Had my first bet this weekend after 3 weeks, i must have self excluded from around 20 different online bookies over the last year but there is always a new one to sign up with.
I didnt lose a lot, £30 over the weekend but its the way it just takes over me. The last 3 weeks where i haven't gambled i haven't thought about gambling but the second i deposit i spend 2 or 3 hours a day gambling online.
It seems to me that its the risk and the thrill of the win im addicted to, now that i have lost this £30 and self excluded again i feel relieved.
Like any other addiction it seems to me that i can go without it for one week or 4 weeks but every now and then i give in for the thrill of a bet.
Is there anything that can help me give it up for good or is it just down to will power and saying no.
Hi CM003
You were doing really well, I am sorry to hear you have relapsed after three weeks. Try using a blocking software to block your online sites. I have sent you a link which includes other things you might like to try as well as using a blocking software.
http://www.gamcare.org.uk/get-advice/what-can-you-do
Kind regards
Cade
Forum admin
Something I've never been able to get over, but i accept the fact this is part of the illness and put in place all the safety blockers i can.
Willpower & saying "No" plays it's part but as you have been repeatedly told, you can't do this alone!
I have walked in your shoes, a CG child of a CG mother & I can assure you, there is a way out but you need help to rewire your brain: support groups, counselling, therapy...Whether we accept it or not, we've learned bad behaviours & since our parents can't set us the examples we need & help us find a way out, we have to look elsewhere for that support. I have found the GA framework to be a great blueprint for adulthood & think you would really benefit from giving it a go. 3 weeks sounds like a long time for a gambler in recovery but it's barely even a payday & Rome wasn't built in a day. I know Tri has posted otherwise but I don't really remember the highs anymore & I barely have any urges now that I have accepted I can never gamble again, those that I do have are easily batted off.
This doesn't just go away but we can learn to control it - ODAAT
I agree odaat i have unfortunately picked up bad behaviours over the years from my Dad, hes in a bad state and dont want to end up like that. I am going to order a new bank card and get girlfriend to scratch off the security code so that i cannot use it. Hopefully the urges to gamble will then gradually go down the longer i cannot gamble.
Hi CM3003.
Im looking at an early line which people often say here "theres always a new one to sign up with"
There isnt if you have good blocking software or hand your gadgets over. This is about focusing on what gambling did the last time and the time before that and..........
Yep its the emotions of playing or the escape The money is often a secondary concern until you realise afterwards that they took you again.
Willpower alone is not good. Who is there to make sure you go cold turkey because its now in the same chapter as substance abuse.
Im afraid that stopping for a while isnt the real test if the door is open to gamble. I managed a month (through fear) then two weeks then 6 days at a time when I was dithering around in the grip of an addiction. It took me 40 years then 10 months on this forum to get a grip of myself
When I reached out for a born again moment I found one. I did everything necessary to shut it all down. Its a mugs game and its no income scheme.
The urges do die when you have a healthy state of mind. It can take a while and all this time in I feel a new serenity even better than last year. I really am indifferent to gambling now but I realise I can never be complacent.
Best wishes from everyone on the forum
Read Allan Carr. It will inspire you!!
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