Hey everyone, so today was payday and I deposited £250 into my account on a gambling website. I managed to win £1700 and was feeling very happy. I told myself I would not go below £1500 and would withdraw this amount. When I went down to £1500 I told myself I would not go below £1200. Before I knew it I had lost it all due to having no control over my gambling compulsion. This kind of scenario has happened time and time again for me and yet I never learn. Why the **** can't I just quit when i'm ahead. £1700 could have paid off a quater of my debts and now I feel back at rock bottom! I have also lost a quater of my wages. Why do we keep doing it if we can never withdraw any winnings? Once again feeling very down. Thanks for reading.
Steve.
Hi Steve,
Because we are compulsive gamblers we have become addicted to gambling,
The times I won and should have withdrawn it for good, I used to immediately turn my laptop off walk away on a big high at the beginning, a medium high later on and then a relief even later on and then towards the end, no feelings at all, but I went back within hours on every occasion, lost it all, and then chased.
Welcome aboard, to a journey of your lifetime lol, recovery, it's a big rollercoaster ride, but it is soo very much worth it, and it is not boring:))
Let gambling win now and grab hold of of recovery with all your might:)))
Taking one day, minute at a time with everything is the sure way to move forwards and actually win,
Best wishes and keep posting and reading, it really helps,
Suzanne xx
Hey Suzanne, thanks for your words of encouragement. I know what you mean regarding the de-escalation of positive feelings about winning as gambling addiction progresses. Like you I also remember actually being able to withdraw winnings and feeling ecstatic about it many years ago. As my gambling addiction has got worse however, the amount I won before I could actually withdraw it gradually got higher and higher. Just over a year ago I won £5000 from just £100 and then lost it all. I still struggle to accept that even now, especially as it would have cleared my debts. In fact i'm not actually sure how much I would have to win for me to be able to withdraw it anymore. Just getting through day by day is a struggle with the debts I have to pay and knowing that I could have paid them off on many occassions had I been able to withdraw winnings. I also struggle with the thought of the life I could have had, had it not been for gambling addiction. I literally have no money for anything due to gambling even though I have been working continuously since 16. I am also now 30 and not getting any younger.
Steve xx
Hi Steve,
welcome to the forum. There are so many similarities in your story to me. I had a few big wins but simply couldn't cash out. The pattern continued for a long time before I realised that I finally wanted to stop gambling and was committed to doing everything it took. I said I wanted to stop gambling for a long time but didn't mean it. Are you ready to stop for good or are you simply sick of losing rather than gambling? That's the first big question I think you need to ask yourself. If you're ready, you're in the right place here ​
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