Abstaining Completely

Hi Ryan and welcome to the forum! It's an important first step that u've just taken. U admitted u have a problem. Might not put u in financial difficulties...for now, but I can assure u no matter how much money u have, this addiction won't stop, not even when you're completely broke, in debt over your head, not even when you loose all your friends and family.it'll always want more... Someone on this forum posted a line that I'll always remember..

'gamblers never win and winners never gamble!' stay strong and quit now while the addiction is not fully installed. All the best

Hi Ryan, It was good to read your thread tonight, let's try and stop together, I too am losing between £500-£1000 a month now and I can't afford it. Let's help each other along.

Wilsy (Andy)

Cheers guys.

Difficult to get my head past the 500 I lost over the last few weeks at the moment but thinking long term; need to save it in bits and then ween myself off the gambling.

Once I've got a few weeks under my belt I figure it will be a lot easier. I'm back to work now, which is good as I don't have as much time to sit and mull things over (and gamble again).

Ryan

Hi Ryan

Again welcome and well done on starting a diary , its good u recognise the problem esp b4 it gets way out of control , this is an amazing site with loads of advice and support , use it all to ur advantage

I wish u all the best

Castle2

Thanks for the support.

Today's the day my once-a-week gambling would be done. Obviously, that makes it more in the forefront of my mind and the "it's only a tenner a week" atittude it tempting.

Of course, I know I need to completely stop so I don't even think about betting at all, let alone once a week. Then I can't get tangled up in problems with it at all.

Ryan

11 days gone. I could use my previously weekly 10 pound bet now, and could have for the last 5 days.

I won't though.

🙂

Been a few weeks now. Not even thinking about gambling usually. Things pop up on facebook though of amazing bets coming off. Gonna make sure I come back here and post, like now, when I see that to remind me why I don't bet!

Sadly, despite the above posts, I slipped into the regular 10 pound a week betting.

The last few days this has spiralled out of control. This morning, I was 100 pounds up. Now, I'm 750 pounds down.

It's frustrating, because I can see the patterns. Clearly, I have an addicitive personality. When I'm at school working (I'm a teacher) gambling doesn't really become an issue. I'm focused on the job. However, during holidays (such as now, and clearly as before during the Xmas holidays) I seem to start doing it again and let my boundaries drop.

Does anybody else have similar tendencies? I can see I need to stop. I just wonder whether anybod has utilised our undeniably addictive personalities to their advantage - for example, a tally of days without gambling (with rewards??) or a saving chart etc.

Thoughts?

OK, plan of action:

Stop online gambling completely.

This is where I lose my money. My ten pound a month thing was OK in itself - I usually broke even - but made gambling seem "OK" enough to lose huge amounts of money on other websites every now and then.

This will solve the issue of losing so much money.

Consider a week without gambling as saving 20 pounds a week.

Roughly, I think I've spend 4k in 3 years on gambling, This works out as roughly 20 pounds a week. Although I never lost the money in regular intervals like this, this will help me remember the isolated spurts of huge wasted money.

This will solve the issue of wanting "money for nothing", as I am, in effect, making money by not gambling.

Attempt to get a loan to consolidate my debts.

They're not all gambling related, although it's safe to say I wouldn't be in so mnuch debt had I never gambled. I've applied for a 6k loan that will pay off my overdraft and credit cards. I've calculated that, if approved, I'll be paying 30 pounds a month "extra", rather than the usual 70 pounds a month in total interest I'd pay on the cards. In effect then, over 18 months, I'd save 720 pounds. This is equal to the amount of money I lost yesterday. I know it sounds stupid to say it, but I may never have found this out had I not wanted to look for a loan because of my money loss. This isn't excusing what I did as rational; it's my way of telling myself I don't need to go chasing the money.

This will stop me chasing the money and help me see the wasted loss yesterday as attainable again.

I appreciate I'm talking to myself, but it's making me feel better :).

Cheers

Ryan

Just read through your posts and I've been having the same sorts of discussions in my head the last few weeks. I went cold turkey after blowing thousands but let the voices in my head convince me that £50 when out with the boys or a freebie tournament at home with a few quid in buy ins was not feeding the problem. Having tried both ways, I have to agree with those who say total abstinence is the bet way to beat the addiction. My brain is only wired one way and it means I lose. Welcome back to the forum; I genuinely believe you are doing the right thing. Px

Cheers Paige. Yes, I think it's the only way to go. Losing the money feels a lot worse this time - I've still got this gut / heart wrenching feeling inside. It's not a temptation to win it back as such - more of a feeling of stupidity on wasting so much.

However, I think if I think of it how i outlined it in my previous post, it will make sense. I'll certainly save money in the long run. Like you, I'm just not wired to be the sort of gambler who can be casual and "enjoy" it.

Are you deciding to completely quit too?

I know that feeling well. I doubt you'll find many on here who don't. For me, keeping the diary and reading my first post when tempted really helps. It helps me remember the times I was in crisis.

I am certainly going to try complete abstention. Today was day one, all I can say is so far so good.

Cool. Looks like we're on this road together at the same time then. 🙂

Yup! Post in my diary anytime; I'll keep an eye on yours. Px