Going to keep this thread now!

Hi f.. your no div. Its a sign of strength and resolve that you chose to be honest about the £7 gambled. In my experince of a "little gamble".. is its o so easy to pretend it didn't happen and to not acknowledge it ones diary. With me it usually ends up in a far more damaging session sometime down the road. By acknowledging it youve drawn a line under it. Maybe just drop in and get yourself excluded. Take care.. S.A

Hiya Freda,

I agree with SA, your definetely no div...and yes do the self exclusion...thats a good idea.

Certainly for me after a long period of not gambling I have in the past thought I could control myself, and yes spent small amounts like yourself...but I came back here, cos to me its like playing with fire. Better to keep safe.

Big Hug

Del xo

Thanks SA and Del,

I haven't gambled since then. I was tempted on a trip to the seaside yesterday. I said to my husband " i know its wrong, but I want to have a little play in the arcade later - £1.50 maximum" and he said what will you do if you think its going to pay out on the next spin after £1.50? what if you got a win line on £1.50 would you spend again to see if it holds?

How wonderful that my husband knows what a problem I have! he wasn't aggressive about it, but just encouraged me to think about my limits etc.

Turns out after a walk on the beach and a plodge I forgot all about it! GOOD!

As an aside, the water was *** freezing! the muscles in my feet actually went into spasm. d**n you north sea! it was sunny, i thought you were warm!!!!

Hi Freda.. good stuff for not putting £1.50 into a machine. It reminds me of spending years buying a pint in the pub and then putting the change in the fruits. Add all those bits together and it would be a tidy sum thats for sure.

Plodge on the beach sounds great. I went running last night and then spent 20 minutes sitting in a cold bath (prevents injury apparently, sort of).. and thats as close as i get to paddling in the sea lol.. happy days.. S.A 🙂

dont think anyone ever said that north sea was warm, even in the sun!

but hey ho, its like everything else - you learn by experience.

hang in there, ur doing fine

love

rusty

xx

Hiya Freda,

Thought I'd just pop in and say 'hello'

Haven't been hiding or giving my money to the machines, just busy looking for work.have interview tomorrow for part-time job - equally terrified and excited!

God you're brave going in the North Sea in April! Paddling's fun though - I haven't been to the coast in ages.

Well done for avoiding the arcade machines - forget your couple of very minor blips - you're doing great!

Take care

Kay x

Hi Freda

Well done for not giving in to those urges.

I think you will have to give it a few more weeks before you go into a warm sea lol.Yeah its strange isnt it?Boredom leads to gambling so you find something to do like go to the beach then there is temptation all around.Its hard work Freda ,but you are doing great .All the best Jeff.

Hi Freda

Thanks for your support during my recent sticky patch, I really appreciate it 🙂

And well done on your resisting temptation on your visit to the seaside. No matter how little the amount it would have ruined your day. And what an understanding partner you have. For him to have the insight to say what he said is brilliant, he obviously has great understanding of compulsive gambling.

Take care

Dave

Thanks everyone for your support and comments 🙂

Haven't posted for a while because I was embarrassed. I gambled last Monday, however with a week back under my belt I feel able to post again.

I've a job interview tomorrow. Lots of stuff going round in my head. Its not ideal, there are pro's and con's to leaving current job and taking this one. Just trying to make the right decision for me.

I know if I worked with a different person, I would definitely know which path to choose at this moment. My job sucks at times, but its permanent, no travelling, easy money for what I do, and I know I can DEFINITELY cope with it. However, can I cope with the person I work with long-term?!

She's not THAT bad, but my job is very tedious and uninspiring and you need a cheerful co-worker or it is a real slog. I also find I'm more likely to feel depressed around miserable moaning people, and it is beginning to affect my well-being. Not massively, but its starting. This new job would offer more distractions and opportunities to switch off from a moaning co-worker, its slightly more money, but I'm not sure if I could cope with the longer hours. Its only 4 and a half hours more a week, but I would go from working no longer than 1 hour 40 without a break to working 6 hour blocks with a short break somewhere in the middle. I still suffer from nervous problems and it would be a challenge.

Arrggh!

Anyway, will go to the interview and see what is what. Just not sure what to say if they offer me the job!

