How do you replace "that" buzz?

Coming back to the original question " How do I replace that 'high?"

Well you don't need to replace it with anything because you didn't need it in the first place!

I was a happy, content person before I discovered online slots. I stumbled upon them when I went to place my annual bet on the Grand National. I got instantly hooked on them, like I said previously,my brain obviously liked the chemical high that occurs when we play these machines and wanted more of it.

As long as I could source that chemical high ie drug through online slots I would seek it out and indulge myself. Once I signed up to Gamstop , I basically cut off the supply!
I was a happy, content person before I discovered online slots.
I lost a life changing amount of money playing them, basically paying for a chemical hit. I obviously regret wasting the money but I'm still a happy content person in every aspect.

These machines are designed to be addictive, they reel you in and clean you out. The gambling operators and the Government are in the same bed because they obviously make a great deal of money out of us. The psychologists/psychiatrists of course have now started cashing in too on our addiction. They basically tell you what you want to hear.

They're all out to cash in on our addiction. Well they aint getting a penny more from me.

I don't need that chemical high that those machines gave me, I never needed it. I was leading a perfectly happy life before I stumbled upon them and I'll go on to lead a perfectly happy life without it.

People often say 'I feel a lot happier now that I've stopped gambling. No you don't, you've just gone back to the person you were before you discovered these wretched machines and all the problems they brought you.

Of course this is just my take on things!

Hi Charley

I know you are just giving your views in a balanced way and there is a lot in what you say. Yes it is a drug and if you look hard enough there is a lot of research out there confirming that - the dopamine release is massive. You are right it is self perpetuating. However coupled with that, there are reasons why people continue to gamble when their rational brain knows not to and many gamblers have other issues which reduce their resilience to the drug of addiction. So I think that exploration of your mind and reasoning, strengthens the resolve not to gamble and can help counter the physiological urge. The psychological does react with the physiological. That’s why for some,mindfulness and/ or therapy is a really great asset. For others, yes perhaps they would just prefer a drug to stop but it might not be a long term solution. Also I would say that it’s clear for some on the forum that by abstaining their lives have become more enriching than they were before ever gambling. They have had to look at themselves and their behaviours in a way that they never would have done before. So whilst you have your experience, everybody is different.

The only thing I learned from 5 years of playing slots was that my brain was designed to become addicted to that dopamine release and I was willing to pay 100 thousand pounds to get my fix. ( Being unfamiliar with the cost of other drugs, did I get good value for money? Light hearted humour)

Wow, it cost me 100 thousand pounds to learn something about myself that I didn't really need to know! If I hadn't chanced upon these machines I would never have know that my brain was designed to crave the dopamine that is released whilst playing them.

I respect the fact that some posters have taken a positive from their gambling and as you say it has forced them to look at other areas of their lives and make changes for the better.

However, what frustrates me is that the gambling industry, the Government and therapists know(scientific evidence etc) that these machines are designed to be addictive and they are basically turning a blind eye because of course why would they, when they're coining it in! They're basically propping each other up.The government of course has had to concede some ground ie the reduction in fobt stake.

I'm not apportioning blame, I do take responsibility for my actions to a certain degree.

Even if those machines had carried a warning sign, I probably would have ignored it, even laughed at the possibility of me becoming addicted.

However I just feel at times that when some of you take some kind of positive from your gambling experience that you are in some sense letting the gambling industry/Government/therapists etc off the hook!

I wouldn't trust any of them hence the reason I've registered with Gamstop and they're not getting a penny more from me and no, I'm not bitter! Hahahaha

All the very best.

How would I replace that buzz? Well for a start why would you want to replicate something that has done you so much harm?

In an addicts mind the question makes out like their losing out on something, which their not.

A much better question should be.. what can I do to make myself a better person, how can I communicate my feelings better to other people, what will I gain from stopping?

There’s no point trying to replace something that has taken so much away.

Quite some debate

When ive been in the thick of a gambling haze ive had no interest in anything other than gambling and odds

I often found myself wondering how boring life would be without the “buzz” of gambling, how can anything else compare to winning several hundred or thousand at the click of a button

The problem is the price you pay for the “buzz” is astronomical ……because what you don’t realise is how stressed your body gets when gambling

I wont even get started on the financial implications of getting the “buzz” everyone here,is more than aware of the losses you are able to achieve

ultimately the price you must pay for the buzz is too high ……and eventually it will cost far more than anyone is willing to lose

The reason we are all here is because we are either severely under achieving in our lives, we are using gambling to fill a hole /as a crutch or we are just simply too greedy

To replace the buzz you must first change your perspective on it