New Year's Day challenge!!!

Sorry for late post today - good news is it's close to 200 days now!

Yeah running is a good one. It's tough to find time for me as either me or my wife needs to look after the baby. And once I'm in from work she passes over immediately so no chance during the week. But I'm sat around a bit while he's sitting so something in the house I could do. Thought about getting an exercise bike... just a thought though. I can concentrate well so I thought I might do something a bit weird like buy some broken watches and try to repair them. I don't know why that popped into my head last night.

Sorry for not posting much today. Hope everyone is still having a good journey. We're so close to only being 200 days till gamble free for the rest of 2016. Please stick with this. We're going to get there.

I woud like to join. I have started a diary. I dont have a lot to say just now. half a million over 30 years and 8k yesterday. My addiction has come about through PTSD but my case in court may help the abuse I suffered to give me the therapy I need. Anyhow good luck and I hope I am in for 200 days...have no energy to count the days left in the year

Only 200 days to go and soon to be below 200 in a few hours time.... I'm feeling positive about this. We're getting new joiners every day and hopefully we can help each other get through to the end of 2016. Keep the faith.

Save myself - welcome aboard - try to be positive and focus on something each morning that makes you smile. I know that must be really tough but give it a try. Thanks for joining.

Change- just want to say I love chatting to you. So much similar arise etc your really honest and down to earth! Your a great help to me! Whenever you want a chat let me know mate

Gaz

Yeah same for me too Gaz - we're on this journey together and need to keep going as it's only just getting started. I've got so many more tales and stories that we can discuss in chat over the forthcoming months. I've spent so long gambling I know all the tricks we have and the warped mentality of a compuslive gambler. I think it is good to get them out in the open and thrash them around between us all.

Hi everyone, would like to jump aboard this train if i may - a gamble free remainder of 2016 can be my next target and I like the little thoughts for the day!

Rose - you're very much welcomed aboard! If you have any topics you'd like me to discuss or to give an opinion then let me know any day and I'll cover that topic. I try my best to post first thing in the morning and then at lunch and then later at night in the evenings. We can do this! Keep the faith. We're sub 200 days tomorrow!

A man walks into a butcher’s shop and asks the butcher: “Are you a gambling man?” The butcher says “Yes”, so the man said: “I bet you £100 that you can’t reach up and touch that Beef hanging on the hooks up there.” The butcher says “I’m not betting on that.” “But I thought you were a gambling man” the man retorts. “Yes I am” says the butcher “but the steaks are too high.”

Thank you and goodnight.

We're now below 200 days! And we've had a few more followers.

Last night on chat I spoke about the buzz of gambling and how that drags you into the gambling net. If one of my bets won easily there was no buzz from it and I was less inclined to watch the game and could wander off and forget for a period. If the bet was close and there was a last minute winner or even if the bet lost but there was a chance right up to the end that it could be a winner then I would have a massive buzz and rush leading me to place another bet immediately. There's that risk element which makes it nervous and naughty. I don't have that same buzz from anything else in my life so dealing with losing that buzz is something that is problematic for a recovering gambling. I'm trying to find a solution and I think for me it may be around creating something or fixing / repairing something to give me a buzz of achievement or maybe even something socially where I can get a buzz from helping someone. Something to think about today.

Stay safe everyone.

Interesting topic - I have talked about that buzz with my therapist and she describes it as risk taking and getting an adrenaline rush! Weird as im not a big risk taker in life in any other ways - I have joined a new sports team as I do get a buzz out of that, the competing and trying to win and better myself. Not the same buzz but keeps me occupied, and the longer I go without gambling the less I remember about my other buzz!

The buzz from gambling. To be honest it’s been a while from I felt that buzz, when I got bets up the past 7 months or so the feeling I got was relief as much as anything else. Then it was simply a matter of on to the next bet. I do remember the buzz though. Heart beating, palms sweating and the euphoria of the win, it’s great at the time there’s no denying it. For me the biggest buzz I would get in the different forms of gambling came from roulette. Watching the ball roll around the wheel trying to magically make it drop into your number. Blaming a bad jump or bad luck or somebody calling other numbers etc etc when you lose. Ironically I used to get the biggest buzz times when I walked out even i.e. initially lost a lot but managed to win it back until I was all square. The times when I won the first few spins were great of course but nothing beats that feeling of pulling yourself out of a big hole. Again it was probably relief but when the ball finally dropped into your number for a big win I felt invincible, like I was somehow ‘good’ at it. Roulette though I’ve hardly played in years and I really don’t miss it.

I just remembered a story from about 6 years ago – It was payday Friday and I took a half day to go get my haircut, buy some new clothes etc. I decided I’d have a go on the wheel to win some of the money I’d spent back. Not long after I entered I was about 150 up thinking “Great! There’s my clothes bought for free and a free night out.” I was about to cashout and the manager/attendant offered me something to eat so I ordered a cheese & ham toastie. I cashed out the money and deposited another 10 to play with while waiting on my ‘free’ toastie. At least half an hour later I was still waiting all the while putting more and more into the machine. A couple of withdrawals from the ATM beside the wheel and an hour had past when I finally received my toastie. I was no longer hungry. In fact I was sick to my stomach. I was down 500 at that stage. Don’t exactly remember how it got that bad as it’s all a haze. I walked out thinking well that was the most expensive meal I’ve never eaten! There was no buzz that day

That was definitely a tactic used by the casino to keep you in there... and I love toasties... so I'd have done the same!

Rose - sports is a good one - I think you can get that buzz from sports and especially certain types of sports.

The point I wanted to draw out was that it's not always about the money. Some people think gambling is just greed and money orientated - I think I did too at the start. But I recall a team winning 7-1 that I bet on and I was on a down because it was too easy... no buzz involved, no tension at all. I think I went and did something else rather than watch it as I knew the bet was coming in. However, a close lost bet would get me in a state of 'buzz'... not euphoria, not happiness, not joy... but a state of risk, a state of naughtiness, a state of wooooosh, a state where my body feels like everything is red-lined. So the bet losses and I've coming down from that... my next thought is immediately bet again... and I'm not sure it was always for money.... I think it was to get that mad rush again.

I know which game you are talking about- I lumped on Brazil to win the tournament before. Lol

Chat has been top class recently... good mix of serious talk and some banter. I do like hearing all the tales people tell (a bit macabre at times) but gives you some perspective and shock. That old one from day@atime (that I just tried to find but failed!) really shook me up at the time I read it.