Hi f.. sorry to hear that you had a slip. I'm the same sometimes when ive gambled I slink into the shadows for a bit. I think many others are the same and many don't come back at all. However the good news is that your back and thats all that matters and that you haven't made a decision to immerse yourself back in the gambling world. Stick with the process am sure you will.

As for the job. Well first off well done for applying. I want a new job. As you know mine is to stressful really but I still haven't applied for anything. I think you answer your dilemmas yourself. Go to interview and see whats what and then when and if they offer you the job then take it form there.

For what its worth my gut feeling is that if your offered it try it and see. But then its easy for me to say that. My recent experince is that although ive been a total stress head at times in my job it has overall been positive for me. I feel productive and feel like am making a difference.. well sort of anyway. I also find that the hardest thing about work in general is not the work itself but the getting along with and/or coping with collegues.. cos like you say if that goes wrong then work can feel rubbish and nobody likes feeling rubbish at work.

Anyway good luck with job interview.. try ya best thats all any of us can do.. S.A 🙂

Hi Freda,

Good luck with the job dilemma - I know from recent experience how hard it is when you've had enough of something but you're thinking maybe it's better the devil you know......My new job pays a lot less less an hour than my last one but, one day in, I went from being timed when I went to the loo and being put down and lectured to, to sitting outside a coffee shop in the sun with new boss being spoken to like an adult and having a laugh and feeling human again. If you get the job offer, my advice would be to give it a go - miserable people do bring you down and I really think, without making excuses for my silly gambling, that being unhappy in work makes you more prone to looking for an escape and an instant 'hit' to try to boost your morale.

Anyway, I'll stop ranting on now.

Hope you and your partner had a nice break over Easter.Weather's meant to cool down a lot tomorrow but we've been a bit spoiled recently.Can't remember when I last had a sun tan in April.

All the very best

Kay x

Hiya Freda,

Great news about the job interview! If you have to make any decision, I reckon you'll know deep down whats best when the time comes. But I would advise like Kay has.. to give it a go!

When I'm in a situation that is not entirely the greatest (and I'm thinking about your awful work colleague here) I ask myself one question....could I put up with this for another year/five/ten years..then gauge my reaction.

Sorry to hear about the blip Freda....but I'm so glad your back.

Big Hug Delx

Hi Freda

Hope your interview went well.

Im sure you will continue your quest to stop gambling.I know you wont give in.All the best Jeff.

Thanks SA, Kay, Del and jeff!

Well the interview went ok, think I made a good impression etc. but I had a very strong gut reaction to not take it. It would be working for a well known supermarket chain in a convenience store environment. The things that put me off were - the manager was very highly strung, I don't know if you have ever met retail managers who take it all a bit too seriously, and they are always dashing about, speaking really quickly and talking about 'productivity' targets. When you talk to them you get the feeling they are willing you to spit it out as fast as possible because they have no time to spare. He is expecting it to be the busiest store in the north of england, and described himself as always dashing about. I have worked in hectic environments like that before, and because of my anxiety problems it is not healthy for me. I'm happy to be efficient and work hard, but some places they expect you to dash about like a maniac. I did this for 2 years at macdonalds when i first left school, but i was a kid then, and had much more energy for sweat shop type conditions! I asked him what his pet peeve was as a manager, and he said low productivity. "I don't mind people chatting and having a laugh as long as they have met their targets for the day". Alarm bells ringing all over the place. I'm so glad it was clear what kind of McEnvironment he creates for his staff, as it made it easy to say to myself "this isn't right for me". It would be even worse than listening to misery guts all day. However, the company itself is a good one to work for, so I'm going to keep my eye open for jobs in other stores. I did get interviewed for a place at another store a couple of years back, and the environment was totally different.

I could just tell this guy was a nice enough man, but runs a very tight ship and is very bossy and intimidating, with high standards. I found him very intimidating. Oh well, will just keep looking. I've only another 11 weeks until I have a 6 week break for the summer. This would give me opportunity to try something new for a couple of weeks before handing my notice in.

Its not all bad 🙂

Just a quick note to say I very nearly gambled today, but talked myself out of it and it felt good 🙂

It would have been such a waste of money.