Here i am at the start of another diary.......another step in the journey......where my journey will lead i don't know........Im at the cusp of something great......In fact i feel 6 years is great.......All the friends ive made on here.......All the help ive tried to give.......all the independence ive gained........all the added focus ive now got at work.......the presence i have whilst spending time with friends and family.......the lack of stress in my life now......I can focus on my aims, mostly my health and enjoy the fruits of my labour....... long my this continue.
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In 10 days i will hit my 6 year gamble free so i thought id start a new diary and reflect.
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Ill post my objectives for this year on new years eve and will feedback and look at whether ive achieved this years objectives that i set last new years.
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Ive bought a playstation portal on black friday to celebrate the 6 year mark.......It's a symbol of the achievement and i will enjoy every monet playing it........ onwards i goÂ
Adam, that’s amazing and you are an inspiration to all of us on here. Hearing stories like yours gives me some semblance of fight that I could finally beat this awful addiction
Good job Adam amazing work
Congratulations and well done Adam 👏👏👏👏.
I believe setting goals and objectives and more importantly, rewarding yourself (no matter how small), are all equally important in helping us to remain g.f. Long May it continue.
Have a lovely Sunday.
Pink Lady 🩷🍎.
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Magnifecent Ahievement well done Adam.
Amazing mate 6 years is a massive achievement congratulations🎉🥳🎊
Thank you all for popping by......fills me with pride.
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I've been trying to get value for money with my gaming lately. I spend a lot on gaming and I feel it's right to get value......I've got the pounds spent per hour played down to £1.63p I know silly to measure this but I like to get value....... I like to however get it down to the £1 mark thru December...... I love gaming and in the winter months I like a challenge.....so this is my challenge for December.....
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In order to do this if have to have played 376 hours I think it's is in the year.  I started off very slowly this year and thru summer didn't play much as was out walking Soo much........
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Walking was my summer challenge.....I took it too far and I'm no doubt going to take it too far with this gaming......but I like a bargin so I'll aim to get it down to a pound......
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So it's the 23rd so I have 7 days left of November and 31 days in December...... So 38 days to do it in ...... Think I worked out need an average of just under four hours a day....... I get back from work three pm each day so I'll try and do four hours each afternoon playing with my nephews and new friend from work.
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Also I've got a lot of holiday and weekends where I usually play more....... But I'll just try and do the average each week and see if I can get to it.
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Love a challenge....I'll no doubt get square eyes haha.
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So to recap each week I'll need average of 7x4 hours =28 hours......it's a lot I know!!!!!!
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Let's see how it goes.
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Health wise felt like I was eating unhealthy so I went for a walk at 1am this morning then went to waitrose today walking and went for a brisk walk this evening to gym but was already shut....so walked back.....I'll take a look but should be on 5k first day of week so better than last week.
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Got this Thurs and Friday off work for champs league weds night.....seeing friends Saturday..Xmas drinks I've organized......
Thought I'd stop mid post as sometimes it deleted itself but this time all good thankfully.
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So yeah......I'll aim to get a good start on this challenge this week with all my days off, the fact I can play in bed with portal and switch two..should be able to get good start.
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Five weeks mega gaming.......will look to try and complete Gran Turismo and play lots of fortnite along with cyberpunk.......Looking forward to it.....
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I'll make sure I'm hitting the 70k steps this week.... In order to keep healthy......
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Budgeting wise I'm spending more on meat......but I'm spending a good amount on everything else so this month has been perfect ......I've saved 400 pounds towards what I owe folks and also managed to buy the ps portal....... Last month I paid off my sofa 134 pounds so no more payments for that and spent 134 on game pass ultimate for a year...... So last month I also saved 400.....
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Budgeting wise I'm trying to come in with spending less on food for the year.....I'm coming in even at the mo for the year.......everything goes up in price each year. I wasn't able to get the half price Heinz soup deal as it wasn't on and my my mum has her heart attack I thought f it for two months and spent double on food thinking I only live once....... I've got about fifteen meals in freezer at mo...and will try to knuckle down a bit.
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Stuart I feel that ur starting off great.......you've obvs got a lot to deal with at home...... But you've started great by going for walks with kids...... These early days are so hard and crucial to get good start...... I promise if you keep going the way you are things will get easier and you're confidence will build.
