2014 Challenge

Hey Mr B, Lou here checking in on Day 104 Gamble free. Massive congrats to all the newbies on continuing to post and keeping the rest of us on our toes.

Continuing thanks to my Buddy, Mr B for all the hard work keeping this thread going - you must have a pile of spreadsheets on the go!

Still painting, cleaning and sorting so plenty to keep me busy and gamble free. Strength Everyone.x

Hey everyone

Just a very last minute check in this week at work currently so I'll have to keep this short, having a good week and have had no temptations to gamble at all and although I shouldn't really being doing this I have actually been convincing some people at work purchasing lottery to either not or buy less 😉 bad me hey... I now feel proud to have a good solid number of days behind me and and happy to share it with the world. Wish everyone well and hope it's a good week

All the best

Batman

38 days clean today ! 😀

Hi everyone checking in 28 days gamble free! I'm feeling good and I'm not having any urges to gamble at all at the moment.well done everyone on here and keep it up people!

Hi All

'Checking-In'

A tough couple of weeks but i've held strong.

Happy and proud to report: 120 days - NO GAMBLING

Cheers

Craig

I'm just writing the update Craig........but seeing your post made me break away from it........boy am I glad to hear from you. Been thinking about you lots mate.

Take care and catch up soon,

Mr B

Joanna you have a brilliant idea there, I am sure such a function would help many people. Well done keeping gamble free and well done to all with their brilliant days totals that Mr B is probably summarising right now.

There is a young person posting asking for help on the Ask Gamcare thread, it's in the wrong place really as I guess many posters won't see it there, but I am sure he would welcome some responses if anyone can offer him some support. x

Late check in - sorry Mr B!! Had a little wobble yesterday, but got through it. 112 days and hanging in there. Will write moreWhen able, it's not been easy this week, been ill and stressed, think it led to feelings of desperation yesterday but I didn't gamble and that's the most important thing.

Joanna - I have often thought that a PM option would be a great addition to the forum, top shout. I also think that due to the general supportive nature of forum there wouldn't be much abuse taking place.

Gamcare staff who may be reading this thread - can this be taken forward?

Hey T_R and everyone.......I was just about to post this week's update and saw that The_Rock had checked in.........and because I feel for him after a tough week and a terrible result for his team yesterday (and mine 🙁 ), I'm going to revisit the numbers, change a bit of text and post the update in the next half hour or so.

Mr B.

Sorry for being a nuisance Mr B! Genuinely appreciate your efforts though, what a horror show eh?!! think that also n contributed to my low mood :-/

Hi everyone!

Well we’re about to move into the last full week of another month……..one that will take us almost a quarter of the way into the year!! Our experience as a group across January and February tells us that this coming week, and especially weekend, is the most difficult week of the month…….it’s pay day for most of us and when there’s money in the bank and access to it, then that spells danger for the group! In the same week last month we lost 10% of the group……….something I don’t want to see this group of soldiers repeating this coming week!

So here are the headlines for this week……..

It’s been another record breaking week for the team, in nearly all of our key success measures. With a significant milestone reached in our collective days and money saved for the team, double figures reached in terms of members of members of the Century Club, more than half of the team are now over 50 days clean and incredibly, 2 members who have now gone more than 6 months completely free from gambling. Our total days of being free has increased by 25% in one week alone!!!

While we started the week with 30 members and finished it with 31 members, there has been a shift of 5 in those numbers i.e. 5 of the team who started last week missed check in, but have been replaced by 3 new members and 3 returning soldiers. So the measure that’s taken a bit of a dent is our retention number which came in at only 83% this week. It is however amazing to be talking about being disappointed at an 83% retention when we reference a group of compulsive gamblers who are trying as hard as we are to remain free………..that shows the power that we have as a team and will hopefully give the new soldiers hope that they too can achieve their ambition of remaining clean for a lengthy period.

We are going into the last full week of the month with a team of 31, who have all got an average days clean of 71 days (up 17% on last week!) and with a collective freedom from gambling of just over 5½ years!

Welcome to the new and returning soldiers………

Firstly I’d like to welcome 3 new members of the team……..Robby Box, Spaingone and davey. As at tomorrow (Monday), all 3 of the new soldiers will have broken through their first week - a really significant milestone and one I’m sure is generally regarded as one of the most difficult. We’re delighted to have you as part of the team guys………and as with previous weeks……..the huge ask of you all is to remember when temptation comes your way that you are part of this team now and have a responsibility not just to yourselves, but also to us to resist that temptation and stay strong, be proud to be recovering and to use this thread or your diary to talk rather than gamble.

