2014 Challenge

Well done ram on day 12 its really is nice when the clouds start to lift isnt it?

Linda

Thank you Mr b for accepting on this thread! Feeling so much more positive for being here.

Its good to see so many of us hitting new milestones week by week. The initial group is still going strong and we are picking up new members along the way. Payday is tomorrow for a lot of us so we all need to stay strong and beat any temptation! We are almost through two months, life changing months where we have made changes and are now living life rather than existing in misery.

2013 Phil wouldn't be able to sleep tonight, he would be sat up all night studying race cards and planning the big bets for tomorrow. I would probably have booked the day off work or called in sick. I would have woken up at 6am full of excitement, its payday I have a large gambling kitty and I am going to win big! 11am I would be in the bookies betting on the first dog race of the day. Just a few 20 pound bets I would be thinking, save the big bets for the racing later on. By 12am I would be 400 down, I would be saying to myself just find two winners and I am back. My bets would now be 100 a race and if I didn't get a winner soon I would be going home. Sometimes I would win it back, usually it would all be gone by 2-3pm. If I did win I wouldn't leave the bookies until they closed. Then the same pattern would follow the next day. I don't think my wages ever lasted more than 2 days, a months hard work wasted in a bookies time and time again. Then a month of boredom and emptiness would follow. The lies I told destroyed my relationship, hurt my family and cost me all my friends.

2014 Phil...... Payday tomorrow and I am not excited. I still have money in the bank from last months wages. I will sleep tonight, I will wake up at a normal time and I wont have the urge to go to the nearest bookies. I wont have to lie next month, I wont have to let anyone down, I wont have to borrow money off anyone. I will be able to socialise and enjoy days and nights out. My debts are getting paid and I am a lot happier.

2014 Phil is so much better, thanks to everyone on this challenge because its inspired me and really helped me to progress and beat this addiction.

Hi challengers day 26 today and 29 Sunday . Thanks to all and mr b this has been a big incentive for me and kept me focused . Congrats to all . Keeping up the rear hitthefanx

Born again (Phil) I can relate to your last post so much and reminds me of myself as a gambler on the dogs and horses over the 25 years of gambling. Hard month at work only to see it wasted away in a couple of days at the beginning of the month.

Misery, lies, more lies and hurting so many people was a regular occurrence as a compulsive gambler.

We are all doing great and may our strength continue well in to the future.

Mike

hey all

Glad to see we are having another great week! long may it continue.

Checking in on day 80!

Linda

Hi Team,

Sorry I have been kind of quiet this week, feeling a bit under the weather!!!!! Dam man-flu....

Glad to see the strength continue to grow in our GF world 🙂

Del checking in 200 GF days 😉

Well done on 200 del! I hope you are over the manflu soon! Linda

Well done to Del and Linda on 200 and 80 days gamble free respectively. Great stuff

Mike

Bornagain....i had to have a little smile to myself when i saw myself right in your 2013 shoes....i was that man...i remember the exact same excitement - and the huge rush and then the massive let down.

glad to be free and loving life again

Feel Good Friday check-in for me 🙂

Day 97 - NO GAMBLING

A big Well Done to Del on 200 days.. Superb. Proud of ya mate

Cheers

Craig

Well I get paid tomorrow and will almost be in the black. I will make a very small dent in my overdraft . I will not gamble and I will not be getting out another zero percent credit card to see me through the month. I will not be gambling for the month of March. Have to say this month has not been easy but I feel as though I am heading in the right direction. This battle is even harder when you see stuff on tv about campaigns to prevent problem gambling. I sit there feeling guilty at what I have done but feel like shouting out, it's all too little too late!!

. However ! If it helps prevent future generations of people squandering their hard earned cash then all the better!

Just a quick check in, think I am on day 60 something very unsure lol know that it was the 29th Dec for my last gamble. Thank you Mr Brightside for you support and comments on my journal. Must admit keeping myself very busy all the time so very limited on my contact with the computer 🙂

Hope all goes well with everyone else and I wish you all a gamble free month/year/life 🙂

Good morning everyone!!!

So we're 36 hours away from final check ins for this week and I must admit that I'm getting excited about the update this week - my challenge will be not to bore you all with too many words and to contain my enthusiasm for a brilliant week.

We've got a few check ins to come, but I've got all the confidence that BBS, ashamed and lostafortune will be on to say hi and let us know how they are doing - all Saturday and Sunday "checkers"!! I must admit that I am wondering if BBS will have time to check in though - I think she's getting worried that I might overtake her on candy crush - there's a wee 3 way challenge going on that also includes Julie.......choo choo and all aboard girls.....I'm coming to get you!!

Derek the daddy checked in as predicted on 200 - congratulations mate it's just incredible going - we def need to get that beer arranged.......in fact, how about Friday 14th March? Glasgow......I will name a pub and a time and anyone that wants to be there can be there.....I'll wear a red rose!!! Lol!! Craig mate - would be good to see you and if BBS has given up with Candy Crush maybe she could git doon fae Aberdeen like?

AmandaG - so good to see you back girl!! Never thought you would have fallen.......but must admit was getting worried!! I've not got the spreadsheet to hand, but I think tomorrow will be day 64!! So here's a belated congrats on Day 50 and day 60......and a week today will be 10 weeks clean!!!

Strange - brilliant to see you back too and along with stop our missing soldiers are nearly all with us!! So pleased Strange - you're great for this team!

Apologies to some of the team who I've missed milestones on diaries and stuff - Lou, Linda, Derek etc. - it's been a mental week and I've not managed to thank everyone on my own diary yet!

mjpsmummy - of course you can stay with the challenge - it's a tool to help everyone no matter where you are in recovery....it's tough and a lapse isn't the end of the world.....a relapse is more of a challenge, however, please learn from what happened and try to put the prevention barriers in place - time, location, money - as the seasoned campaigners will rightly tell us, remove one of them and you simply can't gamble! Stay strong mrs and remember we're here for you - this is a team challenge, with commitments to self and team!!

Some brilliant posts on the thread this week - real thinkers!! I must admit that I much rather 2014 Phil and that while there's a bit of red v white provocation, ram90's closing comment on his check in are really humbling for all of us - thanks for sharing these guys.

Until tomorrow evening then everyone - have a great weekend.......

I am Mr Brightside.......I am a compulsive gambler......but I have not gambled for 83 days.......I will not gamble today.......I will not let myself or my loved ones down.......I will not let the team down either!

Clean for '14!!!!

Well done Del, 200 days is an amazing achievement, your life must have changed so much in that time.

Hope everyone's having a good weekend and still feeling strong about the challenge. Two months down ten to go!