I needed to write this somewhere and I found this website. I haven't told anyone about this and I don't think I ever will but the guilt is killing me.Â
I had a relapse in December after almost a year of not gambling at all. I first lost €300 and didn't gamble more until I got paid. I won some money, which I withdrew but started putting it back. My mistake was not closing my account before it got to the point I'm in today. I lost other 3k after and at the beginning of this month I got some taxes back and put more in. I managed to win a large amount in one night and I regret this so much. I've never won so much in my life. I withdrew some money straight away but I had a withdrawal limit per day. The adrenaline hit me and instead of going to sleep I stayed up all night gambling the rest away hoping to win more. I didn't know how much I was hoping to win because the money I won is a huge amount of money. I was mentally making plans with it but it was gone in 1 night. I had the some money in my bank account the next day but I started chasing loses and ended up depositing it all in. I won again with my last money and I said this is it, I'm done but I could only withdraw a bit until 3 days later because my withdrawal weekly limit has been reached. I had a bad fight with my partner that evening and ended up playing again while crying. I felt relieved when I decided to stop but for me to actually stop I need not to play at all anymore. I said I'll stop at a minimum but obviously I didn't. I ended up losing everything again. Now I'm fully broke, I sold my pocket camera and have that left but it's not enough to cover my rent and debt for February until I get paid.Â
I'm travelling home in 10 days too for my brother's 18th birthday. I wanted to pay for it as my family is not well off. I was mentally making plans to help my family financially and it's all gone. I feel very deep regret that I can't sleep nor eat properly. It's been 3 weeks since then. I dream about it and wake up stressed. I can't even talk to my family because I feel guilty for what I did. I shouldn't have gambled in the first place or I should have closed my account last month. Now I'm begging my partner to get a loan for me as it's easier to pay off than borrowing it as I can't pay it back in full until April. I don't feel good about myself, asking someone to get a loan for me after I wasted so much money that I could have used to better my life. I already have 1 loan and 1 overdraft so my loan application was rejected.Â
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Last year I also stopped when I didn't have anything left. Gambling is not something I have to touch at all because it affects me not only financially but mentally too. I already suffer from depression so I really hope I'll never have a relapse again. I can stop but it's always after I'm broke, never after a win. I don't even know how I started again in December, I didn't have ro, I was doing ok...I just want to be normal again, work and be happy with what I have and find escape in healthy hobbies.
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But I really think winning big was a curse for me, it caused me so much distress that I don't know when I'll forgive myself for this.Â
Hi
If you stop now then you can look back and say that the big win has done you a favour. You could spend the rest of your life chasing that big win again
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Stuart
Hey man I done similar, honestly just stop chasing the big win man, the steamers ect that glorify it and make it seem like they can make a living off it probably owe millions of debt to those online companies or there being payed to gamble on there websites, the sad reality is that it just one big scam really so they can make there money, but don’t worry about it man, I’ve just signed up to Gamstop and once you realise you have a problem that’s the first step to recovery, I’ve lost probably 5grand from gambling all in all but I guess I wasn’t realising I had a problem, hope your ok, keep your head up have a cup of tea, cook a bit of food, try local food banks ect if you need to mate, just keep your head up life goes on, stuff  happens man, we’re all humans we all make mistakes at the end of the day.Â
I am working on forgetting and living normally. Gambling made me feel disgusting. It is really one of the worst addictions. I realized how isolated I was and immersed in this dark world. It's really lonely, I don't wish this upon anyoneÂ
I feel like I’m reading my exact own situation. I did exactly the same thing this week. I feel like I’ve been here before so many times. I won big, mentally was spending it so happy, and hours later I’d drained the lot. Panic set in. Gambling and gambling to win some back so I can pay rent. Made it even worse. Now I can’t pay rent in two weeks and nobody in my life knows I’ve been an addict for years.Â
The mental fatigue is so hard. I made my way around GameStop. Relying on only willpower is the hardest thing of all.
I sympathise so much and have actually found comfort in knowing I’m not the only person in the same situation. If you ever want to talk 1 on 1, please feel free to message me.
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I can resonate i believe this was one of the reasons why i was hooked for soo long the swings in gambling i still remember almost lossing it all in my head making plan who i am going to borrow money from suddently moments later getting my money back and thinking what a lucky escape not realising had i not gambled to begin with wouldnt have caused these problem the industry spends millions to keep people hooked it give u an illustion u are in control that i was lucky so in my head i felt things will be different the money allways went back it was matter of time and more the odd thing i did spend the money on was paided back to gambling establishment the only people that gave me correct advice was places like GaÂ
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