simplest and hardest thing to do in your life - just simply don't place that first bet. I got a point last year where I learned and understood that I simply can't place another bet again. Other people can which is great, they can walk away after one but if I place just one bet, then it's all downhill

Good luck and if you want to talk more just reply on your topic here or come to the 8pm chatrooms 

Hello,

I been gambling for decades now and it has ruined me financially, the only way I can stop is through apps like Gamstop. The problem is there is nothing for non uk casinos, I have tried things like gamban and other blockers but you can just delete them.

Please 🙏 does anyone know if they do something similar like Gamstop for non uk casinos?

I advise anybody with the same issues as I have had through my life is use Gamstop for UK casinos and avoid the non uk casino like the plague. 

Hi Gamban will block every site in the world on your devices but I'm sure you know that 

Hi ck

How are you doing buddy ?

@lp5vut869c unfortunately gamban doesn’t work for me. If you know, you know