i absolutely love..... ....not gambling

15days......

short and straight to the point posts sometimes just as vital at keeping us on track as an essay dan ;-)....15 days well done dan,keep going,we can do this 🙂

winning, I know people have said this to you before but seriously many thanks for always taking the trouble to pass on messages of support and encouragement

another day almost through and another day clean......

Well done mate,I think this site is an amazing place,so many good people who are confronting there problems,a nd supporting others..I think your going to be a other success story,keep it up

3 weeks and this week had sone real tests, based on past form, opportunity, 'motive', and means.... I even had to walk past a bookies as I was in a hotel about 100yards further down the road. It was also the bookies I had my more notable successes, sorry that's not a good word to use, it was the bookies that lent me the most temporary loans, so all in all I am very pleased with myself!

Merry Christmas everyone!

another day free..... whoop whoop...... loving not having that awful feeling hanging over my head.....

Title changed again as the end of this week sees a whole month clean! I can't wait to reach that and then start looking forward to the next barrier, albeit always taking things one day at a time....

I feel so positive and so much more alert with life in general at the moment but am still amazed at the grip this addiction has over me... I keep catching myself thinking about, if's but's and maybe's. Having spent so long dreaming about one day having the winning streak to end all winning streaks and clearing my debt, I can't help but feel a little lost that that chance has gone.

Crazy as that might sound, I am so clear in my mind that there is only one winner, that I can't win because I cannot stop etc but there is still that seed in there somewhere...

My betfilter trial has come to an end today so I need to now buy the full version

I get why somepeople say that a block isnt the answer but for me it is an extra barrier towards stopping me from crashing back down the horrid path of gambling.

I am going to try and make contact with a counsellor in the next day or two and will be trying to set up an appointment for next week, hopefully this is another stepo that will help me stop from ever going back.

The other destructive part of the gambling mentality is that it crosses so many borders of my life....

I am going for a walk shortly with my amazing wife, I was thinking of where to go and ended up wandering into a seaside arcade (figuratively speaking) - no can't do that.

I can't play the lottery, sorry I wont play the lottery anymore. I wont ever be able to go to a casino with friends, which aside from the gambling is a night out that I used to love,

I was food shopping and almost instinctivly I was going to buy a scratchcard, thankfully I stopped myself in time. No I wont let myself buy any of those again.

I cannot win because I cannot stop.

I've not been posting on here as much recently as Ive been very busy with work but am always checking in to read the stories of others. the tales of woe, the patterns of betting all ring true, so for anyone reading this that posts on their own diaries, many many thanks, I may not keep track of individuals too well but I do take a lot from everyone comments.

Looking forward to the rest of my life, in which I will not gamble.

Well done, keep doing what your doing & i love the positive attitude...

good to read dan....youve got the right attitude to succeed at this game....well done,we can do this 🙂

tt and wp

many thanks for your support

wp I'd like to know just how many comments you have made in total on these boards...l it must be over 10,000!

always so encouraging as well....

superb!

hey mr. !!!! for what may seems an eternity and looks like 10 000 posts has kept me bet free for 380 days now !!! if it takes just one post to stop me betting today or tomorrow then im happy..i dont have the back up others have !!....dont knock it till youve tried it LOL....best wishes friend,im sure youll c r ac k this evil 😉

Like you, I flatly refuse to spend any of my hard earned money on ANY form of gambling, even if it's £1 for a lottery ticket.

The only one I do now is no more than £1 on a bottle stall at a local event. That way, I know where the money is going, there is a small chance of winning something worth more than £1 and there is no chance of turning that £1 into £100s. Can you imagaine asking for a hundred raffle tickets?!

Just remember: "One tiny, tiny bet away from disaster."

You should feel incredibly proud of yourself with a month free, what a great start to 2011!

GT

one month.... very happy to have made it, totally gamble free, no scratch card, no nothing....

can't remember the last time I could honestly say its been a month with nothing, I think even my better months I would have had a lottery ticket or scratchcard.

My next target is now two paydays without a relapse, roll on 26th Jan.

Thanks GT and wp for your posts

Happy New Year Everyone

Keep up the good work. I have read your diary and like many other diaries on here I think there is a bit of us in all of them.

WE WILL BEAT THIS

I like your diary Dan. Please keep posting as long as you are able and above all keep off the betting - a clear month - brilliant. You’ve got a knack of being straight to the point and direct - honest with yourself and us and that’s so important.

I can see you’ve given up several times in the past, previously. Sometimes, such a history doesn’t bode well for the future in that (I think) when one relapses just once it generally becomes easier to fail the next time and so on unless something really different and fundamental is in place, this time around. I have no idea what steps you took previously to achieve abstinence, though clearly they failed. I cannot imagine though, that you could possibly have channelled as much effort as you are clearly now doing and I think this is the difference this time that will definitely work for you. I’m sure of it.

I am very interested in your debt busting plan and although £40k - sorry, my apologies £39k is no small sum, I note you (and your wife) have a really decent combined income so you won’t drown but I acknowledge it will take you a few years to deal with. Makes a refreshing change to see your debt writ large when compared to other posters who talk about being clear of debt in 3 or 6 months - whilst their gamblng may indeed be a problem, the immediate financial impact of same can hardly be described as catastrophic.

I too have large debts (like everyone else says, let’s not mention the longer-term losses or you will end up even more mental) and as it is only six weeks since I gave up and my employment and personal and financial circs. are variable and chaotic and complicated, I cannot set too stringent a debt reduction plan at present, though I know that’s gonna help my overall situation when I do. You should gain great comfort from your plan - stick to it rigidly and your mental strength will grow fantastically, as you will be released from the sapping of your energy brought on by gambling; you will see a tangible result from your debt reduction plan - ie the reduction of your overall debt and the feeling of wellbeing that brings; the increase in your own spirituality and integrity and the closeness to your own family and friends, especially your wife, will happen as you work jointly on this major family problem.

I have read loads of stuff on here since becoming a member a month ago. Some posts and pearls of wisdom really have been profound and thought-provoking and are undoubtedly of great help. I’m going to start my own diary on January 1st and I can see things, from a non-gambling perspective and all that brings, starting to work from me. I know one should never go over the top, but there must be over a million different benefits that could be listed for a CG once s/he has decided to give up. But I have to say, for me at any rate at this embryonic stage in my recovery (it’s too early for any financial, mental health etc impact yet) I have an immense feeling of hope and positivity and I am hoping this will be the platform, the springboard from which the other billion benefits will flow.

Dan, we’re both at the early stage of our recovery, and I’ve counselled others on this site that this point is both a good and bad thing, a healthy and dangerous place at the same time. It’s down to us how we carry on though. No point in cliche advice for me about the folly of continued gambling and where it will inevitably take me (again) - I’ve been at this S***e for over 40 years and no wise soul on this site, or from anywhere else can find the switch in my head that will turn it off. But I can do it myself, through willpower, through changing the habit from betting to all about not betting, through tuning-in to my current good feelings and, natural ‘ups and downs’ notwithstanding, understand that these good and positive feelings are now happening to me because I no longer gamble. The rest of the good stuff will surely follow. This Gamcare site is really important to me, and I think it will be your way out too Dan.

Chris