OK, lets's try third time lucky.
This month I had a few close calls followed by a miserable fortnight or so of gambling with losses I couldn't afford, at a time I could least do with it.
Today I didn't gamble.
I had time, funds and opportunity but chose not to go in. The money I have is much better spent on Christmas and to be honest my family deserve a good one.
I paid a couple of debts off today too, and putting £200 towards that instead of spending an hour wasting it feels like a massive weight off my shoulders.
I won't be on here every day but I will update fairly regularly and give an honest account of myself.
Good luck Kev!
I'm also in the early stages of recovery. Day 2 for me.
Depending on what you would bet on a daily occurance, think of every hour that passes by as money in your bank, rather than into gambling.
Best of luck Kev!
Keep us posted!
Day two, easier than I thought today. Christmas shopping on my own at lunch but just did what i needed and went back to work.
So again; time, money and opportunity but no slip.
Had a pint with my brother this evening (just one). He usually chucks a few quid in the bandit with me and steered in that direction without even asking, but I told him I want to pack them in and he understood. Loads of people playing pool so he chucked £2 in the quiz machine and I helped him with a dazzling bit of general knowledge ,so that couple of quid lasted him half an hour.
Good times.
So. Today should be day 12 gamble free but I had a slip.
Friday was the tenth anniversary of my Dad's death (30th Dec 2006) so after I visited the grave with flowers I went out for a few drinks. Ended up alone in a well known pub chain (rhymes with featherspoons) and of course I ended up feeding a fruit machine. I had no prior intention to play, it didn't particularly excite me or stir up memories, it was just something to do - I gravitated to the machine without even thinking about it.
Anyway I wasted a few quid then went to another pub, a little local one, and had a game of pool with a friend I bumped into. I told him about it but of course he couldn't really offer any advice, just said I was doing the right thing in quitting them.
So that's my confession, and while it was a c**P step backwards it's been my only slip in the last couple of weeks. Christmas was excellent, no sneaking off to run errands ("ooooh, we need xyz from the shop, back in an hour..."), everyone received presents for once and even I noticed an improvement in my demeanour, no losing my temper at the slightest thing, regular sleep patterns etc.
All in all I'm happy with the progress. In Christmas week particularly I had money, time and opportunity to gamble and I chose not to. I have been to the pub a handful of times and not been tempted, it helps having company - if I can play darts or pool, or just sit in a group having a chat, it provides enough of a distraction that I honestly don't think about how much it'll take to make the bandit drop.
The one occasion I went to the pub alone, disaster. Granted that almost never happens, I don't put myself in that position to drink/gamble alone, it just fell that way on Friday that no-one was out with me and I really wanted a few drinks after the graveyard.
Anyway, we're now into 2017 and I'm feeling very positive. Blocks in place, and more importantly my head in the right place. We are talking about saving for a bigger house which will be an immense challenge.
Hey kevz
How you doing..
You were the first person to welcome me here....
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