First post here and let me start by saying this.....I am addicted to gambling (specifically sports betting)!
Like all of us here I've decided that enough is enough. Many times I have tried to control my addiction knowing deep down that it controls me. Stage 1 was admitting this to myself and now stage 2 is doing something about it.
Let me start by telling you my story. Im 29 years old and started gambling around 10 years ago. Started out with the odd £5 here and there (dont we all) and then escalated to the point where I'm at now.......in debt with no control. Last weekend was my wife's birthday and I'm ashamed to admit that all I thought about for the majority of the day was gambling. After losing another few hundred £ it dawned on me that I have lost all control and the only way to take this control back is to stop completely. I found these forums and after reading some of your stories I decided to follow in your footsteps and 'blog' my journey. I'm hoping that documenting my thoughts and feelings will give me something to reflect on when I feel i can control my spend and delve deeper into the cycle of addiction. I also hope that by other's following my success story (rest assured I will beat this) they too can find inspiration to beat their addiction and some good can come from the years of lost time and money I have squandered.
My motivation is simple.....I will become a better husband and father. No more hours spent in front of the sports channels mindlessly checking the odds to get my next fix. No more cancelled family days out due to lack of funds in the bank.
I will charter my thoughts and feelings with my initial goal to reach 100 days gamble free. I am currently at day 3! Please feel free to offer your advice, share your own story or even heckle! I will take inspiration from each and every comment
Let the battle commence
Dean
Welcome Dean...You've come to the right place for all 3 🙂
& congratulations on 3 days 🙂
What sort of advice are you after? I see what your motivation is...Nice one 🙂 Being an active gambler around loved ones is toxic.
You know we cannot win because we cannot stop, so good news that you have accepted this! I too tried convincing myself I could control it...If only I'd had your sense @ 29! I guess you've had a look @ what tools there are available to aid recovery? Do your loved ones know? What are your plans going forwards? I'll chuck you my 2p worth when I know what's already up your sleeve!
But for now, good to have another soldier onboard! Time to reclaim your life - ODAAT
Hi Dean - welcome pal... stay on the straight and narrow!
Thanks ODAAT appreciate you taking the time to offer your advice.
My wife knows Im a compulsive gambler although not to the extent that I am. Ill show her this blog in the coming days to show her how committed I am to making this change.
Plans going forward at the moment are to keep reading the journals of others to gain inspiration, to update my blog daily and to take 1 day at a time. I appreciate there are many difficult days ahead but am more confident (not complacent!) than Ive ever been that I can get better.
Been reading up a bit to try to understand gambling addiction a bit more and stumbled upon the gambling triangle. Found it quite interesting so will definitely adopt an approach focusing on the time element.
I also found a quote that really resonated with me, " If you ever accidentally drop your keys into a river of molten lava, let 'em go, because man, they're gone". The thousands Ive lost is gone and will never come back - about time I faced that fact and cut my losses!
Look forward to updating tomorrow.
Dean
Change wrote:
Hi Dean - welcome pal... stay on the straight and narrow!
Thank you Change, I most certainly will!
Welcome dsh
Good luck on your journey..I you s it easier to set myself little goals to reach...I week..2 weeks...etc. ..didn't feel I was expecting so much from myself that way....and the 'anniversaries' seemed to come around so quick...just a thought x
Thanks Loxxie. At the moment im just concentrating on getting through Friday - Sunday which is when I generally lose the plot! Active body, active mind is my mentality over the coming days, weeks and months.
Hi Dean & others I'm new to this forum and also require some help stopping! Yesterday I lost some money and I knew I had to stop, get out of debt and get back on the straight and narrow! I bet on football and horses mostly but FOBT are where I do the most serious damage! I know I'm not going to win yet i ontinually feed them! Today I won't gamble and plan to take this day by day going forward! Thanks in advance for your help! Matt
Another day free of gambling but busy with work so the real test begins tomorrow. Generally spend Fridays betting on the horses as Im off for the day. Planning on taking the dog for a long walk during the day and then out with friends in the evening.
Whatever I end up doing I know 1 thing is for certain.......i will not gamble!
NI Boy - sports and horse racing are my (past) vices of choice too. Managed to avoid the football tonight despite my beloved Liverpool playing so a mini win (lets not talk about the result 🙁 )! Hopefully you can take some sort of inspiration from this thread, youve already done the hard bit which is logging in and admitting to others you have a problem. Good luck on your journey and thanks for taking the time to share your story.
Stay strong one and all and thanks for listening.
Dean
Good luck with the next couple days ....if you get "the urge " come here....read ...rant...whatever....just "step away from the zone "...you can do this....xxx
Thanks Loxxie. Another good day yesterday, turned down the opportunity to go to the casino and went another day gamble free. So far so good today as well and feeling good about it too.
On a side note, yesterday I looked at my main bank account over the last 7 years and calculated my losses from online gambling alone.........wow, what a sobering exercise! I had no idea it would amount to so much (and it doesnt even include other accounts and cash bets in high street bookies!).
Not worth reflecting on for too long though, whats done is done.
Another night out tonight with my wife and her wider circle of friends to celebrate her birthday. Another great night in store free of gambling!
Stay safe all, and thanks for your support
Dean
Completed the weekend gambling free which makes today day 8! Sounds ridiculous to say but a huge milestone and achievement for me. A few thoughts fluttering about but generally better than I expected (reluctant to say 'easier'!). Until now Ive always said "I need to control my gambling" and never can. Understanding that I need to stop completely has altered my mindset and I feel in a better place for it already.
However, I will not take this lightly and will take every day as it comes. Today is another day but 1 thing is for sure.......I WILL NOT GAMBLE!
To everybody reading, thanks for your support and stay strong.
Dean
Keep going Dean, soon be onto day 10 and then the weeks start to build up as well.
Good Luck in general the problem it is easy to give up but staying stopped is quite difficult. You have a good attitude keep your guard up and you will be fine.
Hi dean just wanted to drop a message to say well done. Almost at double digits. Keep up the good work
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