Congratulations from Hong Kong!!!Â
That’s brilliant mate and long may it continueÂ
Six years gambling-free is an extraordinary milestone, and your gratitude toward the mods and GamCare community really shows how vital support networks are in recovery. It’s small habits — even personal markers like live speed test km/h to track progress or mood — that help maintain momentum over the long term. You’ve put in the hard work, and you deserve every bit of pride in how far you’ve come.
hi ann dazza and jack thanks for popping by and filling me with pride.....
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Well id say this week has been full of ups and downs...... Firstly i spent early part of week trying to game for unessesarily long hours.... i didnt need to do this.... but less sleep makes me unhappy and unhealthy.....I even set my alarm to play games before work....like it was a chore...i obsess about my objectives and this one really wasnt needed....so by weds id realised and put down the controllers and focused on something else.
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then i focused on work for a few days and weds i felt ill when i went to wkr so took the day off and slept. maybe it was the gaming that took its toll maybe it was just a old but id been nine weeks without a sick day so thats fine.
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Then after my sleep i saw a deal on my hot deals app for a nice present for my niece...this got me thinknng about xmas again so i spent five hours buying presents and bought some very nice things......then i watched spurs in europe and had two days off work where i stayed mostly at home waiting on amazon to deliver said presents......
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Ive now bought all my presents and have been paid today..... Im going for dribks with friends tomo and will spend wisely..... ill go for a coffee before and will wathc footy... Ive done my free hit in fant footy.....
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Ive spent 150 pounds on presents and have bougght wisely kids lots adults not a lot the way it should be christmas is about kids ....
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Ive budgeted for the month and will hopefully save well ...... todat i spent 15 pounds in waitrose and just got two meals (indian banquet, and meal deal.....) bit impulsive bit indulgent bit expensive but i did enjoy today....
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Hi Adam123,
Congratulations to you on 6 years gamble free. What a most fantastic achievement. Your presence in our online community is valued and you act as a beacon of hope for those that come looking for support and reassurance.Â
Thank you for sharing and continuing to share your recovery with us.Â
Wishing you all the bestÂ
The modsÂ
Thank you mods means a lot......
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Well to celebrate today i've been cooking a nice meal, having a bath, listening to music, then of course spending time looking at my finances hahaha...... nothing changes my obsessiveness..... im consistent if nothing else hahaha.....
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So today i went back to work had a back to work interview...... ive had nine seperate sickness occasions over the last 12 months..... this is a lot but cant change that now..... i lasted nine weeks without a sick day this time....... so pretty good...... but they however feel its an issue if its three or more occasions a year...... seems a bit tight..... was fine tho.....
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Looking at my finances ive spent quite a lot over last couple of months so this month going to try to knuckle down a bit..... ive got 20 meals in freezer.....ive got about 20 cans of soup for lunch....ive got 8 pints of milk in fridge, ive got essnetials like bleach, toothpaste, shampoo, washing up liquid, soup, etc and ive got loaf of bread in freezer. Basically im all set for three weeks living...... So im going to see how long i can last into december without spending a penny...... Once ive run out of milk and sweetners and bread ive got £4.90 on my siansburys card for that......im thinking i can get to 20th without spending anything..... All be it ill then have nothing left to eat at all and will have to do a big shop for end of december...... but i like a challenge and itll mean ill have a plus of 700 quid for the month to go towards debt.....
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Ill buy some pringles two tubs around xmas for new years eve....... with this milestone comes a new years eve with myself looking at how ive achieved against my annual objectives.......ill have to look them up as i cant remember them now but i remember the main one was to stop obssessing over finances as much..... this i can boldly say ive failed......but in failing ive succeeded in many other things......
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On new years eve ill also set my objectives for the new year.......
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My main objectives at a glance are:
Help as many people as i can on Gamcare chatroom and forum .........
No vices (no smoking, no drinking, no drugs, no gambling)
Average of at least 70,000 steps a week over the year (in order to get exercise but not overdo it)
Play table tennis with folks at least every other week.....
Play fortnite with friends and family online.....
Make most of luxuries i have (tv, consoles, subcriptions) but not overspend on them budget and stick to it get best deals......Overall im really lucky to have what i have so a year of endulging on what ive already spent money on..... in order to save more overall for the year on top....
Look to save year on year again on food.....
Look to save year on year on energy....(apparently there will be a reduction in unit cost from april lets hope theyre right).....
Work as hard as i can thru the year in order to be an asset at work and look to have less sick days (although tough)
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All the best......
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On to the next 6 eyÂ
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