How do you replace "that" buzz?

I am shortly to start counselling and I must be honest, this is one of my big questions, because I simply do not know how i am going to replace it either

(Rambling again..)

I suppose to clarify in more detail, when I think about for example my favourite slot, I get that buzz for a split second and I want to get straight to a machine to play it. I want to be feeling that high. And I read about replacing it with exercise, or learning an instrument, or reading, or a.n. other hobby, but none of those give me that same 'stimulus'. None of them interest me in the same way. That's what I find so worrying.

Although when I step back and try and look at it rationally I realise that it's ridiculous. And also scary how flashing lights and a computerised algorhythm can have such an effect on me. I class myself as an intelligent human being yet everything I've written above is 100% true. Those machines have got me hooked to the point where I need the kick that they give me.

Crazy...

Heroine? I am only joking - an adequate replacement is something you need to find. It's going to be different for everyone.

I have started a bit of retro gaming and bought a season ticket for the first time in 3 years.

Good luck in your fight

Hi Stabilo, welcome to the forum 🙂

I had those exact same concerns & bizzarely surviving my 1st real test of urges on what I then called Day 18 (I've since joined GA & reset my counter as I was doing the lottery) was as good if not better than any buzz gambling had given me. I don't suffer the low self esteem that many addicts do (as my huge gambling ego has spilled into my everyday life) but I guess the win on that occasion was pride in myself that I really could choose 'no' after many years of trying to convince myself the same.

I don't know the science behind the dopamine release but I know that gambling never made me as happy as I thought it was. I also know that my lows far outweighed my highs and as I work towards a better life & a better life balance, I don't miss the false highs that gambling used to provide. You don't need the kick that they give you (& it is a kick, generally followed up with a flurry of blows & sometimes the odd mouldy plaster to stick over the wounds) you just want it @ the moment because that's what you know. The more you understand addiction, the more you will accept that gambling is nothing more than a life crutch...Give counselling your all, try GA if you want something a bit more permanent. We can try all we like as intelligent people to rationalise our actions but crazy is as good an explanation as any. A more fulfilled healthy life takes away the need for the crazy & actually feeling 'normal' becomes a great feeling. I speak from 3 decades of experience so if I can leave them behind, anyone can - ODAAT

Hello Stabilo

You might not get that same buzz in anything, you can find new passions or interests but i don't know if there's a replacement that'll give off the same feeling.

But you've also described the feeling sick with panic or your hands hurting from getting angry. Which lasts longer? Is that buzz really worth all those down moments wish I hope you realise are so much more often than the buzz you get from wins.

It sucks but there's things we love in life that just don't mix with us so we have to compromise and compromising is a big part being a recovering gambling.

All the best.

Conradnose

www.conradnose.com

Hi Stabilo, I miss the buzz, I would love to be playing a machine. Playing is a misnomer really...when I play scrabble, or chess or bowls it involves me using my brain, it involves me interacting with other people. Playing the slots, does not require thought...all I need do is press the button, not even that if I put it on auto play. I have no control over whether I win or lose, it requires no thought from me. In fact I would sit there for hours on end and allow that machine to control my brain, near misses giving me false highs, bonus features usually paying me back less than I have put in, and even with a bigger win feeding the money back in because I didn't want the buzz to end. Mindless, senseless, but I kept going back for more. I reflect on the games I enjoyed playing, the sounds, the symbols....yeh they still give me a sense of well being, a buzz...but I know that is false, not real. When in action, my future was lonely days and nights in a casino....I don't know what my future is now, it will be what I make it, but I will not be a passive spectator allowing a machine to determine my thoughts and feelings. It's ok to miss the buzz, but don't mistake that buzz for living. Best wishes.

Bumping this old thread as I am struggling. I realise the numbers in my bank about, is just that when gambling.

I am looking for ways to cope without that buzz, because right now I think that is what I am struggling with most. I have no excitement in my life and walking past a bookmakers is exciting.

The stress of potentially being unemployed, and being deeply depressed with my life are added pressures that I did not have a year ago, which would explain my relapse of the past month.

From what I have read on here, there is no replacement for that feeling, you just need to learn to live without it.

Hi,

It's a tough one. My twin brother is an alcoholic, I've never had a problem drinking. I don't indulge in food or shopping. All these things raise your dopamine levels. My friends were doing a lot of drugs during my 20s and I never got the buzz that they were feeling. I always wanted my spare money to be spent gambling. For a few hours at least, I could escape my problems.

