2014 Challenge

Checking in. Still marching.

Elfie x

Checking in people, better week this week. Happy weekend folks

CW

Day 225 check in! Good luck all!

Day 27 Am in this for the long haul!

Checking in on day 28 gamble free.

Craig

Checking in on day ......just a mo! It's 136!

Sorry, builders only left late yesterday eve and still not 100% finished, still sooo much to do so just a quick check in for me today.

Still GF, still not that bothered by it and still happy to be marching forward to a gamble free future, abstaining one day at a time.

Hope all fellow soldiers are doing well and coping with the march, with its ups & downs....stay strong and look forward only.

Many thanks again Mr B for such great write ups,

Kind regards all, Cliff

First time to checkin! Checking in on day 1.

Thank you guys for this amazing thread, you can totally count me in for this fight. My name is Jelle, 21 years old and I am gambling for like 3 years now. I had my clean periods but relapsed every time. My hobbies are creating Apps(which is my awesome job too!), gaming, watching movies and hanging out with friends and roommates. I also study Informatics.

I hope everyone is holding out this week, and good luck to all in the upcoming week! Till next week,

Jelle

Good afternoon everyone,

Checking in with another successful gamble free week. Great to see loads of new members to this challenge and I am very pleased to see the returning soldiers marching on to victory. Keep up the good work and have a great weekend.

Mike

Checking in day 97. Approaching the ton,will tick off the milestone then move on with my guard up 🙂

Evening everyone,

Hope all are having a great weekend - welcome to our 2 newest soldiers - Jelle and Matty - you will be formally welcomed tomorrow!

Still waiting on 8 soldiers for check in this week - needs to be a busy Saturday night!! Just over 5 hours to go!!

Have a good one all,

Mr B

Checking in on day????? Changed my phone so lost my clean time counter 🙁 think its 432 or 433.

Hope your all well

Del 🙂

Late one on hols with family checking in not sure of days over 250 now great update home tomorrow night . Marching on staying strong hitthefanx

Checking in on day 213 with a big hangover lol.

Have a great day all.

Steve

Checking In ... Day 129

Suzy

Good morning fellow soldiers!!

So we find ourselves in mid-October and marching towards the end of 2014 then into a gamble free 2015. Setting the aspiration of where you want to be at a moment in time i.e. 3 months, 6 months, 12 months is great, but for some, if not all of us, this is a day to day battle. This week we have a couple of new soldiers joining us plus a “old friend” rejoining the ranks - it’s a “one day at a time” journey folks, using these pages and the people that write on them for support, but the hard work is down to you and your determination to stop. Create as many distractions and barriers to gambling as you can, but keep reminding yourself that as long as you do not gamble today then you are doing brilliantly.

Yesterday was a big day for me. It wasn’t a milestone or a birthday or anything like that, but it was a significant day in my recovery journey in a couple of ways. Firstly, Mama B and I had a “handover ceremony”! We decided that the time was right for me to take my bank card back. Sounds weird doesn’t it? A 42 year old stating the significance of having a bank card in their wallet. It’s the first step for me in taking control of my finances and the first time I’ve had access to additional monies in the whole of 2014. The psychological barrier is still there in that Mama B has access to my online banking and can see all activity on the account - she is still the accountant! The benefits of this barrier, coupled with a sustained period of abstinence are very evident for me - technically speaking I am now debt free from the loans, credit cards and overdrafts that were dragging me down when I admitted to my gambling problems last December. I think as compulsive gamblers we get to a point where we “accept” that debt is a bi-product of our behaviour and addiction……..but we don’t actually realise the negative impact it has on us - we maybe think we do, but the liberating feeling of planning positive use for money is incredible. Please take the positive intent from what I’m saying here - I’m a million miles away from bragging or boasting about where I find myself financially, I’m merely trying to strengthen your resolve if you do have gambling related debt and intensify your determination to rid yourself of it………and the only guaranteed way you can do that is via total abstinence.

Going back to the opening paragraph of this week’s update……yesterday was also a big day for me as it served as a timely reminder that it doesn’t matter how many clean days you have behind you, you are just one behaviour, one decision, one temptation and/or one opportunity away from gambling again…….and that the pull of gambling is still there. To remove the “time” element from the triangle on a Saturday I’ve now packed my afternoon with things to do with my 4 year old daughter. Yesterday was no different…….lunch at Mama and Papa B’s, into the car, drive to a town about 10 miles away (alarm bells ring!), drop the wee one off at a dance class, get my laptop and head to Costa Coffee to begin working on the weekly update, pick her up, drive back home……you get the picture! However………….at 2.45pm yesterday I found myself standing outside Costa have a cig (another bad habit - sorry!), 40 and a bank card in my wallet………and realising that Costa was sandwiched (pardon the pun!) between branches of Hilly Will and Bradlokes. The 10 mile alarm bells are to do with self exclusion - I’m not excluded from those branches. Time, check, money, check, location, check. I found myself doing two things……..the first being to simply stand there looking at them both and repeating over and over - “I cannot win because I cannot stop”………..and the second was to get my bank card out. Maybe it was a timely thing that I got it back yesterday……….and as I was repeating our well used mantra I looked at the bank card and realised that it represented the trust of my family and the significance of who I would be letting down if I chose to give in to the temptation……..and the main one was the person’s name on the bank card, let alone all the others who now believe in me. I finished my cig, finished my coffee and skipped to pick my daughter up - funnily enough with a significantly bigger buzz than the one I would have should I had chosen a different option. So, this morning I got up and repeated the promise I made to myself each day I woke up over 300 days ago……..”today I will not gamble”. It’s as significant today as it was over 10 months ago. It is one day at a time no matter where you are on the journey.

