I slipped up again today. That is it now, hopefully. Fresh new start tomorrow so starting again and hoping for the best. Have no money to gamble anyway so not sure if that counts!
Day 30.
Checking in. Take care all and so will I.
Just for today, tomorrow and forever, I will not gamble.
Feb.
I'd like to join the challenge. I'm day 17 now and doing well, feeling positive. Online slots were my kryptonite and I chose no longer to live a life of lies and sleepless nights. Tried to give up a couple of times but did not have the proper barriers and support in place; things different now and in a completely different place. I will see this challenge out and put my name down for 2017!
Best wishes to all in their recovery xx
I would like to join the challenge! This is day 1 for me and think the first few days/ weeks will be the real struggle to start with but willing to do it. Sports betting was the real downfall for me. Betting on horses, tennis, football, greyhounds. This is my first real step to attempting to stop gambling.
Check in on day 290
Checking in on day 324......
Checking in on day 2 !
Checking in day 22
Well done Stephen :)))
Suzanne xx
Day 54 check in
Day 90 checking in!
Keeping myself busy and checking my online bank account every day. Chipped away at nearly £800 since new year and can see that if I carry on then will get out of it in a year or two. Need to keep focused!!!
Today, Saturday, is day 3 for me. Bloody hell this is hard
mrbrightside wrote:
Hi everyone!
Just thought I'd pop in and say hi to you all and wish everyone in the challenge the strength to get through each day this year gamble free.......it truly is a one day at a time journey.
I can't believe that it's been over 2 years that the challenges began on this site and I've still got many reasons to be thankful I found it. My profile will tell you that I'm nearly 780 days without gambling - the truth is that in among those days I had 1 where I did. Early September 2015 for some reason saw me step into a random bookies and lose a couple of hundred quid on a fobt. It was a real wake up call - complacency is the enemy. The triangle still applies........in fact, I now have a square and not a triangle. At the fourth corner is common sense. Take away money, you can't gamble, take away a location, you can't gamble, take away time, you can't gamble, take away common sense, you want to gamble. I find I still want to gamble.....I try to convince myself I don't miss it, but at times I do. Maybe "missing it" isn't the right way to describe it - I'm not sure what I miss, the buzz, the anticipation etc. What I don't miss is waking up with the gambling dread - that "I've just been punched in the stomach gut wrenching feeling accompanied by the sweats" - if you're reading this then you know the one. Anyway, back to common sense......alcohol takes away my common sense - it was that corner of my square that collapsed first.......I had a bit of money in my pocket, I had half an hour before my train and I was in a major city 30 miles from home - perfect storm.
You need to believe you can do it - letting in any doubt, trying to justify another bet, making excuses - all will end with just one more punt. It can be done........stopping can be achieved.......even though the want may still be there. Don't beat yourself up about what you've lost, it's gone. No matter who or what you are, you can't influence what happened yesterday. You can influence today........and today and every day, tell yourself, today I will not bet. Keep the square strong.
When I joined GamCare, I was more than £30k in debt, I was separated from my wife and daughter, my performance at work was dreadful and my relationships with the people who meant the most to me were distant at best.
Two years on and in April this year I will pay my final gambling debt off. I will celebrate this by taking my wife and daughter out for some food and looking forward to our holiday this year. I will drive to work, to my new work that is, in a promoted role in a new company. I will continue to keep my guard up by phoning my mum daily. She will no doubt give me an update on my accounts - after all, she has been looking after them for over two years now. She still scrutinises my withdrawals - thankfully. I have got over the loss of privacy as to my financial affairs - if I was truly serious about stopping then it was something I simply had to do. I could not trust myself with finances that others could not see.
I am not bragging, I am not being provocative, I am hopefully giving you reasons to believe. You need to create the conditions in which you can succeed. No secrets. the humility to know when you need help. The consequence of you don't.
I truly hope that you succeed in your endeavours and can come through this. You've made a great start by being on this forum and in this challenge. I no longer count the days, I make the days count.
Be safe, be free and be square!
Tri, Suzanne, DelBoyGolf....and all the other "old timers" so great to see you going strong.
I'm Mr Brightside.
Congratulations! An interesting read!
Checking in day 363! 2 days left until the year mark! I'll check back in then with abit of an insight of how my year without gambling has changed my life for the better!
Checking in day 3 !
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