2015 Challenge

triangle wrote:

[quote=triangle]

http://www.gamcare.org.uk/forum/gamcare-chatrooms-how-join-us

lol chat room sargeant, but i'm happy to encourage anyone to the Gamcare chatroom.

Wednesday 8pm - 9pm for the 2015 challenge chat but the room is open 8-9 most other days

Gamcare chatroom tonight 8-9 for anyone that can make it

If you can't try another night

Most nights there is a Gamcare supervisor on so generally someone to chat to

Something's come up tonight so won't be there. Please share how the chatroom goes tonight if your able to make it.

Hit 2 weeks gambling free today. Wish I could join the chat room later to get to know the group a bit better but I have to go out to dinner. Well done to everyone who is trying to stop. whether you have managed to get this far it not, keep trying. Stopping is the only way you'll ever win in the end.

Simon

Hi all,

Checking in on Day 16.

Mel x

"when your at your lowest and can't see a purpose, put your hand on your chest and if you feel a beat then there's your purpose"

Del, from the chatroom tonight

hello..newcomer coming into the challenge : let me post my thread of when i first came here all those months ago ,and then at the end i'll update where im at now ..enjoy the read :

hi, I am a 43 year old man , and I think I've been gambling since I was 11 or 12 . I started going to the penny arcades with my older brothers, and spending my paper round money in there, not just some of it all of it .Little did I know that would be the start of my gambling life. Even at that age I got a buzz ,winning some pennies, even a few pounds. At 14 I was into horses, getting my brothers to put bets on for me and yes winning again, it was always a win, as a gambler you'd only remember the win, and totally forgetting those losses, a win always got you 'high' and wanting more ..My late teens I married my teenage sweetheart , and at 21 I worked in a casino, as a croupier.3 years later my life came crashing down as I gambled our holiday money in the bookies resulting in my divorce , as my wife then went through a whole years bank statement and seen I spent a good 5k on gambling. Looking back I don't hate her for the straight divorce and not getting me help I needed, it was for the best and I went on my way ..Single life followed for the next 7 years, flitting in and out of relationships but nothing concrete, and myself changing my job path to something completely different and then my late 20's meeting my now 2nd wife whom I married in my early 30's ..We both have good jobs, good pay and we both enjoyed a flutter, going into a bookies, playing a fruit machine together and popping to a casino. We enjoyed our lives it was all under control, we had savings had good holidays and always had a nice house...Now with internet gambling about I started to play blackjack, roulette and bingo sites , and from my casino days I got into poker, money was flying out of my account and not enough going in to compensate our job earnings. I then had a lucky streak and won just over 6k from a series of football bets I had strung together. I think that was my downfall ,because I wanted more , within a month I'd wasted all of that , had a bank loan spent and maxed out a credit card ,I was in a spiral looking back of which that was very much going downhill...Only 2 years ago now , I opened up catalogue accounts and ordered whatever I could and sold them on e b a y ,all the money I'd received ended up in a bookie of some sort and I was by this time 30k in debt and couldn't find a way out .Now 8 months ago I approached a close friend who lent me 8k to get out of my catalogue hell because if you know someone who has one, its very difficult to get out of one because all a catalogue does is raise your limit every few months, it is never-ending !! Anyway back to that 8k I had borrowed , you guessed it I squandered it all, the whole 8k went in less than a week !!!!! looking back I was an a * s * and bet the lot just on internet blackjack .As a compulsive gambler you gamble to chase and I did that from the start, I was up only 400 in total but I wanted more, I wanted my 30k back to get me out of the mire I had gotten myself into, I didn't and the whole 8k was gone !!!!! Now from then I'm paying all those bills, credit card ,loan, catalogues and my friend , I am now at my wits end walking around the streets, thinking to myself what to do what to do !!!!!! Now after all this walking I end up on top of a cliff ,just walking and thinking then say to myself jump, it'll end it all, I laughed it off and went home. Now only a few nights later I'm absolutely drunk and I'm walking up the road to a path to the cliff ! I don't know how or what happened ,but 15 minutes later I am being woken up on the road by a passer by saying I had tripped over and banged my head resulting in me passing out .After a trip to A&E , I ended up home and crying my eyes out, was I going to kill myself !!??I'd never know , and I would have left my wife and 2 young girls without a husband/father ..Next day I confess to my friend(whom I borrowed the money off) about all I've done and the trouble I had got myself into ..Listening to me , my friend told me a few home truths ,lectured me and told me to get help..my friend paid off the catalogues and yes I owe them double but I've a good repayment scheme in place for me to pay everything off without me getting into debt or into trouble again !!

