Hello all.
This is my first post on my first day of being gambling free. I've finally accepted that my gambling is no long a bit of fun and has become a problem which i am determined to kick before i get in too deep. The problem started a year ago when i started university, after the first few weeks during fresher’s the glam of student life wears off and you end up spending a lot of time indoors alone during the daytime. I found myself logging on to betting sites placing bets inplay on mainly football and tennis. It was only a tenner here and tenner there. As the months went on and the loses came I found myself betting more money each time to win it back. By the time i left university for the summer in May I worked out I’d lost in the region of 700 which may not be a lot compared to some peoples losses but as a student it’s a too much to lose. Once again i started placing even bigger bets to win this back and hit a winning streak from May up till Yesterday in which I turned the 700 down into 1500 up.
Rather than chasing the losses I was now chasing more winners, this is when I realised it’s a problem and not a bit of fun. As I’m sure you're all aware eventually your luck runs out. Last night i put down the whole 1500 on a bet that i was sure would come in. It didn't. A huge kick in the teeth to lose on one go. As soon as i lost it i had a choice between being true with myself and facing these demons or putting down money from my savings to win it back. After 5 minutes weighing up the pros and cons i decided enough is enough. I self-excluded from every gambling website I’m a member off and turned up GamCare for guidance who refereed me to this forum.
I no longer get a thrill from gambling and do not want to lose any more money. Today I regain control and say No to the demons that have made me gamble.
Sorry for rambling on but I felt I need to get this on my chest to start my recovery. Thank you for reading and I will keep you all updated with how i get on.
Welcome captainc
It's a good thing that you have realised early what a miserable game gambaling really is.
If you walk away now you have had a lucky escape.
Because for a young lad like yourself there is plenty of life and opportunities to be lived. Don't spend them stuck in front of a screen. Kicking yourself when that last minute penalty sticks it down your throat
My advice is get out and stay out
Because it only gets worse
And soon that 1500 pound loss becomes tens of thousands even hundreds.
Go live your life a gamble free one
All the best
Oh and welcome aboard captain
cheers for the welcome Deano, it's nice to know i'm not alone in this. Hopefully the 1500 will be an expensive but worth it lesson. 24 hours on It's still bugging me that i lost the lot and want to try win it back. Thankfully I've self-excluded so can't. Hoping as time pases so will the urges.
All the best to you too mate, we're all in this together
Mate I'd you can walk away with just a 1500 pound loss. It would of been the best 1500 you will ever spend. Like you say an expensive lesson.
It's tough early doors it really is because the loss is like a kick in the knackers. And it's all to easy to just think one more win and I can walk away the winner. But one more win turns in to ten more losses them your on the merry go round for 20 years just like me.
Enjoy your young life. Go out get smashed. Go to ibiza with the lads. A life of gambaling will give you nothing but misery and missed opportunities
Very proud to check in and say 100 days on from this post i am still gamble free! During that time i've not placed a single bet or even looked at odds which may have tempted me. Rather than spending my student loan on gambling like i was i now spend my spare time working part time to earn extra money to actuallly go out and enjoy life!
For those of you stuggling to stop i've found that having the mental target of getting to 100 days GF has helped me massively stay away from gambling as i wanted to prove to myself i could make it. My next target is to go a year, a long way to go but having the target in my head will hopefully continue to keep me away.
Hope you're still doing well on your own recovery dean mate!
Hi Captain Corrigan,
Thank you for checking in and congratulations on your first 100 days off gambling!
You sure have much to be proud of and it is great to hear that you have such solid support around you.
All the best on your way to reach your next goal!
Kind wishes
Gabriele
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