Had Enough

Hello Yorky good to see you rejoin the battle. A young warrior, courageous and relishing the challenges that lie ahead.

I do respect your maturity. Not many 20 year olds are prepared to admit that they have been beaten and that their life had been taken over by compulsive gambling. Or that they were powerless and living under the yoke of an insidious addiction. A bitter pill to swallow but it has been the reality for many of us.

Some people might look at your diary and think of their selves at age 20. Maybe it was a time they could have changed and prevented further damage. A time in their lives when they had a golden opportunity to travel a different road.

By continuing down the gambling road, many of us have laid waste to their lives. Relationships have often gone by the board. Careers have been left in tatters and some will have resorted to stealing from their employers and ended up in prison. Some will have even contemplated a grizzly way of ending their tormented life.

We can put blocks in place, be honest with loved ones, have someone help with our finances to limit our access to money, have counselling, take up hobbies, keep a diary or go to GA meetings.

But first and foremost we must have a genuine desire to stop gambling.

Wishing you well ...stephen

Stephen the Stoic wrote:

Hello Yorky good to see you rejoin the battle. A young warrior, courageous and relishing the challenges that lie ahead.

I do respect your maturity. Not many 20 year olds are prepared to admit that they have been beaten and that their life had been taken over by compulsive gambling. Or that they were powerless and living under the yoke of an insidious addiction. A bitter pill to swallow but it has been the reality for many of us.

Some people might look at your diary and think of their selves at age 20. Maybe it was a time they could have changed and prevented further damage. A time in their lives when they had a golden opportunity to travel a different road.

By continuing down the gambling road, many of us have laid waste to their lives. Relationships have often gone by the board. Careers have been left in tatters and some will have resorted to stealing from their employers and ended up in prison. Some will have even contemplated a grizzly way of ending their tormented life.

We can put blocks in place, be honest with loved ones, have someone help with our finances to limit our access to money, have counselling, take up hobbies, keep a diary or go to GA meetings.

But first and foremost we must have a genuine desire to stop gambling.

Wishing you well ...stephen

Great words there Stephen thank you. Coming on this site has made me see the destruction that gambling can bring to many lives. There are definitely signs that my life could be taking that route, but i have the chance to change it now before things get even worse. I will be sure to check up on your diary Stephen I wish you all the best.

Day one done all the emotions are still raw. Spent a lot of my day with gambling in the back of mind but kept nyself occupied and didn't gamble.

Hello YorkshireLad,

You are young mate, get them blocks in place and nip this addiction early. You can stop if you put measures into place. Cut gambling out totally, you dont need it. Its only ruined people here. Take what you get in life and live it. I know its tough mentally but it'll only get harder if you allow it to continue a few more years. Let whats gone go. They'll only be more regret if you keep gambling.

Have a good weekend!

sjwsjw wrote:

Hello YorkshireLad,

You are young mate, get them blocks in place and nip this addiction early. You can stop if you put measures into place. Cut gambling out totally, you dont need it. Its only ruined people here. Take what you get in life and live it. I know its tough mentally but it'll only get harder if you allow it to continue a few more years. Let whats gone go. They'll only be more regret if you keep gambling.

Have a good weekend!

Love these words mate they ring so true! Let what's gone go, such a simple phrase but so relevant, being on here at the age of 20 i dread to think what things could be like in 10 years if i don't nip this in the bud now...day 2 done difficult day downloaded gamban for my iPhone at present you can just delete the app and gamble but i believe there is an update coming out in the next few weeks meaning you can't delete the app which would be a game changer

Day 3 done tough day yet again. Walked past the bookies twice in town wasn't tempted to go in but it did get me thinking. Then i watched Man United vs Liverpool then the six nations double header never seen as many bookmaker adverts in such a short period of time its ridiculous that they can get away with this. I bought my mum her mother days present, i treated her and spent quite a bit of money, which if I'm being honest is partly through guilt but also because that money is spent better on her than gambling. I also think I've found a trigger when i spent that money i immediately wanted to make that money back through betting which occupied my mind for some time. More importantly i didn't gamble and day 3 is complete.

Day 4 done watched some local rugby league and had a few beers today, few of my mates had bets on the football but i just blocked it out and it worked this time, got a week off work now so this is when i would usually be most vulnerable got to keep my guard up.

Day 5 off work this week and Cheltenham starting tomorrow would usually spell a disaster but I've cancelled my card and getting a friend to scratch the 3 digits off the back of it when it arrives, just incase i get complacent. Today was a quiet day i watched a film and went to the gym. Had no thoughts of gambling until writing this, where i realize that if i was still gambling I would be glued to my phone now checking results etc. So its nice that today i haven't done that.