DГ©sormais......

Well done on 12 weeks of abstaining, you are doing great and a lovely positive post.

Have a good gambling free day.

Suzanne xx

12 weeks ade well done. Hope you enjoyed your weekend.

Nice one Ade, well done on taking no notice of the bookies, to be honest i still have to put the blinkers on when I'm near my old haunts...the cheltenham festival will be my first big test, I hope to watch it just for the spectacle that it is.

beautiful day today, and the day's are getting longer, soon it'll be home from work and a couple of hours in the garden with love ones....what more could we want?....have a great evening mate...Ginger.

Man, I don't envy you the trouble of trying to keep parakeets off your nut dispenser (is dispenser the right word), they seem to have beaks mainly designed for being a good substitute for bolt cutters.

That shell who pumped money into machines, and got nothing but misery out...it seems like a completely different person when we're in recovery. The important thing is not to let the guard down, otherwise he may come knocking again.

Hope your week's going well,

Ryan

Thanks Poblwc, Suzanne, NT, Gregg, Ginge and Ryan for your supportive posts today......much appreciated.

Keep strong all

Onwards and upwards.....

Ade :0)

Flippin heck, how could I not remember that i was thinking of a bird feeder....I'm meant to be good with words as a retired journalist...I guess I'm not as good behind this...umm, this board that has lettered squares on it....I think I'll call it a typing square holder?

Glad you are enjoying the book mate. Definitely a bargain for under 2 quid. I read it when i tried to stop last year and found it inspirational and keep going back to it even now and reading a chapter if i need reminding of the dangers of gambling. Off to watch the footy now mate enjoy your night.

Thanks again for the supportive posts Ryan and Gregg.

85 days and still going strong......

Just trawled through my old diay and found some old text that I posted back at the end of 2011.

I remember finding it very interesting, so i've posted it again on this diary as a constant reminder.......I hope it helps....

Gambling and the brain:

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter in the brain that plays vital roles in a variety of different behaviours. The major behaviours dopamine affects are movement, cognition, pleasure, and motivation. In certain areas of the brain when dopamine is released it gives one the feeling of pleasure or satisfaction. These feelings of satisfaction become desired, and the person will grow a desire for the satisfaction. To satisfy that desire the person will repeat behaviours that cause the release of dopamine. For example food and s*x release dopamine. That is why people want food even though their body does not need it and why people sometimes need s*x. These two behaviours scientifically make sense since the body needs food to survive, and humans need to have s*x to allow the race to survive. However, other, less natural behaviours (i.e. drug taking and gambling) have the same effect on one's dopamine levels, and at times can even be more powerful.
Because the outcome is based on chance, one does not know prior if he or she will win. Therefore, if the person wins, dopamine levels increase. One study concluded that pathological gamblers most often experienced traumatizing experiences when they were younger and that their dopamine levels were lower than average.
The process of becoming a pathological gambler is where one insists on gambling even though he or she knows that the odds are against them. This is the case in all casino games, where the games are structured for the house to win. Probability and reason no longer are the most important factors in decision making. The unconscious need for the release of dopamine becomes most important.
This mental process causes addiction in approximately 4% of participants.

The 3 stages of Problem gambling:

If you choose to gamble you do not automatically become a compulsive gambler the first time you start gambling, the change happens over time. For some, it happens faster than others, but typically there are three stages that you will travel through before you become a compulsive gambler.
•Winning -The first stage is the winning stage, this is where you are just discovering gambling and how it feels to gamble and WIN!! The feelings produced by winning are great. You feel happy and everything seems right with the world. You are making money and feeling great at the same time, what could be better? This stage sometimes lasts a day or two, or sometimes it will last longer depending on your luck. During this stage, you might start feeling confident about gambling, and you may think that you have the system beat, and therefore may place larger and larger bets.
•Losing - The second stage of gambling is when reality hits and you begin losing your bets. This is where you will feel the ‘high’ of gambling less and less, until you rarely experience it at all. Typically, you will start to gamble alone, and may begin hiding your gambling habits from friends and family. As you lose more and more money, you may begin borrowing or stealing money to pay for your habit.
•Desperation - The third stage of gambling is the most serious. During the desperation stage, you increase the amount of time and money that you spend gambling until you are in serious trouble. During this stage, you will start to experience serious debt problems, your family life may begin to suffer leading to divorce or separation. You may lose your job and find yourself in a dangerous cycle without much hope to escape. It is in this phase that some compulsive gamblers will resort to desperate measures to fix their problems including illegal acts or even attempting suicide.

The progression through these stages of gambling will vary depending on the personality type of the individual and the type of gambling that they engage in. It has been found that people, who play instant gratification games such as the slot machines, video slots or video poker, including online gambling, will experience these three stages faster than other gamblers.

Personally, I can relate to all 3 stages.

Keeps strong all

Ade

Hi Ade,

Good post and yep I can relate to all 3 too.

Have a good gambling free day

Suzanne xx

Hi Ade

I loved your post to Juuunne, real quality. it knocks my....two fat lady's comment about my own 88 days yesterday right out the ballpark....have a great day mate...onwards and upwards...Ginger

Cor blimey Guvnor, I intend to 🙂

I only understood 1 out of every 5 words (they were quite long) above but I get it...Strangely, I don't have any recollection of phase 1 anymore!? We are adding phase 4 to the above...Recovery! It's the best place in the world as here we can appreciate stuff that means nothing to the mortal man 🙂

Thanks for the supportive posts.

Taking another mini-break to spend time with my two little golf balls over half term.

Got to get the zip-wire back up and running in the garden tomorrow for a fun packed day!!! ;0)

Followed by a bit of swimming and a stroll by the Thames.

Keep strong all

Ade

Good evening ade. Yes very good book and i agree that is the kind of gambling i can relate to.he seems a really normal guy and seems to be doing well for himself again. I am from the old school type of gambling too and can remember standing in the bookies before tv racing and everyone listening to a commentary and the guy marking results up on the board. I have never really got into online gambling too much but remember having more than a few phone accounts in the 90s. Wasnt sure what you meant with the outwith statement but searched the book and seen how many times he uses it outwith the normal context. Lol

not many people use this outwith Scotland lol

Hi Ade,

Thank you for your post and am very pleased to read you're reaping the benefits of abstinence. Little things matters the most...a little stroll down the Thames, zip-wire in the garden..ohhh joys are lined up for you dear soldier 🙂 keep at it and make the most of the company of your loved ones.

Stay strong, safe and keep winning!

Sandra x

Ps. Answer to your question..no, i haven't really got nobody to talk things through...but i have the most important key in recovery - fellow soldiers who understands and listens and all of them are on here or behind the scenes....so i will just keep rambling...better than gambling! 🙂

🙂 thanks my friend..i don't think you would want my broken record in your ear for hours lol...
all is ok..i am here and fighting...progress not perfection eh 🙂

Enjoy your day! Hugs hugs hugs

Xx