2015 Challenge

day 11 gamble free :-).........just checking in......

Hello All

Hi Rachel - enjoy your bed 🙂

Hi Carl - I'm 29 too and owe about £28.5 k so about the same as you........here's to giving up and getting that debt down as quick as possible.....i hope by 2017 - 2018 to be debt free.

Checking in on day 64(over 9 weeks!) gamble free.

Gambling still continues to feature in my dreams where im winning at the Casino etc but i am determined that will only remain in my dreams!

Im only 3 payments away from clearing one of my credit cards that defaulted when i was gambling and i couldnt be happier, almost another debt i can cross off a long list!

Fantastic to see all the newcomers, remember this is a fight for life - not just a January news years resolution that will fall by the wayside!

Greg

Hi all,

Checking in today having completed 40 full weeks gamble free. Today is Day 279 - it can be done with the right support. I could never envisage getting far as I was a daily, heavy gambler on FOBT's. My life revolved around them (ashamedly) and if I wasn't gambling on them I was thinking of ways to get money to gamble on them.

My GA meeting starts again tonight after breaking for Christmas Day and New Year - I wouldn't be able to get any period of abstinence without their support, programme and help. I urge anyone to give it a go - it mightn't be for you but you won't know til you try. If you can put as much effort into GA and abstinence as you put into gambling, the programme will work.

Enjoy the peace and being gamble free.

A belated congratulations to Ringerbell and triangle who both reached 300 days yesterday, huge achievement and shows all the new soldiers just what can be achieved! Also well done to SuzyLemon who has hit 30 weeks today! Also Garyl1976 congratulations on 40 weeks, I must admit I had that down as tomorrow, so maybe my count for you is wrong?

Keep the check ins coming in and just a reminder to lors2009, I need a count of how many days you are gamble free in order to add you to the challenge.

Thanks Bornagain,

My last bet was on the Thursday (probably about this time - Grand National meeting) so I guess the full 40 weeks is tomorrow in reality.

Just one day at a time though.

Checking in, been a tough week or so but still gamble free.

Dino x

Hello all,

Checking in for the 3rd week of gambling free , yap that's 21 days since my last bet.

My story started 10 years ago in States, when I used to go to some casinos with friends to chill out. At that time was just fun, but after months and months it became part of my life. I started to play online slots, making small bets, and ending up by playing £8 stake on slots. I had maybe months of not gambling in the past, but my real problem was that maybe after weeks and weeks of no gambling, to go online and kill those slots, and in my bad days I was chasing my losses so bad that I ending up spending maybe 1k,1.5k or even 2k in a day. Now I am looking back and I learn alot from those days. Great help from all the members here as well, helped me to go gambling free up to now. I feel strong and ready for many days, weeks, months and years without betting a penny. Good luck to all solders!

@Bornagain

Thank you for the reply:

TickFollowsTock your post is interesting, I think over thinking the past and stressing too much over our losses can lead us back into gambling. We all start this journey of recovery with huge debts, lies and lives full of secrecy. I believe the only way forward is to come clean to ourselves and our loved ones. Set a manageable repayment plan for your debts and try to allow some cash to be left for more positive activites in your free time. Don't beat yourself up about the past, the moneys gone, we have wasted too much time chasing our losses, now its time for us all to have some happiness and in recovery there will be ups and downs, but there will be plenty of happiness ahead.

Some really great stuff in there, and very good advice, that helped a lot, very perceptive of you but I'm guessing its because you understand the beast and been through it. I'm trying to not overthink, regret and beat myself up. I've lost enough to gambling and stress of examining it will put me in a early grave so thank you for highlighting that, it honestly made me stop, step back and breathe deeply, it helped, cheers!

In time I suppose as the last incident becomes more distant behind me and I'm not having to budget so very tightly - when I shouldn't have too - my slight self resentment and mood will lighten up, like how I was before I became strangely a slave to gambling, so just going to try and go forward steady..... Day 5 today.

Keep your smile on and your guard up, fight for the 'life without gambling' prize.

All the best to you all.

Hi All,

Checking on on day 10 = double figures now 🙂

Mel x

Hi all,

Day 4 is almost complete and I'm feeling positive. I'm starting to realise that if I can kick this gambling habit then everything else in my life will fall back into place. It will take time and I need to get a debt management plan put in place but I feel that posting on this website is helping me think through my problems each night rather than ignoring them. I suggest anyone else who is struggling should do the same. Particularly those people who are no doubt visiting this forum without getting round to posting themselves yet. Just do it! It does help!! And the support is great!

Keep strong!

Honk

Checking inn day 27 🙂 hope everyone doing ok

Quick checkin for me - day 16. Hope everyone is doing well.

i've reached 302 days today checking in with that number

sounds good but i'm not taking it for granted

been a few ups and downs lately which i've shared more in my diary

its great to see the progress we're all making

whatever you do put 100% effort into your stopping gambling

Well done Triangle..it's great when milestones are met. On to to the next one!

Just checking in on day 21 still feeling good about giving up. And my wife knows the full story now so it's made me worry less, which in turn has kinda broken the circle a bit,no more gambling because I am stressed, then stressed because I ve gambled,and so on....plus normally losing a lot of my hard earned cash.

Anyway stay focused people we can do this.