After many years using illicit substances, i found a solution to my drug mis use. After 3 years of recovery from substances, i am now finding myself addicted to gambling. At first it was the occassional go on fruit machines. Small amounts of money. I now find myself progressing and losing large amounts. Once i start i cant stop.
My life has starting to become unmanageable because of this and i have decided its time to address the problem. From experience of my substance misuse problems i know this is something i cannot do on just will power alone and i need the help of others who are facing the same problem. So this is my first post and im reaching out.
Hi
First of all be proud that you are admitting the problem and trying to sort it out. Be proud that you managed to kick the substance abuse. If you did that you can do the same with the gambling. I would suggest making a list of things to do and tick them off as you do them i.e. Ring Gamcare today and talk to one of their advisors. They will point you in the right direction for either moral or financial matters and self exclusion from sites and shops etc - all of this important stuff to start off with. If you have someone at home that can help you moniter your finances all well and good but you can teach yourself how to budget any income you have and set targets for spending etc. If you are in debt there are many ways of getting help without going to payday loan companies. Try and get some other interests in your life - plenty of stuff to do that does not cost much. Look at going to GA meetings. Most important of all read lots of the posts on here and you will see you are not on your own and you will get lots of support as you are trying to sort things out. Try and keep a diary of how many g-free days you go and keep ticking them off. Keep talking to others on here, there is a diary section. You can stop if you get yourself a bit organised and put your mind to it. I wish you luck.
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