22/04/2017... The day I stopped Gambling!

Up bright and early trying to chase my losses and lost even more money... In a dark place.

What are you going to do differently to break the cycle?

Nothing changes if nothing changes.

Hi Hero to zero,

Lethe makes a good point...what things are you putting into place to assist you in stopping. Will power is a great tool but from personal experiece i can tell you it is not enough. One day you will give in, you will gamble you will feel like you do today.....i have nearly 20 years og gambling behind me to back that up.

Loads of great advice on here and its up to you what you do with that.

Think that worked for me this time was counselling....i had demons that i had to deal with. I am not saying that would work for you but there is many options out there.

Make the changes that are needed today.
Damo

Thanks for the advice folks... I have sent an email to arrange counselling.

Something needs to change HTZ. It will change, but this is bigger than you right now, and you need to cut it down in manageable chunks. Keep the faith.

Julie x

Thanks Julie... I begin again tommorow I will ensure I wont gamble. Hopefully here back about arranging the counselling try and get a better understanding of myself and what causes me to gamble.

Hi HTZ,

I tried will power alone and it got me to 50 days GF and thought everything was great but then the Cheltenham festival came on and slipped up! I found the only real way to beat it was putting blocking software on my computer as all my gambling was done online & also 1-1 counciling sessions. I can tell you it's been a life changer and 41 days now GF and never even think much about gambling. Getting the counciling sessions is a great step as will power alone only lasts so long.

Goodluck mate

Paul

I have emailed to arrange counselling from RCA anyone used them in Scotland?

Once. A few years ago.

I was of the impression the counsellor was used to helping homeless drug addicts rather than compulsive gamblers due to the nature of the questions. The session was over fairly quickly and there was not too much in the way of gambling advice. I live in a rural area and it was not possible for me to attend further sessions at the times available. My nearest Trust is not in a big city. I guess the staff need to be spead out and are not specific to certain addictions.

I have now attended a few group sessions via Gamcare and I would highly recommend them.

Today we go again....

Think im going to give GA another go next week.

I went to GA in edinburgh years ago and at that time it was exactly what i needed....even if its uncomfortable to begin with stick with it. It cant make things any worse than they feel right now.

I live in England now and work at the end of the earth so the nearest GA from me is too far away to travel to during the week so this time i decided to go the counselling route. Luckily i got someone i could really connect with and although i no longer see him I would not hesitate to contact him if i felt i had the need.

Do them both...what you got to lose?

Damo

No gambling today... Plenty of regrets and been thinking about everything I have done all day and its eating me up... 1 day GF

My advice, stop eating yourself up with regret. And I don't mean that in a throw away comment kind of way. The past is the past, it cannot be changed. Only the future and that is every minute from now, or when you read this lol. Regret plays on your mind, and you keep thinking what could have been. Positively take a day at a time, and when you go to gamble (which you will) think of all the positive changes you are making, and how gambling will affect them. Set yourself little targets, and aim towards them. You can do this HTZ.. I believe in you.

Julie... Your advice and support is priceless as always... You always tell it how it is and thats what I need, I need to stop feeling sorry for myself and be more active in turning my life around. It is extremely difficult though and just need to take a step at a time.

Unfortunately my chat on this does not appear to be working hence why I havent been on recently.

I wont gamble tommorow I just know I wont!

I am a shoot from the hip kind of girl really, some find it annoying, but I guess I speak my truth!

You can take a half step at a time, until you feel ready HTZ. Just be kind to yourself while your doing it. Don't mutter names under your breath when you think or yourself (or is it just me that does that)...we all feel sorry for ourselves...but remember that kindness too. If this was a mate or a family member, I think you would be very kind and supportive towards them, afford yourself that too.

Julie x