Focussed and not willing to give in.

Well done Dazza 👏👏👏. You are doing fantastically with everything.  Good for you!

Pink Lady 🩷🍎.

Thanks Pink Lady. 

Today is Day 298 gamble free I slowly edge myself towards the 12 months mark slowly slowly.  I'm doing okay, no thought to gamble but I do find myself 'wired' to notice it a lot more.  I see the thousands of people a week obsessing over gambling tickets in work.  I go out and see the poor souls spending too long on fruit machines while their partners or friends continue without them.  It's a sad generation we live in where gambling is normalized to the extreme.  No wonder we all get addicted ? 

It's definitely time the Government notices this but I highly doubt they care.  They care more about the huge tax bills they collect from it all.  I watched a sports betting ad come up today on the TV and I find it offensive how 3 minutes can be all about different bets and different ratios trying to draw the vulnerable in with the lies of "free bets" (even though sometimes wager is x 100 or more!), and it's all allowed to just sit their right in the middle of prime time TV so long as the last 10 seconds have a Gamble aware note on it.  What a crock of S***e! 

Im noticing it's everywhere and have no Intention at all to jump into that s**t any more. 

Day 300 gamble free , a nice round number so needed to post lol.  Also though I nearly got caught out yesterday! Thank hell I didn't but I came so close. 

A lot of my gambling was online gaming at the start and at the end of my gambling cycle.  One particular game I used to play online I had spent tens of thousand on.  They released a "new version" and Facebook and other socials have been spamming the living s**t out of me with a multitude of offers to sign up.  

I know how badly it would revert instantly to spending on gamble chance boxes £150 for 2% chances over and over again.  I even got as far as to read the reviews of the new version on Google play.  Noticeably so many people writing about "pay to win platform" and how offers are constantly popping up to coerce you into a deal. 

 I haven't downloaded and I've stayed away.  The sponsored ads are still there but im ignoring. 

@dazza85 Hi Dazza

Just checking in with you and hoping all is ok in your g.f world?🤞🙏.

Take care.

Pink Lady 🩷🍎

Hi Pink Lady. Thanks for the message.  Today is gamble free Day 313 and I'm doing okay. Stayed away from the game, cravings for it have lessened. Glad I stayed strong as I would of been bad if I'd fallen into it.  Works been keeping me busy but attending GA still every other week.  Looking forward for Christmas although my stupid gambling debts have made sure this is going to be a tough couple of months financially, very little disposable income which feels annoying because I have a good salary but see none of it really. So annoying. 

@dazza85 Hang on in there Dazza.  Things will eventually get better. Just think of how it will be for you next Christmas if you remain g.f 💪🤞🙏.

Just keep reminding yourself of the feeling of no gambling and no money wasted/lost leading up to  Christmas 👌.

Wishing you a good week ahead.

Pink Lady 🩷🍎.

324 days without gambling feels like a huge milestone, and as I approach the one-year mark, I’m proud of how far I’ve come. At the same time, I can’t help feeling frustrated at the years I wasted gambling and the financial mess it created. With Christmas coming up, we’re scrimping and scraping to buy presents when our wages should have covered everything easily. Knowing that my past decisions put us in this position is tough, and I can feel the strain it places on my relationship. She has every right to be frustrated.  I know I’m the one to blame for the struggle we’re fighting through.

But there’s real positivity too: I’m close to achieving a full year clean, something I once thought impossible. With the support of my GA meetings, the people around me, and continued focus and accountability, I’m rebuilding my life one day at a time. I can do this, and I will.

@dazza85 You most certainly will Dazza!!💪.

Well done on sticking with your goals and determination 👏👏.

Take care.

Pink Lady 🩷🍎.

Today is Day 336 gamble free

Around this time of year in the past I would have been blowing money online, chasing losses and trying to “win back” what I’d already spent on Christmas presents. It was a horrible cycle that only ever made things worse, no matter how much I told myself it would be different this time.

I still notice gambling adverts everywhere, especially on social media, but they don’t get under my skin the same way anymore. I see them for what they are now, and I’m grateful that the urge to act on them has lost its power.

Financially things aren’t perfect, but we manage and that’s a massive win compared to where I was heading. I can clearly see now that we were one more big gamble away from probable bankruptcy. That fear isn’t something I want to forget; I need to keep it alive as a reminder of why I can never go back.

Grateful to be here, grateful for the progress, and committed to protecting everything I’ve rebuilt one day at a time.

@dazza85 Well done Dazza.  I wish you and your family a Merry Christmas and hope you all have a lovely g.f day tomorrow 🎄

Pink Lady 🩷🍎

Hey mate. Lovely to read you are still going strong. Sucks for a while financially, but as long as you can live, you can be happy, and in a short while you'll be free and rich!!

Sorry not been on much. About to update my diary with my stories. Still GF. Still enjoying life, hence the lack of time on here.

Hope you and the family had a great Xmas mate. All the best for the new year.

Stay strong 👍 

Today is Day 342 gamble free.

Great to hear from you Fish. I know both Pink Lady and I was getting slightly concerned, so glad your doing okay ! 

I’m getting so close now to that 12-month mark I’ve dreamed about for so long. It honestly feels emotional even writing that. This time last year I couldn’t imagine a life without the constant pull of gambling, and now here I am, still standing, still fighting, still free.

I got through Christmas without any gambling worries, and that in itself feels like a massive win. No chasing, no panic, no regret afterwards. Just being present. That’s something I’ll never take for granted again.

Lately though, I’ve noticed a flood of cryptocurrency adverts coming my way. It genuinely feels like something somewhere is targeting me, and it’s frustrating. I’m seeing it everywhere, to the point where I even caught myself checking prices out of curiosity. I didn’t act on it, and I won’t - but it reminded me how relentless and careless this kind of marketing is. It doesn’t care about recovery, it doesn’t care about people, it just wants attention.

I’m proud of myself for recognising the pull and stepping back instead of leaning in. That awareness is something I’ve worked hard to build.

I’m working all through the New Year, keeping my mind focused and my routine solid. Staying busy helps, and right now structure feels like safety. I know I’m doing the right thing, even when it’s not always easy.

One day at a time. Still choosing recovery. Still moving forward.

Wow this is amazing it feel like only yesterday u was on 64 days is their anything else u are doing im seeing great results and Ga am also on reddit is their anything else u are doing which is is helping?

Thanks Tazman. I completed the GamCare counselling sessions which helped tremendously.  I'm accountable financially to my wife who checks through accounts every couple of days, I removed all the gaming activities that got me into trouble with my compulsion she bought a switch in replacement.  I attend GA meetings as regular as I can do and I'm fully blocked from UK casinos and online casinos. 

That's about it ! 

@dazza85 Well done Dazza 👏👏. That almost one year has most certainly flown!! You know what they say …. “time flys when you are having fun”!!👌.

Take care and don’t work too hard AND make sure you REWARD YOURSELF (says the queen of rewards 🤣), when you reach your 365 days g.f!

Pink Lady 🩷🍎.