For gamblers like us where it causes huge problems to you life, the only thing is to stop completely. That isn't easy when you are conflicted, knowing that although pleasurable for a short time, the end result was pain and misery. I accepted that i had to stop when i ended up sleeping rough. Some people will never reach that point. You'll convince yourself that you deserve that treat, to gamble, but it will only break you.

You simply might not be at that 'rock bottom' point whn you accept how damaging gambling is to your life?

All the best.

Stu

Im not sure it was a buzz towards the end...it was just something I had to be doing. A craving or control would wash over me and I walked there in a trance of delusion

I certainly craved it in town as I couldnt think of anything better to do. I didnt want to do anything else and during recovery I had to come to terms with why I was feeling that way

I was addicted and very ill.

Its replaced with Love, a good relationship, riding a nice mountain bike down a trial on a summers day, sailing, swimming in a tropical ocean, reading a good book, playing an amazing videogame and a hundred other things. Its replaced by the high of enjoying life in a wholesome way.

I was depressed and gambling was a shot of escape. Guess what I still get depressed from time to time but gambling isnt the answer and never was.

I will be blunt. Reel machines are a mugs game and they are designed to addict people fast. If you are calling it a buzz it was a buzz that was harming you just like dangerous substances. Its a complex addiction and part of the attraction is the devil may care, naughty but nice feeling. I was playing for chemical feelings. I needed to keep playing whatever the cost. I was playing to punish myself just like any drug addict thats gone way too far.

What escape was I having...just like a heroin addict..what escape? They are trapped in a cycle thats killing them. What is actually different about serious problem gambling?

The machines should frighten you! They are not on your side and that box of chips and flashing lights is more your enemy than anything else You need to see a table of the odds and face the reality of what you have lost.

Its ok not to gamble. You are seeking a serenity that everything will be ok without gambling. You dont need it in your life.

Best wishes from everyone on the forum

You can't replace it. Once you're an addict that's your life.
Only way is get addicted to something else.

I see you salamander, stomping round the site spreading poison...Just because you are not ready & willing to give all the tools available to you as an addict a shot & haven’t experienced how rewarding being in recovery can be doesn’t mean you need to be peeing on other people’s bonfires!

I went into a GA meeting last night full of fear & desperation & I came out full of hope, feeling like a load has been lifted...My natural highs these days are much more comforting than my gambling ones which were extremely rare & are long since forgotten!

I agree with what salamander said and I'm not spreading poisen. Nothing can replace the buzz of gambling in that nothing is the same. Why would we want to find something that has the same buzz? It's an addictive, low vibration, unhealthy, life taking buzz. But yes , lets find new choices and gradually the withdrawals and urges will slow down and we begin to repattern our brains. Eventually I/we will gravitate towards the 'better' feeling and outcome. 🙂 I respects what everyone is saying here. tara2

I've been doing some open mic nights, playing guitar - quite a buzz there when going up for my few songs. I also play some pool tournaments and get a similar buzz. But I'm trying to move towards meditation, relaxation and doing things in my spare time that I really enjoy so that I get a different kind of pleasure and don't need a temporary high.

Panorama 2016
Why are Gambling Machines Addictive?

Kerching... a documentary that was made in Australia that highlighted how these machines are designed to be addictive by the very people who design them!!

I'm not here to spread poison but I too agree with Salamander, I've always believed that from my first experiences of playing these machines I became hooked. Whatever chemical reaction took place, my brain obviously liked it, because it hasn't forgotten it and it sure CRAVES it.

I think a lot of emphasis is placed on the reasons people gamble ie underlying issues etc but I'm not convinced. Problem gamblers must have liked playing these machines to begin with because why else would they turn to them when they seek comfort, excitement, whatever.

The panorama programme I mentioned shows that from our first experiences on these machines our brain patterns alter.

Lots of people experience these machines but don't get hooked so what is it about us that we did?

I believe that gambling is nothing more than a drug. All we're craving is that chemical high that gambling gives us.

I'd like to see more research on this area.

I personally wouldn't waste my time or money on counselling. I genuinely believe that all I'm craving is a drug ie a chemical high.

Even the way I play supports this. Why else would I win 5000 pounds and not walk away? Because it's not about money it's about getting that fix.
I could never walk away with winnings, I kept playing because I wasn't chasing money, I was chasing more of that chemical reaction.

Of course this is only my opinion and I respect the fact that others may feel differently.