Will i ever be free from this nightmare

Hello @lakelands,

Welcome to the GamCare forum. I am really glad you have joined and I hope you find the support and encouragement from members to be helpful. You can also connect with members in our group chatroom. 

It's positive to hear that you are a week gamble free and you are taking a really good step by seeking support.

You are also very welcome to contact us on our Helpline to speak to an advisor on 0808 8020 133, on WhatsApp or on Netline - we are here 24 hours so you are never alone in this, and we can discuss with you various options which can help, including free professional support.

Please keep posting; we are here for you.

Best wishes,

Sophie

Forum Admin 

You're not alone. You can recover, doesn't matter what age one is. Keep coming here and reading , contact the Gamcare helpline and put stops/controls in place. You can do it.

Don’t feel ashamed. We are hear for you. Read peoples stories on here and get some help from family if you can. Tomorrow is another day and believe in yourself. You can stop for good . Good luck x

@lakelands 

Hi, I was just reading your post and see it's been a while.... How are things going? I hope you are doing well.

I'm a mid 40s woman and I was sickened with guilt too about what I had been doing, eventually I opened up to my husband who was totally unaware of what I had been doing, naturally he was angry but we keep talking, keep planning ways out of the debts etc, happy to say today is my day 7 gamble free ?

Hi to everyone who has sent me a message and thank you so much i got into gambling 8 yrs ago after my youngest son passed away from MS i was with my husband at the time and i withdrew £500 out of our joint account when it all came out i asked him to help me to try and beat it but straight away he decided he wanted a divorce and i just hadn't got the fight in me and i just agreed and with my share of the property i was out of my home within months and oh god what a roller coaster i was on then over time i lost everypenny and had to go into shared accommodation through a charity but here i am still gambling i went a week last month but i recently went back so after losing all my money again i decided to go round all the places this week and exclude myself and i have rang a place called Moses and excluded myself from every book makers that i can get to because they also have slot machines i just really want to stop but god knows how i have never wanted to go online i think after my son died i was lonely because i was is mane career but i shouldn't think like that because to me it sounds like I'm blaming him for leaving me but I'm not hope people can understand that thank you again for your replies and i wish you all well let's all try and keep fighting this terrible illness because deep down that's what it feels like to me an illness that I'm struggling to get over

Thank you so much for your reply i have posted another post on here but I've only just realised how to reply individually i hope you are okay 

Hi,

Your not blaming him at all, to go through that I wouldn't know how I would. 

As far as the gambling is concerned I think your doing the right thing in self exclusion, if you gamble online I would think of getting a block on you computer/phone that stops gambling sites, you can get some for free and some paid, the free ones are good but obviously paid ones will be a more reliable and should stop every site and there not to expensive - you'll find information on the gamcare homepage. 

You've certainly come to the right place on here, a lot of help, advice and support. 

There was free councilling available through gamcare which I have used myself - I believe I got 12 free sessions, I did it around 5 - 6 years ago so can't quite remember - I've had a look on the site and can't seem to find but if it's something that you feel might help contact them and they maybe able to help. 

Also, in your first post you mention being ashamed which is totally natural and something I'm sure we all have felt at times but it's ridiculous to feel that way, millions of people are smoking, eating to much, addicted to sugar, alcohol, drugs and whatever else, unfortunately for some its part of our life's and we have the gambling addiction, others don't and I have no idea why, much like some people get sick while others don't, bad luck or bad genes who knows but the reason why doesn't matter.

I feel its all about the now and the future and making it the best they can be which would certainly not involve gambling. 

I'm sure you can find a positive hobby just for you that you'll get way more joy from than gambling could ever bring. 

Take care Lakelands.

I've done a week again of no gambling and I'm looking forward to the one month challenge just hope i can keep it up i know i want to 

I can't believe I've managed to do 2wks of no gambling I must admit I've had thoughts of jumping in the car and driving somewhere where i haven't excluded myself from but managed to fight the demon ? off and went walking instead also thanks to David for this challenge i do think that is helping a lot take care everyone keep it up 

Hi everyone hope you're all staying strong I'm now 3wks in to no gambling i can't believe it and were another week into the challenge I'm so glad i joined this forum it has helped me so much with my journey thank you to everyone take care all

Hi I'm new to this site and only a week into not gambling but i knew i needed to do something because the guilt is to much and as a woman of 66 i feel totally ashamed of myself for the amount of money i have lost