Update since my first post 3 months ago

Hi,

I wanted to write a response to my initial post from June when I first joined here. I did intend to start an online diary then but didn't quite get round to it. Think it'll help me to take a step back and write an update. It's good to read positive stories here sometimes - we all have hope to beat this!

I still play a bit of poker but I'm proud of the progress that I've made since my last post.I haven't put any money in an online casino for over a month or two (previously it was almost every day), I haven't had any sports bets for over a month or two (previously it was almost every day). I have made the decision that I will never put any money in an online casino again, and I will never put any money down in a live casino either - and I'm now confident of sticking to these.

I play poker to wind down, I enjoy it and poker has never been the issue that casinos were. I hope that I can continue to play sensibly until I quit that too which I'm working on now. I know that poker isn't worth the time and I could be doing much more with my freetime - need some new hobbies I think!.

What really got me is, that I came up against my overdraft limit and credit card limit and it was a shock to me to think that I had nothing (gambling took most of it), the cash machine no longer gave me money. But I'm now ready to put in the hard work to pay off my debts and to start enjoying life again.

I hope I can write back another update in a few months saying that I'm completely clean.

Good luck all.

Andy.

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Posted: Wed 18 Jun 2014 16:57:28

Hello,

My first post here. I nearly posted last week and started a diary then but something stopped me. I’m addicted to online blackjack, and poker. I “enjoyed” a bet with no problems for a while but over the last year or two, it’s got much worse and I’ve lost many thousands. It’s only been recently that I’ve realised how big a problem I have, and only been a few weeks since I’ve really been trying to give up and it’s harder than I thought!

I’ve been reading the forums, and it is reassuring that there are others with similar problems and it gives me inspiration that so many people have managed to give up for so long, when I can barely go by a day without gambling.

Nobody else knows about my gambling problem and I’m aware that I need support. I’ve had counselling in the past related to depression rather than gambling and am thinking of starting this up again or finding a support group. In the meantime, I’m intending to start a recovery diary and checking back here regularly.

I’ve already installed betfilter on my desktop and laptop, but unfortunately couldn’t find anything to stop me going to online casinos on my mobile. It’s so difficult when online gambling is so accessible and possible from anywhere.

This is right at the start of my recovery so I’ll start a diary in the next few days.

Anyway, thanks for listening. Good luck to everyone on the forum in beating this.

Andy.