hello, just checking in!

Hi Rusty,

Not sure you will remember me but I know how much you helped me back in 2006. You were the first person to reply to my original diary when I was at my lowest.

Fast forward 8 years yes I am here but back on the straight and narrow and have not gambled for some while now.

I am really pleased that you have followed your dreams of becoming a counsellor and that gambling does not feature in your life any more.

Take care

LG x

hello LG, actually yes i do remember!

its great to hear that you are on the straight and narrow, and that you are gambling free.

think you have made a good point there

yes i did follow my dream, and i didnt allow myself to be distracted.

i really do believe that anything is possible if you want it badly enough. that includes dismissing problem gambling

keep up the good work LG - keep your thoughts focused on a better life, and dont allow setbacks to knock you off track

love

rusty

xx

Hi Rusty

I very much remember you and am so pleased you are doing so well.

Like the previous poster I no longer gamble and haven't done for some time. Self exclusion was a revelation for me.

You are so right that if you want to give up enough you can. I am not sure the urges ever go away completely but once you learn to manage then effectively it's job done. One thing I always remember is even on the bad days you never blamed anyone or anything else but just took responsibility.

You have and will use your difficult experience to help so many people and when you say to them 'I know how you feel' you really will know.

So glad all is well.

Dave x

Hi Rusty

I very much remember you and am so pleased you are doing so well.

Like the previous poster I no longer gamble and haven't done for some time. Self exclusion was a revelation for me.

You are so right that if you want to give up enough you can. I am not sure the urges ever go away completely but once you learn to manage then effectively it's job done. One thing I always remember is even on the bad days you never blamed anyone or anything else but just took responsibility.

You have and will use your difficult experience to help so many people and when you say to them 'I know how you feel' you really will know.

So glad all is well.

Dave x

hi dave, thanks for that

you make a good point, and its a drum i continue to bash in many different places

One thing I always remember is even on the bad days you never blamed anyone or anything else but just took responsibility.

this is something i feel strongly and passionately about - personal responsibility

i believe that its key to gambling recovery.

its all to easy to blame a gambling problem on

liberalised gambling legislation

the government not doing anything

too many adverts on tv

the fact that its an illness

too many payday loan companies

nobody understands me

and while all or none of these may be true the bare and to some unpalatable fact is that they are excuses. its way way too easy to play the blame game, and then sit back and wallow in a woe is me, this is a miserable existence frame of mind

i take responsibility for me and my actions. i am overweight because i eat too much, i am sometimes tired in the morning because i went to bed too late, i HAD a gambling problem because i let my gambling habit get out of control

life has a fairly simple cause and effect rule.

until a gambler can get a hold of that rule, then gambling recovery is a long long way off, in spite and despite what they say or their protestations

i have one simple (very simple) piece of advice for prospective recovering gamblers wishing to stop gambling

my advice is:

STOP GAMBLING and accept personal responsibility for your actions

actually, it is as easy as that!!!!

when stopping gambling gets high enough on our 'to do' list' and becomes the number 1 priority then it can be done, and done very effectively

love

rusty

xx

Fantastic post Rusty.

If nothing else I try and use the experience I have of recovering and staying recovered to help others.

I get some stick sometimes when I talk about accepting responsibility or suggest ways to combat the urges but will continue to promote the benefits of taking personal responsibility.

Recovery takes time, recovery takes effort and recovery means accepting the past has gone, doing all you physically can to sort out any mess that has been caused both personally and financially and taking personal responsibility to ensure a better future.

Dave

Yep, stopping gambling is the easy part, it's everything else that takes the hard effort

Love

Rusty

Xx