5 years ago I joined Gamstop, I stopped going into bookmakers, something to this day I still don't do, did once pop into one for a chat with someone who worked behind the counter to see how they were then walked put again. I have luckily got gambling under control... Is the addiction still there? Absolutely but things are a million miles better than they were.
The last few years my partner has had a gambling account which I use with her permission (she doesn't gamble and has no interest in it) the account was purely for me but in her control so I had to ask for permission to deposit and she would always know of any deposits.
I rarely deposited but was on the site most days playing free games etc then playing around with whatever I won until it was either lost or withdrawn if I got upto a certain amount.
This made me wonder how much have I gambled the last few months without actually depositing? To my surprise it was still in the hundreds most months, had it cost me anything? No.. but the addiction was still ticking over.Â
So yesterday I closed the account... no more daily visits to the site. Is this the end of me gambling? No I don't fully think so, we have an evening at the races booked this summer to see a band my partner always wanted to see and we missed tour tickets.. again with her there everything is under control I know my limits everything is agreed before hand, we did similar when her family wanted to go to the dogs and it made for a great night where even if I lost I didn't care as it was budgeted for.
The challenge now is to see how this affects me daily? How bad was the addiction? How much did I need the daily free spin etc?Â
Let's see what the future holds, I'm lucky to have great support around me that I know can help me manage things, after the evening at the races let's see if we can be gamble free for a while
All the best to everyone out there
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Hey,Â
I guess that’s great you’re in control and you can still ‘gamble’ on a different level.Â
For me it’s all or nothing. I tried (and often failed) a huge amounts of times to stop. I got to 5 months GF and thought I was ok, be in control of it. Within a day I was back to my old gambling habits and worse!
As of today though I am now 263 days GF! I won’t even buy a raffle ticket, lottery ticket or even do the postcode lottery or anything minor like that, because I just know it could possibly (very likely!!) lead on to bad times again!Â
Well done for taking control though 💪🏼Â
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@cpparch thank you,Â
I guess where I have control is because I put that control Into someone else's hands, if it was all still in my hands then it probably wouldn't be the same story.
Well done on being GF for so long and finding what works right for you!
All the bestÂ
Control is key Brownie. 👍. Thousands of people gamble in a controlled manner which does not leave them penniless and in thousands of debt and, they enjoy it. Â For those of us who know that no matter how much we win, (myself included), this win only acts as a lone, then I feel it best to just not gamble at all. 🙂.
It sounds like you have such a supportive and sensible partner and a good agreement in place that does not seem to be harming either of you in any way?
Take care and stay strong and in control of your actions.
Pink Lady. 🩷🍎.
I think you should go to a physical GA meeting and meet some people in recovery to get a idea of the bigger picture.
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Just for today I will not gamble and be fooled into thinking salmon goes pink in the tin.Â
Â
Dave101
@j5a6meyr4z thanks Pink Lady
Yeah very supportive which is why I decided to close the account In her name. Feel after these years I owe it to her to make the break.
I'm very fortunate to be one of the lucky ones that can still be around gambling. I have a friend at work who got me Into gambling who still struggled massively, sadly he doesn't want to accept any help or see it as an addiction he just sees it as a hobby. No matter how low he has gotten or the support me and many others at work have offered we can't get him to see it.
@dave101 I know all about the bigger picture, I have been on here for a number of years, reading what gambling does to alot of people. I have taken part in various media when I was younger looking into the affects of mobile gambling in young people. I see everyday at work the affects it has on someone who can only see it as a hobby and not an addiction, who virtually has nothing apart from a rented accommodation as most their wages go to gambling, despite me sending him gamstop, gamban, GA meeting information etc he sadly doesn't want to stop.
I started gambling in my late teens and really lost control in my early 20s losing alot more than I could afford, for me the question was is it my relationship with gambling that is the issue or am I gambling because of my relationship issues.. When my relationship ended the gambling just seem to slowly stop, I replaced it with various things but I also got help through gamcare, counselling etc. I'm extremely lucky that as I matured I realised the affects of gambling on myself and those around me.
Like I said in my post I have realised that even though I wasn't depositing money through my partners account I was still on there daily "playing around" I accept that the only reason I have probably stayed in control is the fact I gave that control to someone else. I had to answer to them. Now I have decided to close that account to see how it feels to not be able to go on it every day and to really find out where I am nowadays with the relationship to gambling addiction.
All steps are positive, everyone has a different relationship with gambling and it has affected so many people in a tragic way.Â
All the bestÂ
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