I regret ever signing up to gambling sites as ive completely destroyed my bank account savings from ВЈ3000 to £300 in just 2 weeks and the funny thing is that i even said that i wouldnt get addicted when i first started gambling a couple years back and look how its came out for me im such an idiot.
For the past 2 years since i started gambling ive only ever been careful, only taking advantage of the free bonuses that cost me nothing and only depositing about a tenner every month and it earned me a nice profit but 2 years have been destroyed by one idiot decision to gamble 3 grand in a few weeks.
Early on when i had these urges to gamble lots i tried to block all the sites i signed up to but kept on finding more after that and then after a few days i slowly started destroying my bank account. I just wished there was away of closing all of those sites with one button because then i would of had no reason of being an idiot.
So yes thats what happened I turned from a responsible and careful gambler into a idiot gambler.
I want to desperately tell my dad but im worried how he'll react it was hard enough to man up to losing ВЈ100 yet i didnt say a thing yet losing nearly £3000 is at a nuclear level i just dont know what to do
Hi and welcome to GamCare.
It's very good that you acknowledged you have a problem at this stage. This addiction is progressive and you need to take action now to break the cycle. You coming on here tells me that the compulsion to gamble is overruling you common sense.
You're not alone and really good news is, there is a way out!
Us compulsive gamblers can never win because we can't stop. No win is ever enough.
The sooner you open up to loved ones the better. Addiction likes secrecy and lies..it isolates us and "helps" us to completely self destruct.
Put blocks on your devices. From K9 (which is free) to GamBan or GamBlock. These will block all the gambling sites you may try to access.
Hand any outstanding cash to loved ones or someone you can trust...no cash - block for temptations.
Keep busy and occupied.
There are GA meetings round UK so you can find a lot of good support there.
Stick to this site, start a diary, record your journey.
Again, welcome. There is support for you and your loved ones. Read around the site, you are most definitely not alone.
Take it day at a time...forget the losses, they're gone - look ahead and start claiming your life back!
All the best
S&B
i keep on wanting to tell my dad about my problems with gambling but i cower in fear of his dissapointment
Hi Mad999
I have been a recovering gambling addict since September and have been clean for the entire time since admitting to having a problem. I was just the same as you mate, I used to gamble and think it was responsible, that I had control, that I knew what I was doing but I didn't.
Gambling and addiction will do that to us, it makes us feel like what we are doing is ok and it will do no harm until the time comes when we have to admit to it. I got caught out by my fianceГ© and my Dad and I for the first time in my life wept and said I am addicted. I can't say that your Dad will be the same mate but one thing I can tell you for sure is this. The love a father has for their children is unparallelled and they will go to the ends of the Earth to show them that. It is very difficult to admit to it and talking from experience bloody frightening.
I have just completed a 4 month counselling period and am looking to start my next form of recovery. Gamcare have been amazing. My fianceГ© and my Dad were cross and upset, disappointed aswell yes but they showed me love and wanted nothing more than to help me. Give your Dad and yourself that chance, you are stronger than you think my friend, you made a mistake everyone does that but it is how you get back up and right the wrongs that makes it right.
My fianceГ© was ready to leave me, i convinced her to give me a chance and i have really had to come to terms with some hard truths and my God I have never cried so much in my life as i have over this last 4 months. I am 30 years old, I was 16 when i started, gambling is an awful addiction but trust me when I say if you want out you can get out. Let ya Dad in mate be true to yourself and become the YOU that you want to be.
Matty
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