So little over a year ago (367 days now) my world around me started to crumble. £50 left in my account, no savings, credit card maxed, payday loans all over the place. Borrowed money from friends. My life was sitting at rock bottom.
my girlfriend was pregnant with our first baby. And I had nothing. I was scared I was failing myself and failing my family.
fast forward a year and I haven’t gambled a single penny. I saved enough through the last year to get a mortgage on our first house. We have a beautiful baby at home who has made me into a better person. The biggest lesson I’ve learnt from last year is that there is a lot more to life than I ever thought (been abit harder being locked in most the time but life is good).
The nights sat in bed spinning more and more on slots for what... what was I spinning for because I knew that I couldn’t stop even if I won. 1k 2k 3k id of carried on. I look back at myself a year ago and I honestly see a sad man with no ambition. I was wasting my time and life. I’ve never felt so good in myself for years. It hasn’t been easy but I wouldn’t say it’s been hard either. After signing up to Gamstop and motivating myself to not gamble again it did become easy. I would say I can count on one hand in the last year how many days I actually wanted to gamble but I quickly told myself no and moved on with my day.
ill be honest it’s down to YOU, don’t sit there and say you can’t do it because I said the exact same thing for years but YOU CAN do it your just choosing not too. I understand my debt position may of not be as hard as others but if you don’t stop now you won’t stop ever. Motivate yourself to be a better person because no one else can do it for you. You can.
I’ve had full control of my finances for the last year and I’ve stilled managed to fight away the urges. It’s down to you and I hope anyone reading this can see it can be done. Put the blocks in place and change.
im not saying I’ve beat this addiction because it’s only been a year but I’ve made a hell of a massive improvement since my other attempts to stop gambling.
take it day by day then month by month then year by year. You will get there and so will I.
all the best
stay safe
sam
Great post Sam. Well done on your Achievement
Well done v inspiring post, gives others hope for the future. People who are fragile and raw at beginning of recovery can read how you've got this far and how life has changed for you. That lived experience gives heart to those who are struggling. Keep going now Sam that gamble free life for you and your family
So little over a year ago (367 days now) my world around me started to crumble. £50 left in my account, no savings, credit card maxed, payday loans all over the place. Borrowed money from friends. My life was sitting at rock bottom.
my girlfriend was pregnant with our first baby. And I had nothing. I was scared I was failing myself and failing my family.
fast forward a year and I haven’t gambled a single penny. I saved enough through the last year to get a mortgage on our first house. We have a beautiful baby at home who has made me into a better person. The biggest lesson I’ve learnt from last year is that there is a lot more to life than I ever thought (been abit harder being locked in most the time but life is good).
The nights sat in bed spinning more and more on slots for what... what was I spinning for because I knew that I couldn’t stop even if I won. 1k 2k 3k id of carried on. I look back at myself a year ago and I honestly see a sad man with no ambition. I was wasting my time and life. I’ve never felt so good in myself for years. It hasn’t been easy but I wouldn’t say it’s been hard either. After signing up to Gamstop and motivating myself to not gamble again it did become easy. I would say I can count on one hand in the last year how many days I actually wanted to gamble but I quickly told myself no and moved on with my day.
ill be honest it’s down to YOU, don’t sit there and say you can’t do it because I said the exact same thing for years but YOU CAN do it your just choosing not too. I understand my debt position may of not be as hard as others but if you don’t stop now you won’t stop ever. Motivate yourself to be a better person because no one else can do it for you. You can.
I’ve had full control of my finances for the last year and I’ve stilled managed to fight away the urges. It’s down to you and I hope anyone reading this can see it can be done. Put the blocks in place and change.
im not saying I’ve beat this addiction because it’s only been a year but I’ve made a hell of a massive improvement since my other attempts to stop gambling.
take it day by day then month by month then year by year. You will get there and so will I.
all the best
stay safe
sam
Well done Sam, reading your post gives me some strength to carry on fighting this disease. I have done well myself for the last 4 months kept myself busy during the lockdown excluded myself from several gambling websites. Unfortunately, yesterday I slipped, could not control the urges when I saw some slots games adverts pop up on the internet whilst I read the news. I thought just play little it won't hurt as you know what is ended, losing over a grand in 1 day stress me out and here we go again back to square one. I will be carried on fighting and wish I could stop all this tempted wish me luck.
Well done Sam, you’ve been so strong.. I hope to be like you one day!
We are available 24 hours a day, every day of the year. You can also contact us for free on 0808 80 20 133. If you would like to find out more about the service before you start, including information on confidentiality, please click below. Call recordings and chat transcripts are saved for 28 days for quality assurance.
