Final Chance

Well done for resisting the urge Chartom. That's a really good technique to read over your old diaries.

Keep posting,

Deirdre
Forum Admin

Many thanks for posting on my diary Chartom.

Great to see you are still rocking on up the gamble free highway and enjoying the adventure. You have consistently shown a lot of courage, wisdom and determination.

I have enjoyed following your recovery and am very pleased that you ignored the temptations that sometimes came knocking on your door. We all know it is very difficult to overcome the urges to gamble but gamcare friends like yourself are an inspiration and show that it can be done. Take care and keep going forward...stephen

Day 320 ....... Mr Gamble has been trying his best to tempt me back but with the good advise i have gathered up in here over the years i finally feel i am well equiped to deal with him, most important to me is the strong blocks i now have in place which make it really difficult for me to gamble when i am feeling vunerable, really want to make to 1 year gamble free and beyond.

Many thanks for posting on my diary Chartom.

Great to see excellent progress is being made on your gamble free adventure. The blocks you have in place are doing their job and courage, common sense and tenacity has made you stronger and more focussed. You have shown wisdom and understanding and replaced the gambling with more worthwhile pursuits and interests.

Wishing you success, contentment and happiness as you continue on your noble guest...stephen

Day 344 .... all good, getting closer to the 1 year mark still have my ups and downs but my life is so much better for not gambling ...... the urge is never far away but signing up to gamstop really has been a blessing for me as all my problem gambling was done online, first Christmas in years i am acutally looking forward to without debt, sleepless nights, worry etc due to gambling.

chartom3 wrote:

first Christmas in years i am acutally looking forward to without debt, sleepless nights, worry etc due to gambling.

Wow sounds amazing! Its so inspiring when you put it like that right? You should be real proud of yourself. Your story can give people hope that this addiction CAN be arrested. Not long until 1 year now... Touching distance! Amazing work! :o)

Thanks for your kind words signalman ..... things can and will get better the longer we put between ourselfs and our last bet, i am proof of that, wishing you well in your own recovery.

Day 360 .... all aspects of my life are so much better than they were 360 days ago and i am fighting hard to keep things that way..... looking forward to smashing through the 1 year mark and then enjoying the first christmas in a long time without the effects of gambling weighing me down.every day is a battle but one at the minute i seem to be winning ..... long may it continue.

Day 365 ..... so i have made it to 1 year gamble free, no big celebration from me just another day where i aim to fight off those urges, and try to chalk off another day ...... this time last year i had just lost another large sum of my hard earned money and was once again in a bad place,fast forward 12 months and i find myself free of any gambling debt, some savings in the bank and looking forward to Christmas for the first time in years.Its by no means been an easy ride and sometimes i think it would be ok to "treat" myself and have a little bet on the football, i now have it under control, but we all know how that would end up and i continue to fight hard not to place that first bet.Signing up to Gamstop has been a massive part of me remaining gamble free and i would strongly recommend it to anyone whos problems are with online gambling, and i also found the councilling which is available free on here to be a great help and of course advice and encouragement from fellow Gamcare friends.It really is a case of small steps and taking it one day at a time and before you know it those days really do mount up and push you further away from your last punt ..... wishing everyone well.

Congratulations on being 1 year gamble free Chartom!

Congratulations Chartom on 1 year gamble free.

A wonderful achievement but as you well know it is a work in progress. The addiction will always be lurking in the shadows just waiting for a chance to catch you off guard. I have just been reading your post from a year ago when you had just had a crazy gambling binge after 100 days gamble free. That took a lot of courage to pick yourself and than go a full year without having a bet.

I have the utmost respect for friends like yourself who, in the face of adversity, stand up for what's right. I am raising my coffee cup to toast your wonderful progress...stephen

chartom3 thanks for the inspiration of making it to 1 full year, I have just read all 6 pages of this post and I hope to return here in 364 days time to also post my 1 year and read your 2 years!

Checking in on day 370 ...... Every day is a battle but one which at the minute i seem to be winning and this is all because of the strong blocks i now have in force i really would be lost without them as it takes away the temptation when i am vunerable, which can be pretty often.Looking forward to my first gamble free Christmas in years, spent in the right way instead of stuck behind a computer screen waiting on a goal in a football match in timbuktu ..... for anyone that my be struggling please try and keep the faith and been kind to yourself as things can and will start to get better, you have just got to want it enough.

Happy Christmas Chartom and congratulations on your great progress. You are a true Gamcare Warrior of the highst order and I have the utmost respect for all you have achieved.

Thank you for the encouragement and support you have always given me. I really appreciate that.

My aim now is to remain gamble free by following in the footsteps of friends like yourself...stephen

Hello Diary ...... its amazing how much what remaining gamble free for over a year now has changed my life in so many ways for the better, no more sleepless nights, no more gambling debt, no more worries of how to pay my bills etc, i now also have some savings built up again and can afford myself some treats every now and again . The thoughts to gamble are never to far away, especially now i have some spare cash but strong blocks are the key for me which make it very hard for me to gamble online ... so on day 390 without a bet, my aim is to continue to fight the fight and continue to reap the benifits of a gamble free life.