Dear Diary....

Thank you Scambling - yes, I'm looking forward to the next month of sanity now!

Day 35 Last night the 6-month self-exclusion period on my one remaining site came to an end, but thankfully my blocking program has made it inaccessible. But somehow I don't think I would have re-joined, thanks to the strength of purpose gained from everyone here!

Took it a step further - circumvented the blocking program for 15 minutes - long enough to permanently self-exclude from the last site I belonged to. Great feeling - I can't deny that for a nano second I considered making a deposit, but knew in my heart that I would be letting myself down as well as all fellow travellers on the 2014 Challenge.

Day 36 of sanity. I have so much more energy now that I am not wasting precious hours as a slave to the online slots! But having said that, I could be starting an addiction to this site! All in a good cause though. :o)

Hi Joanna,

Well done on getting that one final site blocked and out of the way. I don't think that an "addiction" to this site is necessarily a bad thing. Over the last five years or so I've always found that it is when I drift away that I tend to lose focus and eventually fall into the bad habits that have destroyed me several times over.

Hope you're making the most of that new found energy, there is so much beyond the computer screen, and finding the energy to embrace it is a great thing!

All the best

Ryan

Many thanks Ryan - I much appreciate your comments. Yes, you are right - an addiction to this site is probably essential if we are to keep focused (and sane). Best wishes to you on your journey too.

Day 37 - just 10 x this period and I'll have a year to be proud of - keep going, keep going, keep going....

Joanna

Thanks for the kind words upon my thread, it is great for the soul to read that my ramblings help others.

I set out on this journey in the relentless fashion I have gifted most things in life.

That gung ho approach many of us share serves well in the case of recovery.

The polar opposite to my gambling life.

Great to see your resolve grows, keep making the right choice and those milestones will keep coming to,when they do look for the next one, they are not a reason to celebrate with a punt!!

Abstinence is a job for life, a life choice.

Duncs stepping forward never back.

Joanna

Thanks for the kind words upon my thread, it is great for the soul to read that my ramblings help others.

I set out on this journey in the relentless fashion I have gifted most things in life.

That gung ho approach many of us share serves well in the case of recovery.

The polar opposite to my gambling life.

Great to see your resolve grows, keep making the right choice and those milestones will keep coming to,when they do look for the next one, they are not a reason to celebrate with a punt!!

Abstinence is a job for life, a life choice.

Duncs stepping forward never back.

Day 39 of sanity. OH in a foul mood, moaning about petrol being wasted for a day out shopping in the next town - threw some money at him and felt instantly better! :o) In the bad old days I would have logged on to a casino site to de-stress myself (mistakenly) - didn't even think about it today. Come to think of it, in the bad old days I wouldn't have had any money to throw at him! Happy days...

Hi Joanna,

Bad moods strike us all, even those who aren't gambling addicts I guess! I guess the key is to make sure that you deal with those in the right way, like you did there, and not let it push you down too.

There are plenty of good ways to de-stress, actually, wasn't the shopping a better way to de-stress than gambling?

Hope all's well with you, and hope day 40 is nice and sunny wherever you are!

Ryan

Thank you Ryan - yes, a better day 40 for me;

OH and I took our two small grandchildren to the park for fun and ice-cream, and then thankfully handed them back to parents!

Hope you are enjoying these sunny days too..

Just dropped in j to say hi and congrats on day 40 . Also it's persisting it down here has been all day. Still wearing thermals lol probably 700 miles away from you sold canoe today and life jacket was going to save them for you and mr b ( Poseidon adventure) stay strong hitthefanx

Many thanks hitthefan :o) - Weather still good here in London - feeling smug after mowing the lawn. Hope it stops raining soon where you are! Sorry you sold the life jacket, but if I eat any more biscuits I shall be buoyant enough...

Best wishes to you - we can do it!

Day 42 of sanity. I found a pile of bank statements today (many unopened) and had great delight in shredding them and noting that I no longer have an overdraft. :o)

Sincerely hope that many others here are well on the way to a debt-free life.

Day 43 - just another week to my half-century.

Saw a couple of TV ads over the weekend for bingo/casino sites with their 'amazing' joining offer of a life-enhancing £10-20 worth of free bets; realised I had come a long way in my journey to sanity as they left me completely and coldly cynical.

What a hypocritical business it all is!

Best wishes to all on your individual journeys.

Joanna

Quick hello to say it is great to read how well you are doing. Congratulations on being another day closer to the big five oh.

I appreciate the posts on my diary. I'm a bit up and down at the moment. A few great gamble free days then the fear, guilt and urges kick in again. It helps to hear from people who understand those emotions.

Best wishes.