I had a mad session last night, betting on horses from U.K, IRE and US and lost about £200.
On reflection, it was only because I could, I did. I was picking names and silk colours, raising my stakes from my usual £6-12 to £30, because in my head, I would have to pick a winner, “luckily” I did, based on a jockey I “follow blind” in IRE in the last race…
but the reality is, it is just habit, it’s numbers not money and I do it to kill time and boredom, not because I really fancy a selection. Then when the first could lose, I want that money back. I don’t feel much emotion, win or lose…
So…I am deleting the apps from my phone - which is the only place I bet.
however what can I replace that 30-1hr “boredom” betting with??
thanks for reading, it’s not making my partner happy and spoilt our Fri night!
I have a suggestion. Think of going to a restaurant for lunch. After the meal, would you tip the waiter 200 pounds? Probably not. So why tip the 'gambling machine' 200?
There are many ways to overcome boredom. Going to the library and getting some good books to read, playing free games on the internet, trying a new recipe, google "jokes" and get a good laugh, find a hobby, writing a journal, I'm sure you will come up with something. Best wishes.
thanks for the replies, some great suggestions.
I think it’s so much a look, place a bet, 3 mins of excitement, I even just watch on the exchange and the couple of mins watching the numbers change, 3.5, 2, 1.5, 1.01…then on to the next.
I think to understand it you need to take the money out of it.When you where a kid and got bored. You perhaps played with lego or action man or whatever. That repeated itself and over time and you may have had a "favourite" game. Do you remember which one? Now. Was the constant repeating of that one game done by habit or did you love doing it so much every time that it pulled you back in? See the point here is the more you do things the more they stick. We program ourselves constantly. And the more you do it the more it cements the behaviour.
It is really all about changing what you do without getting stuck in the whys and hows. Yes it is hard to remove the guilt but you can at least ad the mindfulness because that gives focus to overcome. I wish you well!
Best
c
Hi
I can relate and understand exactly where your coming from, thing is that I’ve planted in my head is that gambling will always put you on your a**e so to speak,I also felt no emotion or buzz as the years went by, winning or losing, thing is when your a compulsive gambler you always end up with zero, it’s a pointless thankless addiction,my brain has been altered after gambling for over twenty years and I have to retrain it, time lots of time it’s going to take, but you have to want to stop and I mean stop, only you can do this mate, try and keep your self as busy as you can, it will take your soul and affect relationships with people you love so is it really worth it?? I’m day 53 gamble free and have to be on my guard daily but it is really a case of one day at a time, addiction counselling has helped me hugely something I recommend,private help is around £30-50 an hour, they will explain exactly what is going on with your addiction and how it affects the brain, all scary stuff ,
I wish you well and hope you can beat this addiction.
steve
We are available 24 hours a day, every day of the year. You can also contact us for free on 0808 80 20 133. If you would like to find out more about the service before you start, including information on confidentiality, please click below. Call recordings and chat transcripts are saved for 28 days for quality assurance.
