need help

Hi Peterpan, don't despair, you will find lots of help on this website. Have you looked at the posts on the new members thread? If you were to post on there more people would see it and loads of them will come forward to offer you some advice and support. Also there is the 2014 Challenge, you can find that on the Overcoming Problem Gambling page, and you can join that anytime and will get a big welcome. Everyone on here has been in a similar position to you and we are all good at listening to each other, so do not feel alone in this. There are lots of things you can do to help you stop, like self excluding and putting blocks on your pc. You can also ring the helplines on here for advice. Best wishes, R

Thankyou for taking the time to reply to my message I hate the hold that this addiction has over me and I feel stuck I am going to self exclude from the onnline site now and I have opened up to my girlfriend about my situation which has helped its good to get it off my chest. I want to get professional help what would be the best road to go down?

Well done for confiding in your girlfriend. And self excluding will help you a lot. It helped me six months ago when I decided to stop. So far I have not gambled for six months, and although the first few days were hard, it gets easier as time goes by. I find this site very helpful for keeping me on track.

I am sure a GamCare advisor can give you better advice than me. Have you looked at the options at the top of the page? You could phone them anytime between 8 a.m and midnight.

First of all, give your self a pat on the back for actually coming forward, I know from experience it isn't the easiest thing to do in the world by a long shout and for each person it might be a different reaction.. HOWEVER! The worst is over, you've came forward and admitted it! Next step (in my view) is to hand over your finances to someone you can obviously trust, this will not let you have any way of gambling, just ask them for money as and when you need it, and make sure they ask you for evidence, start making some goals of where you want to be in the next week, month, 3 months, 6 months and year, you'll be amazed at how much this can help or maybe write yourself some posted notes with motivation on and stick it on the mirror in the mirror you use in the morning or in your car etc, small things can make a massive difference when it comes to gambling, all about how much you really want to stop, awesome job of coming forward though, hope to hear from you in the future!

Hi Peterpan235,

Thank you for your post and welcome to our Forum.

I can hear that your gambling has escalated, and has gotten out of control to the point where by you seem to be consumed in the moment, and come to the realisation of what you have done only after you have gambled your money away. It also sounds like your gambling has not only impacted your finances but also your mental health and general well being too.

What is great though is that you have acknowledged that you have been struggling with your gambling and accepted that you need some support by getting in touch with us, speaking with your partner about what’s been going on for you - which sounds like it alleviated some pressure, and your taking steps in the right direction by self-excluding from online betting sites. Although challenging, you have done really well.

With regards to professional help, perhaps you may want to get in touch with us by coming through on our Freephone Helpline on 0808 8020 133, or alternatively on a Netline call which is a type chat. http://secure.gamcare.org.uk/netline/ You can talk to us about what has been going on for you and we will be able to talk to you about some more strategies that you could implement to help you to stop gambling, what methods of support are available and what you would feel comfortable with - group support or one-to-one confidential Counselling.

As you can see from the responses you have received, the Forum is a supportive community, so keep posting and consider starting an online diary sharing your journey to recovery and also reading and receiving inspiration and support from others in similar situations to yourself.

Remain positive, keep going and take one day at a time.

Warm regards,

Saffron