Share Your Wisdom, Viewpoints & Quotes.

When life is getting you down, and you need a little hope.
Look deep down inside yourself, and you'll find the way to cope.

When life is getting you down, and you need a little love.
Go to the person whom you are the closest, as the rest they are above.

When life is getting you down, and all you need is a laugh.
Find the friend that makes you smile, they may even be your staff.

When life is getting you down, don't allow it so.
Change the way you think of life, and life will be better, you know.

When life is getting you down, don't sit and mope
Take action and always have hope.

Gamcare friends are ready to rock

Wearing suits and shorts or dressed in a blouse and frock 

Forget the past and start anew with hope and a cheery smile

Let's walk this road together and go the extra mile

Consider ourselves an army who are battling for our lives

Earning the love and respect of children, husbands and wives

Stephen x 

Coming to GamCare can be a daunting experience. Arriving here with hopes, fears and aspirations. People from all walks of life gathered together, independent, in a safe and secure environment.

However, we have one thing in common in that we are all compulsive gamblers in recovery.

In my mind we are not alone for we walk this road together. Good people who want to get well.

As a tribute to friends who arrive here every day, I dedicate the following song.

"With A Little Help From My Friends" by Joe Cocker

Going back to basics 

strengthens your  foundations. 

Wise words indeed from Vinnie (Zoe). Thankyou good lady ? ?‍♀️ ?.

I often read about people suffering from stress but is stress all bad?

Putting ourselves in stressful situations, where we have control, can be good fun, exhilarating and good for our health. 

I recently saw the following words written in Livelysouls diary which have helped me see stress in a more positive way:

?‍♀️ I believe some stress is good if it is healthy and drives you in the right direction?‍♀️??

I was indeed blessed the day I joined the gamcare community and have had the good fortune to find myself amongst some wonderful people.

Words read in the forum, on the diaries or in the chatroom have had a profound effect on my recovery which leads me to say a big thankyou to everyone who has the courage to tell their story and offer advice to gamcare friends.

I saw the following words posted on a recovery diary yesterday and would like to share:

"Strong women not only feel pain, they accept it, learn from it and fight through it.

They turn their wounds into wisdom.

They take a break to shed a tear but after dusting themselves off, they get back up and fight like they have never fought before."

I drew great inspiration from the above message which I believe applies to us all.

May I wish everyone happiness and contentment as we strive forward together on this great adventure to rediscover our lives. 

We will need inner strength, wisdom and a lot of common sense but with a little help from our friends we can overcome the urges to gamble. 

Stephen x x x 

Beyond: A Spiritual Message By Tina Turner.

Very beautiful, moving and inspirational.

On Spotify or YouTube.

Unwanted thoughts may occasionally make an appearance 

But do we have to take any notice of them?

The answer is NO

Just let them float away

This is our life

We make the decisions

We choose the paths we follow

We might sometimes feel powerless but we are in control of our actions

We are GamCare Brothers & Sisters united against a common foe

We are Warriors & Warrioresses who are ready, willing and able to fight for what we know to be right

We are strong

We are resilient

We will never surrender or give up hope

We will go forward one day at a time

We will succeed

Hi Stephen. I'm so glad that you are happy and well. And still brightening up people's lives with your meaningful, zany and lively posts. Your poetry has always hit a chord with me and even though I've kept away from the forum I will never forget you.

I still have the occasional thought about gambling but to be honest I prefer to give life a chance to shine, and hopefully will continue to keep the demons at bay. 

Yours truly,

Martin 

Thank you Martin for your kindness. As always your words are very meaningful and to the point:

"I still have the occasional thought about gambling but to be honest I prefer to give life a chance to shine."

I have always admired your common sense approach to recovery. You have always recognised that it could only be achieved through making positive changes to one's life.

You even gave yourself the username "Changemylife" which is a real giveaway?.

Once you wrote in your diary the words "If Nothing Changes Nothing Changes" which is very true and strikes a chord with me.

However, I do believe that we can choose to make changes to our life difficult or easy! It is our choice after all is said and done. Sometimes we can work really hard on making changes and than realise the changes we were striving for were not necessarily what was required. 

I think what I am trying to say is that choosing how to change one's life may not be all plain sailing and may be different for everyone. Although it would appear beneficial to engage in activities, hobbies and projects which are far removed from gambling.

Apologies for rambling on a bit but I am 69 and therefore allowed to ramble ???.

I will close on a quote I particularly like:

Maybe the journey isn't so much about becoming anything.

Maybe it's about unbecoming everything that isn't really you,

so you can be who you were meant to be in the first place.

Tuesday nearly over - nothing to fear or dread

Gamcare lads and lasses are snuggled up in bed

Self assured and resolute with hearts so full of hope

Trusting in tomorrow with belief that we can cope

Hi Stephen hope you are well                        
  Scotty ?? 

Thank you dear friend Scotty ?

All is well in Hull

Gamble free & watered 

With belly that is full

About to visit Marina on my riverside walk

To wave at all the ducks who paddle as I talk

Distractions are the key when it comes to my recovery

Supported by my gamcare friends who really are quite luvverly 

???

Keep on with the distractions Stephen and let them be pleasurable ones! I'm so pleased that you are doing fine and thanks for the nice comments.