2014 Challenge

mjc1974 - Congratulations on a quarter of a year today! Have a special day celebrating with your family. Well done!

CannaeWin Hi and welcome - I'm sure Mr B would ask you to read the first page of this challenge and if you feel ready to commit to your own recovery journey and to supporting those on the challenge then post again before midnight on Saturday and you'll be a new member of the army and be officially welcomed by Mr B. (He's busy trying to do everything at the moment!)

Elfie17 - I'm with you re Baggins in Trafalgar Square complete with pigeon! Wonderful imagery - such a fab sense of humour! Joanna keep up your great resolve - half a year completed on the 31st - tremendous!

I can hear life music from so many of you loud and clear - it's wonderful 🙂

I loved the roller coaster analogy! I was thinking about it and realised that the warning is always 'Don't stand up!' In other words stay firmly held in by all the safety equipment! When the car reaches the bottom of a down the momentum always takes it back up again!

It's great that there is such good support on this challenge for you all. I stand alongside Mr B and all of you - always ready with virtual hugs or plasters or high fives 🙂 Always remember if you stumble or fall get straight back up again, dust yourself off and catch up with the troops. An elite squad takes time to be ready to take on anything!

So many very positive posts and huge milestones. Marching on day by day! Don't allow complacency to get a foothold, always be alert. The enemy will try to ambush you but you have the victory!

Glad to be alongside you - today and everyday.

Love Mama B x 🙂

ps Daz71 - Century Club today! Well done!

checking in today on day 166

stopping gambling and staying stopped is a challenge for me

some seem to find it easy and that's great but i don't

at times it paralyzes me and threatens to take away my life

its literally hell on earth

not saying this to upset anyone just to share how I feel

today i'm gamble free and keeping positive but i know there's good and bad times ahead. I've just got to keep riding that roller coaster

marching on another day

tri

Triangle I'm so sorry you are struggling. I don't think it's easy for anyone. When gambling has had such a hold on your life for so long it's so difficult to cope without it. You are doing so well though - 166 days today. Have you found things that help when you are finding the hardest times? Someone you can talk to? A safe place you can go to just get away from your own head? Please try to find good and wholesome things that will gift you life not take it away. Keep posting and letting us know how you are. Sometimes just expressing how you feel can really help. Knowing others care and that you are not alone I hope will give you the energies to keep pressing on one day at a time. As every day passes I hope it will get easier to embrace your recovery and distance yourself from your demons. Thinking of you - Mama B

Hi Triangle - Just echoing Mama B's wise words really and sending you lots of positive thoughts.

You mention the 'hell on earth' of fighting the gambling demons - just think about the 'heaven on earth' that is there for our taking when we can conquer those trolls and start to enjoy our freedom. I know we all have differing degrees of difficulty in giving up, but that old adage "Just say no!" is quite useful, as if we say it enough times it can become a habit in itself.

Last week I had a wobble when I followed a link to a bingo review site, but in a way I was glad of it because it made me realise that I really was no longer interested, and I did just say 'No!'.

Hang on in there Triangle, and know that we are all rooting for you - come on, soon you'll be in the 'Six Months Club' too!

Joanna

Hi Mr B and friends, I have indeed read the first page and am ready to commit to the challenge. Day 9 today so early on, but a little milestone as it's been the first day I have had any sort of money in my account today since my last binge, but this afternoon instead of kicking myself for wasting all my money , I have refrained from gambling and I went to supermarket and bought lovely nutritious food. Such a nice feeling to go round supermarket and not be limiting to smart price etc. not telling my boy, no , so that I could squirrel everything for gambling. I know early days but that felt good.

