I hope this is helpful with no judgement as these are the sort of "simple" questions I asked myself and still do as no darned expert or authority in no particular order sort of and say I/we/you with the same meaning:
Why did I gamble and become compulsive?
Why do I want to stop gambling?
Do I have a realistic approach beyond "I'll never gamble again?"
Is my relationship in jeopardy?
Have I stolen?
Is my job threatened due to gambling?
Am I a liar?
Do I feel self-loathing and want to find a way to be happier within myself even if it includes therapy?
Do I feel like I can stop on my own without counselling, peer-to-peer support like meetings, chat, diary (here) and constructive criticism?
Am I going to address my gambling debts which lead to letters, e-mails, phone calls, text messages and knocks on the door or bury my head in the sand and hope my creditors will stop bothering me?
Am I willing to tell everyone who I care about and cares about me about the issue to do with honesty?
Hope it helps me and you friends. Best wishes, Phil (a one day at a time person).
I think that we can all stop on our own, the problem is will we keep away from gambling? Just like smoking basically we quit every time we put out our last cigarette but then when we light up we start again... so again keeping stoped is the hard part.
I always considered addictions are for life - we just need to stay clean - away from them.
Hope this helps
Its a state of mind, the nearest thing I have experienced that is similar to give up was smoking. It took me years to give up as there were 2 aspects the addiction to nicotine which made quitting difficult for the first few months. My body would crave a cigerette during this part. Along with the addiction there was the habit, this were 'triggers' (having a pint, moring coffee etc) that would make my mind associate them with smoking and bring on a craving. This was more of the mind set part, so I would know when these triggers would arise so when i did everntually quit i had to take a few mins to distract myself or similar techniques to avoid smoking. Gambling is similar to this, its why I think GA have the best idea by telling memebers to be completly gamble free, scratch cards, raffle tickets the lot. It helps change your mind set and your outlook, so now when I feel a betting urge I take a time out, do something to occupy my mind and distract me from it for 10 mins or so until it passes. I then let someone I trust know about the urge which helps put a barrier up to prevent myself falling prey to the urge.
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.