I’d also like to welcome back 3 of our original group, 2 of whom have been missing for a few weeks. AdamPrice, leedsv and lec101 are all very well respected members of the team and it was with a heavy heart I dropped you guys off the list when check in was missed……..I always knew you’d be doing fine! Some big milestones missed to congratulate you on……..Adam on your half century and Lou/leeds……..I’ll catch you guys in the milestones list for this week!

There were another 4 potential new members of the team who didn’t manage to re-post after expressing an interest in joining the team. Georgec123, aimzlfc, Shorty8 and Hally, we would be delighted to have you with us. The only ask is that you read the general rules on the first page of the thread and you post once during the week before 3pm next Sunday.

The 2014 Challenge Gathering………..

I’ve been thinking lots about the chance that we could get together as a group at some point early in 2015 to celebrate our varying lengths of time being gamble free. Having something organised and to look towards may give us an added incentive to stay clean through the year…..and give us some time to save for it! I am very conscious that this site gives us real anonymity though, so in order to protect that and still be able to communicate with people in relation to it, I’ve set up a Hotmail email address for people who are interested in going. If you would like to attend, please email me on [email protected] and let me know what city/town you live in, where would be the furthest you would be willing to travel to, whether you would want accommodation and also if you would want to bring a partner. From this I will gauge the level of appetite, the most central location to those thinking about attending and also the numbers we could potentially be looking at. I will never post the details or plans of the get together on the Gamcare site so that those attending would retain confidence that, apart from other attendees, no-one else would ever know the when or the where of the event. Over to you team!!

On to the milestones for this week then……..

It’s been the biggest week ever for milestones for the team - here they are so we can all celebrate!!:-

redeemed - has smashed the 6 month barrier now and joins Delboy as our only members of the ½ year club! Congratulations redeemed, what an amazing achievement!

No maybe - Julie hit the 150 day mark and is now heading towards 6 months! Awesome Julie and many congratulations……we’re all still walking behind you! (Not at Candy Crush though, where some of us are in front of you now! Lol!)

Scambling, Lec101, Hardtimes, BabyBlueSky, Happy Days and me - all 6 of us joined the Century Club this week taking the membership of the club to a dozen! It felt great to post for me on Tuesday and I know the other guys must be feeling equally as proud! It’s even better to know we’re on this journey together and know the stages we’re going through!

Bornagain - Phil conquered 3 months clean from gambling…….13 weeks that have brought about much positive change in his life! A daily post on his diary and some fantastic support on this thread, you are such an asset to this challenge Phil and I’m so delighted that you are doing so well - the big milestone for you though comes this week……….more on that soon!

Hitthefan - last, but certainly not least is HTF………as of today, HTF is a member of the 50+ club!! Really well done HTF…….it doesn’t seem 2 minutes since you joined us, yet here you are!! We’re really proud of you soldier and so made up that you are one of us!

Milestones and diary dates for this coming week……….

It’s not the busiest of weeks as far as the recognisable milestones are concerned (calendar month, 50 days, 70 days/10 weeks, 13 weeks/3months, 100 days etc.) but for the guys early on your journey as well as for those who are a bit further along the way, every day without gambling is a milestone, a victory, an achievement……..and a reason for us to celebrate with each other!

So, the milestones are these……….

Wednesday 26th March - leedsv reaches 13 weeks of being gamble free………or exactly 6 months……and joins the other 2 guys in the half a year club!! Lots of posts that day leeds!

Thursday 27th March - Bornagain (Phil) becomes the 13th member of the Century Club!! It’s a big one mate and one that I personally can’t wait to post to you about!!

Awards for the week………

I’m going to offer three awards this week:-

Leader of the Week………is an absolute no brainer for me and goes to redeemed. To be a great leader you need to have followers………and from your enthusiasm on this thread, your regular posts on others diaries, your care of other people on the forum……..and the fact that you are now past the 6 month mark……..we are following you Sir! Many congratulations again on the milestone redeemed and for being a great Leader among our growing army!

Idea of the Week………is one that has only just popped on the thread this afternoon and having thought about it is a really great call. Baggins (Joanna) has suggested that Gamcare, when upgrading the site, put a Private Message facility on the site that could be used when you want to send something a bit more personal (and maybe exchange details?). I think it’s a brilliant idea and from the subsequent posts others do to……….what about it Gamcare?? Idea of the Week goes to Joanna!!