To all on here who are further along like in 100's of days, that is amazing, keep marching forwards guys and girls x

I'd like to commit to this challenge I've got quite a problem with gambling and I'd like all the help I can get

welcome bealesy

have a read of the first page about the requirements of joining and then post again

one of the leaders will then message you i'm sure

thanks for the support

yes i have a journal on here and lots of people i speak to

recently gone back to gamblers anonymous which has proved helpful

most days are good days but having this addiction it tends to catch you out when you least suspect

vigilance helps!

thanks tri

Triangle. Your kind words helped sort me out when I was in a bad way a few weeks ago. It's strange we can go weeks with a strong resolve where we hate even the thought of gambling then something switches and before we know it all the possibilities that gambling pretends to offer open up. I'm not great with words but wish there was a way I could convey that feeling of despair as it all goes wrong but your so caught up in it you chase until destruction. Then you have that wake up call and the hatred of all things gambling comes back. Keep strong and fight it. 1 day or 100 plus days are irrelevant, what matters is you don't gamble today or tomorrow. A return to gambling and the bigger any subsequent wins is the most dangerous outcome for us compulsive gamblers as it would only fuel the fire.

Hi all, Checking in on what I calculate to be Day 84 of being Gamble Free for me.

Like many others there are mostly good days then the odd, evil thoughts day! But resolve and awareness are on high alert. Have only been tempted once when I was sent some 'free' money / gamble tokens to play with and hesitated for just a second or two before I hit the delete button hard! But it goes to show, theose that want to take your hard earned and break you down don't care who you are or what you suffer from. They are just as faceless to us as we are to them! My point being - be aware, and don't ever get complacent, or think just a few 's or a bit of a free go is OK ~ it isn't. Abstaining is the only way, and by our own choice!

So stay resolute everyone. Be calm and collected and just ignore those inner demons!

Virtual search parties deployed for those missing soldiers :). I am sure they are out there and as one gradually gets through the weeks and months of not gambling, less time is spent on our computers, phones, laptops, tablets etc as other more pertinent things take up our time.

Looking forward to a relaxing week away with the OH in the great city of York next week, no thoughts of what i am missing, no trembling from being away from the comfort of a gambling "zone" - just looking forward to good foods, some sight seeing and lots of window shopping!

Going Sat morn and won't be back until Sunday 7th, so would be most grateful if Mr B or any of his deputies can log in and check in on my behalf.

Will look forward to reading a weeks worth of posts, where I calculate that on the Sat eve of 6th Sept I will have reached 93 days - just a week away from the big 100!! Cant explain how that is feeling right now!

Good marching soldiers and hope everyone is coping as well as they can! Be happy, be safe, kind regards, Cliff

Day 159....nothing is going to make me gamble again I used to think it was my friend, my escape from the real world. Utter horse S**t

Hi All, sorry I missed check in last week but I was that busy I forgot, what with work then I was away Friday for the weekend.

I am checking in for this week Day 98 clean.

Hope you are all doing well. Thanks D.

CannaeWin so glad you have joined the challenge. I love your resolve, the first days seem the hardest and you'll soon be marching along passing milestones! Day 11 today keep up the good work .

Bealesy as triangle said please post again when you have read the first page and feel ready to commit. Tell us how many days you are gamble free and then I'm sure Mr B will add you to the challenge at the weekend. Keep posting and gain strength and coping strategies from all the strong people on the challenge and throughout the forum.

Triangle it's good to see you posting and sounding positive. Glad GA is helping. Enjoy the good days 🙂 Keep up the good work.

Wolf57 Enjoy York, it's a great city. You are doing so well - enjoy your well earned freedom.

Shorty8 You said it re gambling! (Made me smile!) Well done on 159 days, brilliant. I really hope you are enjoying your recovery and your new real life.

D70 So glad you are back. A new century club member on Saturday! Yippee.

Wolfgang You and Lou are still in my thoughts and prayers. Love each other through this and stay firm in your resolve. X

Sending positive thoughts to you all. Hope your week is going well. Love Mama B xx

Hope your all well.

Checking in 381 GF days.

Del 🙂

Checking inn day 3. Here we go again 🙂