2019 - My Turning Point?

Yeah I'm soo happy Dan cant wait but more importantly its already almost march and I really want to do a whole calender yet that's my main goal

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That’s my aim too!... although mine won’t technically be ‘gamble free’ (lol!) as such, I’d be quite proud of myself if I don’t step into a bookies or log into an online site in 2019.

We will save soo much money too

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DeterminedDan wrote:

I'd be quite proud of myself if I don't step into a bookies or log into an online site in 2019

And so you should be :o)

I can’t believe how much better I feel than I did, roughly about 2 months ago.

I hit a pretty low period at the start of December, more specifically, my own birthday! Over that weekend, I lost somewhere in the region of £1,200! To put into context, that was double the highest amount I’d ever previously lost in that time period (£600).

Whilst I didn’t completely do my ***** in that weekend (I somehow have the ability to completely stop before losing all my savings...), I felt as though things were way out of control. Too out of control! My money was only heading one way.

Things had to change....and things did change.

Now, 2 months on, I’ve saved quite a bit of money, simply through not gambling.

Things feel back in control again.

I’ve said it before but Gamstop was my saviour!

If anyone has problems with gambling online then Gamstop is an absolute must! Seriously, it’s that good!

The other positive in my life is that I’m losing weight through eating healthily. I would say with exercise too but that was never an issue.

My life feels good. I can walk around with my head held high and not feel as though I’m carrying those dirty little secrets around with me.

Happy days.

Yo, reading that brought back a memory , of how when in the throws of my addiction, I hated mirrors . I would stare in the mirror , not recognise the person in front of me , and know I really really didn’t like that person. Now as you said walking with head high , no longer avoiding mirrors . Have a good day , let’s both keep on keeping on ....... Shiny:-)

This morning I had a look back at my last 2 years worth of online bank statements. They make for depressing reading. Full of PayPal payments and a few scattered ‘donations’ from my girlfriend, that make it so obvious that I was a compulsive gambler.

On the plus side, 2019 currently looks clean. It needs to stay that way too. This will be my turning point!

DD,

All of my gambling was funded out of a personal account that I had. Only I had access to this account. All the bills, direct debits etc came out of a joint account that my wife and I share. She has her own personal account and I have mine. Anyway, it is an utterly unbelieveablle comparison in transactions when you compare my time gambling compared with my time not gambling. You can see the craziness in your statements. At its worst, I would have loads of withdrawals and pay-ins most often on the same day. I loved when the banks introduced the facility that allowed you to pay cash in to a machine in branch because I was embarrassed paying a large sum in to the same cashier as I had only withdrawn from an hour ealier.

I love the fact that my personal account can now have only a few transactions per month. Small things that can make us happier in recovery.

Tomso.

We’re now officially out of Winter and into Spring! It’s one of my favourite days of the year 🙂

Two months down, 10 more to go.

Dan 2-0 Gambling...

2019 will be my turning point!

Thanks for your comments, Tomso and Reminder...

I am enjoying (or rather relaxing) when logging onto my online banking. It’s only two months worth of statements that look ‘normal’ but it’s something to build on. Making it through to the end of 2019 would feel amazing.

I seem to have switched my compulsive gambling to compulsive food shopping. Or rather, early evening/late night shopping to pick up some yellow sticker bargains. On Thursday I actually drove round to 3 different supermarkets (all in close proximity) to get baskets full of food to put in the freezer. So I’ve gone from spending lots of money on gambling to saving lots of money on food/treats.

Tonight, I had a little buzz as I walked down to my local co-op, knowing that, as always on a Saturday night, the ‘reduced’ trolley would be packed full of bargains.

I guess it’s a healthier and cheaper ‘addiction’ to have than gambling. Though I use the word ‘addiction’ loosely when describing my shopping. I’m not really addicted. But I do make a trip out most nights when I’m free and not doing anything.... How sad, eh! Haha! But at least it serves a purpose, especially as I live on my own at the moment.

Can anyone else relate to this kind of behaviour? Or anything equally as sad haha!?

DeterminedDan wrote:

I guess it's a healthier and cheaper ‘addiction' to have than gambling. Though I use the word ‘addiction' loosely when describing my shopping.

Just don't start trying to stick your courgettes into the FOBT and you'll be fine Dan ;o)

Another week begins and it’s another day further away from my last gambling session on the 30th Dec.

Last night I went out to the theatre to watch a well known comedian perform. I had such a great night with lots of laughs. Feeling tired this morning though as I didn’t get home until very late.

Still, it was definitely worth it.

I’ve been reading a few articles this morning about ‘gambling’ and how the £2 limit on FOBT’S are set to impact on the high street bookmakers. Whatever happens come April, it’ll be interesting. Some reports from the bookies say that they won’t know how bad it’ll hit them until around August time, when the half year reports are issued. I have to walk past a few bookies on my way into town, and I’ve noticed (when I’ve glanced in) that those machines are hardly being used these days. Whether or not it’s because the £2 law has already been enforced, I don’t know. But the bookies definitely look emptier when I’ve walked past.

Some reports that I’ve read have also talked about the need to tackle online gambling and making sure that people, like ourselves on here, don’t spend more than they can afford. Again, it made for very interesting reading.

Something has to be done about it. Society can’t go on like this for much longer. There are an increasing amount of problem gamblers in this country and it’s growing rapidly by the year. The stats are alarming. It worries me to think that if nothing was to be done over the next 5 years, what would the stats look like then?

I’m actually quite excited about the proposed changes. Whilst I’m not naive enough to think that it’ll fix everything for us compulsive gamblers, it’s reassuring to know that this addiction is beginning to be taken seriously.

Hey Dan

Thanks for your comment on my post, lovely to hear from you! Glad your still doing OK :)))

I'm still plodding along, would love to report urges have stopped but no such luck, some days are worse than others but I get them pretty much everyday.

Hopefully the reports you've been reading come to fruition! Oh to be in a world free of gambling eh!

Sorry I've not been around much been trying to do everything to keep my mind off this addiction. Staying off here hasn't done anything so I will try to get on more often.

Anyhow, glad your good and hope it continues.

D x

Feeling positive this morning. I’ve almost forgotten what it’s like to be a gambler. Those nights of opening up a betting app, knowing full well that there was a chance that things could turn sour very soon. Basically any win I had was delaying the inevitable crash that would eventually follow. Roulette, especially, was a game whereby I knew that if I was going to lose, I was going to lose big. I couldn’t just accept a quick, small loss. It’s probably because that money can be won back so quickly with one spin. The temptation is always there to try and fix the situation right away.

I’m so glad to be away from all that! Each day, every time I woke up, I was wondering how I’d be feeling come the end of the day. Would it be today that I lose a lot? Because I knew it was always coming.

Now I get some joy spending my hard earned money on luxuries that I otherwise would have found too expensive whilst gambling.

Yes, the buzz may have gone but I’ve also managed to get rid of plenty of other negative factors that come with compulsive gambling. It’s definitely worth it. The best feeling though is not having the guilt, the dirty little secret hanging round you all day long. Each day that passes is another day further from those days.

Life feels good at the moment.

Another 3 days gamble free under my belt.

Reading more reports about high street bookies closing down.

I’m not sure where I stand on the whole feeling sorry for job losses debate. I think I’m firmly on the fence with that one. I can see both sides to that particular argument.

However, I will be happier to see less bookies on the high street.