I believe if you really 100 per cent put your all into wanting to stop gambling you will.
If I was to compare it to alcoholism, which I mention on my diary page, once the physical dependency is dealt with through a "detox" it's then a mental condition - an illness as I came to believe in AA.
I made a commitment to not drink alcohol one day at a time on September 5th 2018, accepted I need a hell of a lot of support and guidance and was willing to go to any lengths to stay sober. So far, it's working for me. Without purposely being dramatic (but being honest) alcoholism literally did bring me to my knees and I nearly died last summer.
With gambling the key thing is also commitment whatever happens good or bad. The only difference I can see TODAY between myself and someone who has relapsed once or multiple times is that I've maintained my commitment not to gamble, not become complacent and see it for it is - a temporary and very destructive distraction from the way I feel/felt. Addictions of all poisons are pretty similar in that respect IMO.
It's taken me years to realise that addiction is an illness. My arrogance told me that it wasn't - my bad. Who on earth in a rational frame of mind would be putting their last few pound coins into a machine or placing it on a horse at 66/1?Â
Personally I think this is why AA and GA can work for people.
They provide a framework for people to think about their addiction & work their recovery.
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You are right - must be a vanishingly small amount of people who can do it on will power alone.
Hi K2.
I don't believe 12-step programs are the only the way to maintain abstinence from any specific addiction - I believe there are other approaches such as SMART or Intuitive Recovery.
However, what I was unwilling to do in the past was have respect for other people's approaches - I hadn't been given the "gift of desperation" as the saying goes and had a very arrogant approach to recovery.
I was as fanatical in my anti 12-step view as my "perceived" dogmatic approach of people I interacted with online and often face-to-face. It's not my place to judge other people's approach or views on recovery just like it's not my place to tell people they are an alcoholic or a gambling addict. I've found I had to have those realisations for myself despite repeated concerns being expressed to me.
Hi Phil,
Yeah, GA isn't the only way for sure.
I do think people need some kind of framework though, and they need an open mind.
We need to remove ourselfs from gambling situations and we need a support network when motivation lags.
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