Gambling my life away.

Hello sh1987

Welcome back to the Gamcare Forum, I'm so pleased you have rejoined us for support. 

It sounds as though you have really been on a roller coaster, especially since lock down. I very much hope you will receive great advice and encouragement from others using the Forum. 

In the meantime, please remember that our Advisers are here for you, 24/7, 365 days a year. The telephone number is 0808 8020 133 and they are able to offer advice, support and perhaps options for treatment.

Please take care of yourself and keep posting

Best wishes

Elaine

Forum Admin

Welcome back to the forum. I’m heading back myself. Lockdown was bliss with all the bookies shut... similar nightmare to yourself as they reopened. Just highlights the difference between not gambling and being in active recovery. Two very different things. We both need to get back to active recovery as simply ‘not gambling’ is temporary. Everyday we need to actively recover and do something positive in recovery. Take care.

Totally agree with you @change,  I definitely need to do it this time as its tearing my life apart, I know trying to do it on my own isn't gonna work so here I am. I'm felling optimistic at the moment, let's hope it lasts as I've felt this way many times before and have always ended up back at square one again somehow. I hope it all goes well for you too and take care

Hi, 

Thank you and yes it has been a rollercoaster of emotioms that's for sure and I will do, I think I really need the support at the moment. 

Hi,

I have had the same experience although I have been gambling online during the last 5 months, not for long periods of time. Just an hour or two really a night mainly slots and live casino games and I also have lost around £12,000 during that time and around £15,000 this year through online gambling. 

I bet mainly relatively low stakes like £1 a spin but sometimes I find that in one hour online you can easily blow £200-£300 which is a lot of money for an average person.

I have stopped now as I put low deposit daily deposits limits in place and just for play entertainment on very low stakes which I stick to and sometimes because the stakes are low, I just think what is the point so I just don't bother playing. That works for me and sometimes when I lose £20 in an hour and laugh myself and get a weird kind of buzz and satisfaction thinking to myself that I have still had my hour of entertainment and it has only cost me £20 as opposed to costing me £200 like before.

All the best

How you getting on? Keep the faith

Hi Sh1987, 

I'm so sorry to hear of your pain.

As someone who has been on the recovery journey for quite awhile now and who has had some success, I want you to know that the key to beating gambling is having in place effective barriers between you and gambling, so that even when you get an irresistible urge to gamble, the barriers are there to stop you from acting on your urge. Importantly, never rely on willpower alone. It will just lead to relapse after relapse.

Speaking of barriers, if you gamble online, I highly encourage you to contact all the services that enable you to deposit money into online casinos and request that they permanently ban you from their services. This is a super effective barrier to put in place to prevent future relapses. Online casinos are infinite, but the deposit enablers are just a handful. Doing this has really helped me (I’m now 2 years gamble-free).

Email template you can use:

Subject heading: Request for permanent account ban.

Hi there,

Please immediately and permanently ban me from using your services. I have been using your services in ways that are not good for my wellbeing. I would like that to stop and having my account permanently banned is an essential step. Thank you for taking my well-being seriously and doing as I have requested.

My information is as follows: [insert the relevant info such as account name or the email you have associated with them or, in the case of ****, the email you use to make **** transfers]

Sincerely,

[Insert your name]

Other effective barriers include:

1. Self-exclusion from land-based casinos.
2. Having an accountability partner whose opinion of you you care about. You don’t want to disappoint them, and this acts as an emotional barrier to gambling.
3. Softwares like Gamban, Coldturkey, Betblocker, ScreenTime on iphone (get someone else to set up a password so you can’t alter the settings once they’re set)
4. If need be, have a loved one manage your finances for you.

The more barriers, the better. Good luck my friend. You got this.