i joined up to this site a little while back and attempted to quit gambling, i manage around a month or so until i decided putting £20 in a fobt was harmful as i hadnt gambled for so long, the £20 turned into a £300 win and it just spiralled out of control again from there after stupidly thinking i could repeat this and keep winning.
i have been with my gf for only 6 months and i have told her i previously had a problem but now i no longer gamble. i am currently paying off previous debt that i had from gambling and now i find myself gambling again to try and win myself spare money to replace the money im using to pay debts off, thinking about it now its such a ridiculous idea and it will not work!
i have worked out i have 6 months then i will be debt free finally! in the past 2 weeks i have lost more then i can afford and will now have to add to my debt a little to replace the money ive lost which i needed for a holiday im going on in 2 weeks!
i am going to call self exclusion tomorrow and ban myself from all local bookies and i have already self excluded from all online sites, i genuienly think i can beat this i just need to focus on whats important and at the moment that is spending time with my girlfriend and paying my debts off so then i can start saving to buy my first house as im only 24.
im thinking about going to my local GA meeting, im not sure what to expect and im not sure what to tell my gf as i normally see her the same time the meeting is held.
has anyone been to a meeting and could give me some advice as to what to expect when i get there or any ideas on what to do to stay away from those terrible fobts!
my diary says i am 170 days gamble free but i am classing this as my first real day! like i said any help would be great! 🙂
Hi Ojm, welcome back 🙂
I was well into my recovery before I stepped into a GA room & I maintain that it was magical. A room full of people that know exactly how I felt, some clean for years, others struggling but everyone with the same goal! With my sensible head on, I say tell your girlfriend you are gambling again & want help to get better so that you can be a better boyfriend to her! I'm not that far away from my last bet to think that this will be easy though so however you play it, just make it so! Simply abstaining from gambling is not enough as you know because complacency sets in. GA will guide you to a better life but as with everything, it's not a cure, you get out what you put in! Have a look @ Oldhamktf's diary if you want to see how using GA can help.
Barriers that you request start with self exclusion, I would also recommend handing over financial control to a loved one although I appreciate 6 months is no time @ all in a relationship & wonder if you have a parent or a sibling you could ask to do this? Don't carry cash, or any way of taking cash out (Barclaycard do a credit card where you can remove the cash facility if you need to get petrol & food etc) & just for good measure, stick a couple of photos in your wallet where your notes would be in case you need to self exclude!
& if you're going to use a day counter...Reset it to 1, no point kidding yourself anymore. Recovery starts when we accept we need help & draw a line under our losses so that we can start enjoying our future - ODAAT
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