Onto the this week’s update then - I’ll cover the headlines, new and returning soldiers, milestones and the roll of honour.

Headlines for this Week……..

We’ve ended the week having slipped just below the 30 soldier mark………..there’s 29 of us marching into the new week. We had 6 soldiers who never returned to base camp last week but we had 4 join or rejoin us to make up the numbers. This gives us a retention of 81% for the week and means that each one of us carries 149 days of being clean from gambling into the next 7 days. Collectively, the 29 of us have been stopped for exactly 12 and a quarter years, while the challenge has now delivered a total of more than 31 years of gamble free living. Trending tells us that we will move back over the 30 soldier mark this week………..hopefully the trends will come through and we’ll begin to push on again in advance of Christmas. It’s an important time for us to remain strong and together with the pressures and expectations that Christmas brings.

New and Returning Members

For the first time in a few weeks we welcome 2 brand new members this week. Matty1658 brings nearly a month of abstinence with him, while Jelle is very early in the recovery journey. It’s great to have you both with us and I hope that you get the benefit and support from being in a group of like minded people. Please ensure that you are using this challenge as an additional incentive to remain gamble free and that it becomes an additional conscience.

Welcome back to ringerbell (global traveller!!) - good to see you back in the ranks RB and that things seem to be going so well - awesome amount of money raised for Clodagh!

Finally, I’m personally delighted to see StoneRoses at base camp once again. There’s people you come across in these pages that you know are determined to stop, but that will need a few goes at it before they find the formula that is right for them to do so. 6 days into the journey SR and it’s great to know that you are building the infrastructure around you to support your recovery. Continue to tap into it and know that they are invested in you. You have so much optimism for the future that will be hampered with gambling - graduation, job, friends, partners…….all offering you an amazing life. Stick in mate………you wanna be adored………but remember that when your heart is black and broken and you need a helping hand……..we are here!!

Milestones Celebrated and to Be Celebrated……….

In the week past, the following people have celebrated some big milestones…….

duncanmac ploughed through the 50 week mark and is now only 12 days away from celebrating a full year of abstinence. A week on Friday duncs and we will be celebrating with you………it’s a scary thought, but it will be Halloween!! Lol! Congratulations on your wins fella - can’t wait to share the next big one with you!

delboygolf marched past 30 weeks of being gamble free. Mr Consistent for check in will be three quarters of a year free if he keeps up his amazing work by the end of 2014. Well done DBG!

John64 and mjc1974 both reached the 20 week mark in the last 7 days. A couple of brilliant posts by you guys during the week just shows your continued determination and what it means to you. It’s brilliant to know that by the end of next month you’ll both be half a year without a bet - seriously good going!!

In the coming week, the following people will have a milestone day……..

Wolf57 will reach 20 weeks on Thursday. Brilliant going Cliff!!

MarkieB10 on check in this coming Wednesday (and it needs to be Wednesday mate!) will join the Century Club and be the latest person in the group to march into triple figures. Looking forward to it MarkieB!

CannaeWin will hit double figures of weeks next Sunday - 10 weeks is great going CW! You are beginning to win soldier………..maybe the name change to CanWin is coming!

The Roll of Honour for the Week…….

Here are the soldiers marching into the new week and onto freedom:-

Name Clean Days

Happy Days 311

Lostafortune 226

Mr Brightside 315

Del79 433

Duncanmac 353

rst94togo 34

Hitthefan 260

Baggins 231

Triangle 220

Ringerbell 220

Scambling 316

Delboygolf 213

Gladsdad 8

Pinky333 125

help2604 166

Mo 31

Chirst21 29

John64 142

Wolf57 136

StoneRoses 6

Elfie17 118

SuzyLemon 129

markieb10 97

mjc1974 145

ccw95 80

CannaeWin 63

AndyJ 33

Matty1658 28

Jelle 2

Drum roll………total days free of gambling since the Challenge began……….

11413 Days = 0.5765 million GBP in our pockets………………..0 GBP in the bookies!!!

That’s the update for this week then folks…………only 11 more to go before the 2014 Challenge concludes! 11 more check ins, 11 more updates, 11 celebrations of freedom and recovery………..it’s down to us to make sure we close out the year in a sensational way……….and really stick the fingers up to the gambling industry and show them that recovery from their dirty hands is possible!

Have a brilliant week everyone, stay strong, stay together and celebrate every day you don’t gamble!

Check in is open for the new week,

Mr Brightside