complacency

Hi Chris,

4 weeks gamble free is a pretty good achievement, so well-done you!!

I agree on the dangers of complacency, because this addiction relies solely on the addict to return and is very rarely a peer pressure thing like some other addictions.

It can be like well I have kicked it for a few weeks or months, let me just have a small bet, because I know I can give up now because I have done it before.

During the initial stages of my recovery I learnt an important lesson during a relapse. I was out and was drawn into spending 20 in an arcade 'I will just spend 20 and then leave' . The 20 lasted about 2hours which is miraculous in itself, however the minute that 20 ran out without even thinking, I popped another 20 in. Five minutes later another 10. Something made me stop. I was so angry with myself that I had overspent, ok it was nothing like the 100s I would go through in the past but the pattern was starting to re-occur.

In some strange kind of way I am happy I had that little relapse as just prior to that I was very complacent, thinking, what is all the fuss about. This relapse made me respect the power of this addiction and respect people who have gone through long periods of abstinence, as one bad decision can suck you right back in and before you know it all that hard work is undone.

So Chris I hope you do not let complacency suck you back in. 4 weeks is a proud achievement imagine how 5 weeks is going to feel!! Hang in there mate!!

Amanda

Yes, complacency is in my opinion the compulsive gamblers biggest enemy. This can take the form of being complacent after a period of abstinence and thinking you will never be ruled again by the addiction. But it can also occur during periods of gambling i.e. you have in the past felt you needed to stop and have tried to stop but then when back in gambling action, during periods when you win or at least gamble in a controlled fashion for a period, you become complacent that you actually dont need to stop, you are fine, you are back on track.

This plays with the mind badly. Of course your luck runs out and your lack of control resurfaces again and you feel worse about having to try and stop once again. So for me complacency when gambling is actually worse than complacency when abstaining and means you take longer to get through your recovery route.

very true about complacency whilst gambling, it's probably best you take a hit straight away as it would remind you straight away about the horrors of the addiction.

The longer you go winning or gambling in a more controlled way you are feeding the addiction for longer. So even when the inevitable crash and burn happens you might still be inclined to return again as you "enjoyed" a longer period gambling without the negative effects, thus making it more difficult to choose recovery over gambling