Heroes of the Week…………it’s an award I’ve made before this week, but for reasons I’ll quickly explain, it’s one that means so so much to me today. The Heroes of the Week are our families and loved ones. 5 years ago today I lost my younger brother to a mental health issue that saw him take his own life. The family have never been the same since and the stress, tension and distress this has caused and continues to cause will leave very deep scars that will never heal. I said at his funeral that I wanted to make him proud………and along with him, there’s my mum and dad, wife, kids, sister and other family and friends I feel have let down over the years with gambling being part of the core…………..I’m sure nearly every single one of you have felt the same feeling, and maybe still do. So this week I selfishly make the award……..to all the people I want to make proud……….and to all the people that my fellow soldiers want to make proud…………..and through this to feel pride in ourselves…………..our Heroes of the Week, the Month, the Year and our lives……………..our families, our partners, our loved ones and our friends.

Sorry for being a bit heavy.

Onto the roll of honour for this week………….

Here are the members and numbers for our team as at today!!

Name Days Clean

The_Rock 112

Hardtimes 103

babybluesky 103

bornagain 96

Happy Days 101

2012theyear 120

lostafortune 16

No Maybe 151

Mr Brightside 105

rst18 57

Delboy79 223

Redeemed 183

Batman 38

Hitthefan 50

mjpsmummy 25

luckygirl 33

newhorizon71 28

Baggins 21

ToBeOrNot 30

Kickitnow 18

NoCrisis 9

triangle 10

Scambling 106

ringerbell 10

delboygolf 13

lec101 104

leedsv 179

AdamPrice 60

RobbyBox 8

Spaingone 6

davey 10

Our missing soldiers are -

ram90

Manup75

FlyingFox1

Strange

Silverlining

I’m pretty sure that most, if not all of you are still free from gambling, so c’mon guys - get checking in regularly and we hope you are doing well!

So, drum roll………total days free of gambling is……….

2128 Days = £212,800 in our pockets………………..£0 in the bookies!!!

So that’s the update for this week everyone! Sorry it’s a bit late but it’s been a tough day and family comes first……especially today. Our goals for this week then - I still believe it’s possible that by the end of March we can break through the £250,000 mark…………plus 90% retention and 35 members - those are the three challenges…….are we collectively strong enough to do it? It’s in OUR hands.

Check in is now open for week commencing 24th March……….I’m glad this week is over……….and I’m confident this is going to be a good week ahead! Be strong everyone!

Mr Brightside

Just read yo Sunday 23/3/2014 thread, inspirational, I hope I attain yo positivity in weeks to come

Great summary mrbrightside. I'm only early on my journey to giving gambling up but feel this challenge on here has helped me a lot. Added to the support I'm getting from my friends on the football forum I truely believe I can beat this.

In order to help me succeed I've started to help organise a charity event for a young girl here in Ireland who is suffering from cancer. I look at her and think my time and effort would be better spent helping her than lining the pockets of the bookies and without even knowing she is helping me through this as well.

Know its early but I want to check in now as I will be busy this week meeting people for this fundraiser. I will post on here when I am free 🙂

Wow! Mr Brightside I am delighted to have my 6 months honoured in such a way by you, and it has made me even more determined to continue on my path of abstinence, which is important as it feels wobbly sometimes. Thank you so much.

I too am bowled over by everyone's achievements, the team totals are inspirational and knowing that we all contribute to the team effort certainly helps to keep me focused.

Mr Brightside, congratulations on your centenary milestone. It has been a difficult time for you personally this week, yet you have still held us together as a team, analysed the figures, and produced a highly positive summary as well as encouraging newcomers on their first steps forward. So I salute you! The summary is always enjoyable to read and the thread has come a long way from your early post suggesting it, when you thought only 4 people might join it. You must be very proud to have made a difference to over 30 people. Thank you for everything you do, and helping me live up to my nickname.

Redeemed x

PS I'm a lady, by the way. x

Another great summary Mr Brightside - thank you so much, and also thank you for my nomination for Idea of the Week! Hope something comes of it; I did also suggest on the feedback thread that we have a 'View New Posts' to help us re-visit former 'conversations' especially with newcomers. The other day I replied to a young woman in distress only to find that my message has got buried somewhere and cannot trace it anywhere.

Anyway I digress - back to the Challenge.

Many congratulations to all those marvellous milestones this week and a big thank you to you Mr B for all your hard work in collating our achievements and your encouragement.

It really is a highlight of my week to read your comments every Sunday. Today's with your references to family and friends was especially moving. Bless you, and the best of wishes to you and all 2014 Challengers for the coming week.

Joanna