Well I’ve been here before many times.. I’ve been gambling since summer 2010, when my boyfriend at the time got me into it.
I soon realised I was addicted, and even now almost 8 years later, I am still addicted. Still trapped in that same bubble! I have had relationships broke down, begged, borrowed and stole. I’ve been upto around £10000 in debt. I’m currently nearly £6000, yet still manage to get hold of money, promising to pay back. I’m 27 years old, a mother of two beautiful children, I want to do this for myself but also for them. I know I’m not giving them the best life and what they deserve. My partner has been very supportive, he has attended counselling sessions with me in the past. Although, I still don’t think he understands what addiction does to us. I wanted to create a new account for it to be a new start, and I want 2018 to be the year I eventually crack this awful addiction. Any help or advice is very welcome.. thanks.
Hi AJ
I can only repeat what a lot on here who have gone weeks/months/years without gambling have said and that is to take one day at a time.
I too in the past have been guilty of not following that advice but can honestly now say that I will not gamble today!
Good luck, I am sure 2018 is our year.
Shaun
Thanks Shaun. Trying this one day at a time approach. This morning I have cleaned the house, played and read with my children.
Today I will not gamble. Day 1!
Day 3 today, I’ve enjoyed doing every day things and making sure I get out of the house.. any tips for not giving in would be helpful.
Day 5, keeping strong despite the urges.
Day 6. Every day I find myself feeling more depressed, lonely and guilty.
Hi AJ0212 - I'm sorry to hear that you're feeling depressed, lonely and guilty. These are weighty feelings, but I can imagine a large chunk of those feelings are probably due to the gambling addiction not getting its way.
Are you still in counselling? Or maybe a visit to your GP can help provide some support for the difficulties your experiencing.
This forum has stopped me feeling alone with my gambling. It's the place I go to place whenever I've felt trapped by the urge to relapse. I see it very much as island which provides me with a bit of safety, forcing me to pause if I'm feeling close to the edge of gambling again. With all the supportive people here, I never feel as if I'm tackling it alone.
I always feel a bit clumsy offering support and this short term fix is probably going to sound like a very jolly hockysticks solution - but whenever I feel down, I've always found just getting out the house and taking a long walk helps. For me, when a black mood hits I tend to be inactive, usually alone and able to ruminate on all my negatives. But just getting out of the house and putting my focus on other things, whether it's cars on the road, shoppers in the street, leaves on the ground, the clouds in the sky or the odd squirrel running up a tree, it redirects the focus away from me and puts the spotlight on the amazing wider world out there rather than me and my problems. I think our minds our really good at hurting us but they're also dumb and we can distract them easily at times.
I hope you start to feel better and get all the support you need to tackle this. One thing that always helps me when I think maybe just one more bet, is reading the diaries of other people. They are clear cut reminders that gambling simply leads to misery and it's got to be cut out of my life. No matter how much I try to tempt and delude myself that I can achieve a big win and then quit.
Take care
Equinox
Thanks very much for your message. I’m not doing any sort of counselling at the moment, a trip to the GP is definitely an option. Everyday I keep reminding myself, when doing everyday jobs, activities with my children etc, that this is what life is about, this is how it can be everyday I am not gambling. They are my focus, and I want to do this for them. I keep telling myself if I don’t make the change, I never will. I am determined I am not going to fail this time. I want to be free forever of this awful addiction, and will not let it ruin or be part of my life any longer.
1 week DONE 🙂 its been tough but I’m feeling good.
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