Wish I could bottle the feeling of a loss

Hey mate. I know where your coming from.. Why do we do it? When my wife found out about all my wins ans losses she said to me ' it's like you enjoy losing it all" really made me think. When I win I have thosuands in my bank. I could treat myself or my wife and son. I could book a holiday eye but no. I go and give it all back to the casino and end up broke for the month.. Why do we do it!!???

I don't know mate, it boggles my mind too.

The annoying thing is I really enjoy researching bets. I'd even go as far as saying it's a hobby for me. But I just know that cold turkey is the only way. I just don't have balance at all, It's all or nothing.

Yh its all a loada ******** really. I lost 2000 on tuesday, made a post here determined to quit. yet really i was waiting until i got 600 that i knew was coming into my account today. so all tues night and weds i was thinking of what bet im going to do to win my money back. i was going to put harry kane to score and spurs win at 2/1 and luton town blackpool both to score and was going to stake 600. What happned? i woke up this morning saw the 600 in my account opened up one of the many random operators that i havent as yet excluded from and begin to gamble on live roulete. get up to 1400 so i won 800 yet its not enough to recoup my 2000 loss that im desperate to get back. So i lost all the 1400 which included my last 600 for the month.

Typically, just to make me feel worse, the bet that i was going to do which would have brought back my loss looks like a winner. yet i feel so sure that had i bet on spurs to win with kane to score that it just would not have happened. it always seems so easy when you dont do it and immpossible when you do it. The mind games of this gambling and the stress it causes is unreal. it is just so upsetting. im really close to breaking point with it. today i opted into this multi bookie self exclusion scheme and i spent the whole afternoon opening up every single on line account i could find and then right away self excluding. i hope this works.

keep those closest to you close and keep them informed of your emotions if they are willing to help.

Our mind plays tricks on us - wasn't that bad the last time, £20 won't harm, nobody will find out! Write down any time you have an urge and tell people.

The thought of letting my girlfriend and family down again is enough to keep me out the bookies or outta casinos.

Just a quick update to say that I've managed to go without gambling since I made this thread 2 weeks ago.

Nothing to shout about but usually the first few weeks are the hardest. I got paid today and I have no urge to gamble. I think it helps that the football season is over and I'm not thinking about games on Saturday.

Thanks for all the replies.

How are you getting on mate?

Sorry, only just seen this.

I'm still gamble-free mate 🙂 Not going to lie, the world cup qualifyers have been tempting but still going strong.

Good stuff. I feel a bit wary of myself just now as I haven't had an urge to gamble since I quit.

I almost lost everything I own though so was either keep gambling or end up in a box.

Possibly why I don't have any urges anymore!

Keep up the good work mate

Well done both!!! That's great work. In the end if we keep at it we've beat the bookies - probably the first time ever!!
Had an email from 8*8 today to say I had £5 free on the casino.....deleted it and then went on and self excluded without playing it - I've won this time!!

Just a little update to say I'm still gamble-free. (83 days to be exact)

It's been pretty easy so far to be honest. Although, with the premier league starting on Saturday, it does make me feel a bit sad that I can't gamble. I love that Saturday vibe of going to the bookies and placing a bet but I need to replace that with something else.

Hope to update this thread in another 3 months time still gamble-free.

Cheers everyone.

An interesting thread title Jamie.

Nobody in their right mind would want those bottles of loss. They just wouldnt sell 🙁 and its something the gambling dens conveniently brush over to sell their dreams and addiction.

I cant think of a lower feeling after extinction gambling. Walking slowly home in a daze..wanting the world to swallow me up and just thinking If I sank down to the pavement someone might come along help me out of this. Not really wanting to go home and sometimes walking past where I stay as the depressing thoughts go round and round. Nothing at home anyway...certainly no food in the cupboards. and all my gizmos are meaningless if hungry and sick with worry

It is actually clinical depression in its strongest form. Its something you will never see on a gambling advert. I think they should be forced to show the reality of gambling for many people.

We now have a crazy situation where a local advert simply states the jackpot amount for the minimum stake. No mention of the odds of doing that or people like me walking home feeling suicidal on a winters night. Underneath is the if the funs stops stop and the careline in much smaller print as if that makes the above advertising acceptable.

The reality of gambling is that I sank thousands in 2015 which is the money I had to live on. Im still saving for things I could have been enjoying years ago. It helps me focus that I was not in my right mind and deeply addicted. It also helps me focus that there may always be something in me thats prone to that sort of behaviour

The strength of a gambling addiction will negate the days I spent in bed depressed to have another go. No food in the cupboards and losing the feeling in my legs while lying in bed but when I had access to money again I was gambling again

Im so glad I started a proper recovery and did the right things after 10 months on the forum paying lip service to it. Willpower didnt work but proper blocks and monitoring did work. I have never broken a self exclusion and family monitoring gives me the extra pep to ensure I do the right thing and live a gamble free life.

Best wishes to everyone on the forum

for me the pain of losing a big bet is worse than getting knocked out of a job, have your car stolen or even being dumped by a gf. maybe the shame is only comparable of getting caught cheating your partner

Congratulations to those of you who have managed to stay gamble free for a number of months. All i would say is that I was too in that position, hadn't gambled for 3 months when for some stupid random reason (I still don't know why). Usual story, £20 turned into £50 etc etc. Seriously congrats to you all but please just remember that feeling when you loose, that has surely got to be a motivator that we can ALL relate to.

Thank you all.

Agreed dholla, and that's why I gave the thread this title. That feeling of a big loss is my main motivator in staying gamble free. For some reason over time, that feeling of a loss fades away and gets replaced with "What if I can win X amount" - Regularly visiting this forum and reading my original post reminds me to never gamble again. I can proudly say it's been exactly 3 months since I created this thread and haven't gambled a penny.

For those who love their football betting, I've found doing fantasy football is a great replacement. I decided to take it really seriously this year, as a way to make the football weekend more interesting.