Hey

First two weeks were the hardest for me but I had other problems like work and my partner. Ive always known that I gambled over all those years for escapism away from stress and although there have been a lot of bumps in the road, I think without gambling all of us start to cope with life so I've not been running away

Hope you have a good week

Stuart 

@lp5vut869c ive gambled on and off since I was 20 (44 now) im in 39k of debt which i will never pay off , im in a debt management. Lost my dad nearly 3 years ago I was his carer ,I lost all interest in life. 🙁

Hi Rach

Life does get better and you have so much left to live for. Like I said earlier, my first two weeks were a tough ordeal, no hope, slept too much, no idea what the future looked like without gambling but it soon looked a lot better and still learning now good it is

Don't give up hope, that's what the addiction wants as it needs feeding 

@v9ehcqm83f  hi Rach i have been in recovery since 2010 started of Ga on and off got better the relapsed it been like this for years until my last relapse i finally decided i needed to work on my recovery however this time i have seen the actual changes on day 940 at my worst i was so hooked i didn't even understand why i gambled it was a routine like eating i had to do it, it took me years to understand how to move forward i saw no value in money even the the time i spent away my life was better but i couldn't accept the financial losses and i believed the gambling industry owed it me it got to a stage where i hated everything about gambling however i believed like many other the big magical win will save me through out my time in gambling i never took loans out to gamble it was a case of lossing my salary and repeating this over the years however this changed for me when i took a loan out and gambled it all one one sitting something i never believe i was capable of that was it for me i had to make the make changes their were no if and buts as i made a promise to myself the crazy thing was i still had urgues not that i wanted to gamble i just wanted the debt gone seeing every month money being taken out of my account hurt me fortunately it was short lived since then i have been 945 bet free and i have seen the debt gone and knowing how much gambling was costing and the benefits not gambling it made my recovery stronger

@tazman 940 days ... WOW well done.. over the years I've stopped but that was mainly because I didn't have any money ,its harder this time because I do have money. BUT im going into day 5 gamble free ,gamban has definitely helped 100%. If I didnt i would of carried on gambling, them overseas casinos are so hard to close and even if you do close them they will open them again, the bank is no help because the transactions dont come through as "gambling" ones so the gambling block is useless. 

Im day off tomorrow so that wil be the hardest even though i will be unable to gamble if I wanted to. 

Hi Rach

Your gamban should stop the overseas sites but if any aren't blocked just report them to Gamban and they will block them

Stuart

Thanx Rach i do relate with the urgues once it hooks u nothing else matters it hard your in a great spot as awareness is key when i was forced to open up my family i didnt realise it was the gambling that was causing it however it was short lived as i checked myself in Ga 2010 been fighting ever since since learning about the addiction their people in their 80s not realising what gambling it doing to them it hard blocks are great start however i realise when i was at my worst nothing would have worked handing over finances is the only option limited funds at my worst it didnt matter how much i had i just couldnt stop myself however once u keep fighting it with time it does improve

@lp5vut869c hi Stuart , yes gamban is great blocks everything...

@tazman last time I did have gamban it blocked a free game ive played for years so I uninstall it. (I won't say how on here ) but this time I havent felt the need to do that this time (yet) hopefully I wont though. Im proud ive done 5 days but i also know how easy it is to go the other way. 

When my gamstop was up I removed it thinking I could manage, within one day I put it back on but its the bl##dy overseas ones thats I went on next .. 😡

Well I made it another day ... nearly 6 days , day off went ok better than I expected .

I treated myself to a kaspas dessert was lovely ,but I did feel sick after ha 

Feeling positive today 

Hi Rach

Just got back from a fantastic GA meeting with some very deep shares, bit more recovery medicine that I needed on top of a couple of Great recovery videos I watched today.

When I gave up I was about to lose my job as MD for 26 years, I lost my car, phone, laptops, computer, dignity and all my friends. That first week I didn't spend a penny on myself and it was like I bought nothing forward to the new way of life which was really tough. Just treating yourself with something small really helps. Try and be kind to yourself. You've done an amazing thing, the hardest thing of all by admitting to yourself that you have a problem and need to stop. Day one is the start of a new, better life but also the hardest. You've now done 6 days and I have no doubt are starting to remember how good life is without being held to the addiction. You have so much time to do good things. Finances will get repaired and if you are anything like me, you aren't budgeting for gambling and learning the true value of money. Tomorrow will be a week done which you probably wouldn't have thought was possible this time last week. It doesn't get easy and none of us can get complacent but it does get easier, one day at a time. It took me a long time to understand one day at a time, but that's the only thing to concentrate on, today. Can't change the past, only learn from it, can't affect the future without concentrating solely on today, living life to the full and not gambling. 

You are doing really well and keep strong. Keep building up your support network and try and come on the 8pm chatrooms which have amazing support

Stuart

@lp5vut869c hi 

Sorry I havent been feeling well last few days just trying to rest ... but still no gambling.. day 8 and im not really thinking about gambling ,gamban has been my best friend,  just wish I had the guts to do it b4 . 

Hi Rach

Well done staying strong when you are ill. That used to be any old excuse for me to gamble. 

So I made it to double figures.  10 days !!! 

Haven't really the urge to gamble but today ive been very bored-definitely still standing by gamban has saved me. 

Alot of people have said "your in a good mood" am I in a good mood? I dont feel in a good mood i wonder what they would think if they knew the truth about me and my secret addiction

-i tell them its just a front ,maybe it is ,maybe it isn't, I dunno 🙃 

2 weeks gamble free !!!! 14 whole days ...