Hi there all my names Aaron. I've just turned 22 living in Manchester with parents and for the first time I'm admiting I have a problem.
It all started when I was 16 years old growing up starting to become a teen getting introduced into the things you do at that age s*x, drugs , drink and then there's gambling - I've never been someone that does drugs or actually drinks a lot apart from socially but gambling has something that I would say in my life has cost me thousands , I look back every time I gamble and ask myself why not only that but why do I constantly feel on edge.
A number of times I've had to go to hospital as it got to the point in life where I felt like I was dieing and I couldn't breathe properly psychologically I was all over the place and was told I'm having panic attacks and what it was is anxiety , gambling like most of us is to get away from everyday problems and it's something we enjoy because of the thrill of that near big miss or that big win , but I ask myself when I lose the sickening feeling I get of hopelessness and regret why doesn't that tell me to stop ,
To give you a idea for the last 3 years I probably have gone through 500-600 religiously on football bets wich if you work it out is a lot of money , I got paid last week and now have nothing left as I've basically lost all my money on the World Cup, I've got myself in debt with payday loan companies over the last few years , and have lost my girlfriend due to gambling and friends due to being very aggressive and unsociable , I lost my last 300 yesterday and now have to struggle for the month wich is no ones fault but mine , I'm here to fight this addiction and I will beat it , I've never thought about ending my own life because I would not do it but it's getting the stage where I'm trapped and I need help to stop this I've banned myself online full stop wich is a massive step for me as I don't really go into bookmakers wich is going to help because betting online doesn't seem like a huge loss as it's all computer generated .
Anyway I would like To thank you for reading through this post and I hope I can meet some people on here in my situation that can offer some advice on how they got out of the mess wich is gambling ,
Thanks for reading and god bless
Hi Aaron,
I too started gambling when I was 16... I'm now 25 and have lost a hell of a lot of money over the last 9 years and I too am in debt which will take a couple of years to pay off.
I am currently 20 days without a bet and feeling really good you have taken the first step by coming on here which is great. It's also great that you have banned yourself from online betting if that is your downfall. Maybe worth self banning from bookies too just incase your tempted.
Mate you are fortunate to live in a great city with loads to do I used to visit a lot. You should be out with ur mates doing stuff and spending money on the things you enjoy.
Trust me get out now while u can from this disease.. GA meetings.. On here.. Self banning.. Get new hobbies.. That's what I'm trying to do.
You can do it I wish you all the best.
James
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