its taken me a good hour to write this, stopping and starting with a few sniffles in between of what could have been and my story hasn't finished yet , I've not been to the bookies in 15 days , I've done no internet gaming which I'm self excluded from every single site , and I have savings in the bank . I only came out to my wife a few days ago saying I'm a compulsive gambler and breaking down. She has told me too, to get help, which I've started to do ,I am seeing a counsellor this week and I come on here in the chat room and listen and to tell of my experiences .Surely for me the only way is up and if my story helps 1 person to admit their problems or get help, then I'm happy , well in a way it has helped 1 person..ME 🙂

Good evening guys

Just checking in. Over two weeks without a bet.

Feel much better for it, had a few thoughts and watched a few races but held together well.

My mood has improved too, seem more relaxed.

Strange feeling as I didn't feel different from when I had a load of £££. Earn money working hard, not punting, much better feeling.

I will Keep fighting...

AB

well i hope you get the gist of my life ..im on day 129 right now, and that is a tremendous feat for me ,i never knew i could kick gambling ,ive lost the internet urge, have a few interests i didnt have back then and im looking forward to a brighter lovely future 🙂 ..im looking forward to this thread and will check in a few times aweek ..hello ,from this compulsive gambler..happy new year people 🙂 let the year begin

Welcome to the two new soldiers brutus123C and lollypoplol. There are some amazing people on here and together we can support each other and build up more and more positive energy to help us make that choice not to gamble. Stick with the challenge and if you see it out special things will happen! Just a note lollypoplol, I'm a little confused as you said you've not been to the bookies in 15 days, but say you are on day 129? I need to know which count to use for the records.

Sadly I can't make the chatroom as I work evenings, but I hope it went well, I'm loving the quote from Del that Stephen posted. I have met Del for a beer and hes a top bloke and a real inspiration to all of us.

that was lollypop's first post when he joined the site and the follow up post is current status which is a gr8 count 129 days well done.

well done del

thanks for marshalling the chat room tonight

sargeant triangle 🙂

a small but very real success

each day i add is another success......

Wayne (LEST-WE-FORGET) DAY 18 GAMBLE FREE

Sorry lollypoplol, I didn't read your first post properly. Brilliant to see the progress you have made, day 130 today!

Checking in for this week...286 days completed by following the GA programme primarily.

Feeling really strong and in a good place; no urges to gamble but remain vigilant by keeping a close eye on these forums and keeping in touch with others with similar compulsions. Wake up with a strong desire to remain gamble free and go to bed satisfied that I have remained so.

Well done to everyone who's had a good week, and well done to those who have had a slip but come back. That's a great achievement as well rather than wallowing and deteriorating to bad habits.

Checking in on day 28. 2 check ins down, 50 to go! I still can't really believe my gambling explosion a month ago but hey ho. Been feeling pretty broke this week due to successful friends and felt slightly sick when the gf suggested I go on holiday. Still, I brought this upon myself!!

triangle wrote:

[quote=triangle]

[quote=triangle]

http://www.gamcare.org.uk/forum/gamcare-chatrooms-how-join-us

lol chat room sargeant, but i'm happy to encourage anyone to the Gamcare chatroom.

Wednesday 8pm - 9pm for the 2015 challenge chat but the room is open 8-9 most other days

Gamcare chatroom tonight 8-9 for anyone that can make it

If you can't try another night

Most nights there is a Gamcare supervisor on so generally someone to chat to

Something's come up tonight so won't be there. Please share how the chatroom goes tonight if your able to make it.

Should be in the chatroom tonight if anyone wants to join in!!

Tri, Sargeant at arms