I thought i had it under control

David, thank you ever so much for taking your time to reply. Your right, i need to draw a line under the losses as if i dont i will deposit just a few pounds to win some money back, but i wont b happy with that and will want to win more back until ultimately ive lost even more. Im saving to go south america and this loss has pushed me back quite a bit. I have worked 6 day weeks for the last month or so to earn money, just to blow it. I want that money back but i know its good and cant carry on. Day one - I will not gamble today.

I just wanted to post this as a reminder really, of the reality of gambling and what i have done to do it and ultimately how it has affected me. I will not gamble as i cannot win.

1) I have stolen money from house friends whilst at uni, and watched someone else take the blame which makes me feel sick!

2) Used my parents bank card to gamble even though and winnings would go straight there and not to me, highlighting i was just solely playing for entertainment.

3) Ive wasted at least 800-100 pound in the last month of my savings to south america gambling, i will not waste anymore again. Thisis severly hinder my chances of going this year which i really wanted to do.

4) I have been working 6 day weeks and as much hours as possible to save only to blow it all in a matter of minutes/hours!

5) I have missed out on socialising both when i was a student and recently to play roulette - sad really.

6) I would rather sit in my room locked away then sit downstairs with my family and have a chat.

7) Life is passing me by

8) Im sick of having no appetitie, riddled with guilt, thinking how stupid ive been betting on a ball spin around a computer generated image hoping for it to drop into a winning number and get that rush. The money didnt seem to be the factor as whenever i won, i just seemed to carry on.

9) Im not in debt as such, and i am determined not to get into.

10) Im 26 years old, been gambling on and off since 18, im not wasting anymore time, money, effort or emotions on it.

I will stop gambling.

Hi mate - I understand where you are with these machines. No win will ever be big enough and I can guarantee you will always lose in the end. You may go on a run for a few days, weeks even but in the end that one big, horrible loss always turns up.

My motto is this - 'I cannot gamble as I cannot stop'. Once I accepted this things changed for the better but what really solved it for me was self-exclusion at least from the local, convenient bookies. I put it off far too long as it's admitting there is a problem you are almost powerless to stop but as much as you promise yourself you will not gamble again you will once the effects of the loss have subsided - self-exclusion prevents going back on the machines when you are tempted.

Maybe self-exclude from your local shops and see how it goes. It isn't easy but the more barriers you put in place the less opportunity you have to lose more money.

Only you can decide and I can tell you desperately want to stop playing - ask yourself this, why wouldn't you self-exclude?

Each morning you wake up say to yourself 'I will not gamble today' and if you achieve that when you go to bed at night it's job done. I really do wish you well.

Dave