Well done dude. Keep going tomorrow.
Thanks mate, day 2! I'm a happy camper.
Day 3. Good times with the family today. Take away and a film tonight. Some urges, been on here a fair bit reading some terrible ordeals some people have had. It makes me feel genuinely lucky that I have realised I am a CG and that I found this site before I risked losing everything. There may be bumps in the road but at least I'm on it. Have a good Saturday night everybody!
The weekend is the toughest time for me, but it seems as though you have coped well. Spending time with the family is good as well. Have a good weekend mate.
Scothed, I know what you mean about the weekends. I am worse when I am on my own, I have been trying to make sure that I am on my own for as little as possible. Another day done without a gamble.
Day 6. Last Wednesday I broke, got to try and get over the hump. Been working like a dog, not much sleep and feeling very frayed around the edges. Tomorrow is an easier day, should be able to catch up on my sleep!
These are the times when it's really tough. It's easy enough for me to string together a few days of abstinence when life is rosy, but I get tired and stressed and then feel like gambling might help.
I can feel it coming, the pressure building in my brain, the doubt and the rationalisation that my addiction creates. Last time I listened to it, this time I am posting on here.
I no longer want to gamble and just writing that makes me feel better.
I read something on this forum last week that really made me wake up.
The gist of the post was that your recovery shouldn't be about money because that isn't why you gamble, it's a symptom and not a cause.
This sounds simple but it really resonated with me. I have given it a lot of thought and I believe that I gamble because I crave a feeling of success.
At school I never excelled at anything, I was socially awkward, especially around the opposite s*x. Grades were ok but not great, 2 years of college, breezed through without much effort but didn't really learn much. After this was a couple of terms of uni before moving back home, shortly after, I started my first business and went bust 18 months later. Few years in a factory and a few more in the forces.
There have been a lot of times over the years where I have felt like a failure and a loser.
Gambling was my solution, chuck a few quid in here and if you are lucky then some lights flash and a siren plays and for a few days you feel like a winner (days at first, then as your addiction gets worse it goes to hours and eventually seconds!).
The money wasn't important, it was the feeling of winning, of beating an inanimate object in a game of chance.
Well I have taken a long hard look at my life, and I have realised I am successful and very lucky. I have a beautiful family and my business is reasonably successful. We struggle for money but who doesn't? How successful will I feel after a year of no gambling? I'm confident it will be a far better feeling than a gambling win.
stay stong everybody!
Great honest post Tryinghard, it's amazing what we can see in our lives when we are not in the thick fog of gambling.
Keep goinnnng.
Suzanne xx
Evening mate, good to see you are going strong.
Your post above makes some excellent points. Gambling is a form of escapism but it only drags you down.
10 days. Sweet!
Tryinghard wrote:
Day 6. Last Wednesday I broke, got to try and get over the hump. Been working like a dog, not much sleep and feeling very frayed around the edges. Tomorrow is an easier day, should be able to catch up on my sleep!
These are the times when it's really tough. It's easy enough for me to string together a few days of abstinence when life is rosy, but I get tired and stressed and then feel like gambling might help.
I can feel it coming, the pressure building in my brain, the doubt and the rationalisation that my addiction creates. Last time I listened to it, this time I am posting on here.
I no longer want to gamble and just writing that makes me feel better.
I read something on this forum last week that really made me wake up.
The gist of the post was that your recovery shouldn't be about money because that isn't why you gamble, it's a symptom and not a cause.
This sounds simple but it really resonated with me. I have given it a lot of thought and I believe that I gamble because I crave a feeling of success.
At school I never excelled at anything, I was socially awkward, especially around the opposite s*x. Grades were ok but not great, 2 years of college, breezed through without much effort but didn't really learn much. After this was a couple of terms of uni before moving back home, shortly after, I started my first business and went bust 18 months later. Few years in a factory and a few more in the forces.
There have been a lot of times over the years where I have felt like a failure and a loser.
Gambling was my solution, chuck a few quid in here and if you are lucky then some lights flash and a siren plays and for a few days you feel like a winner (days at first, then as your addiction gets worse it goes to hours and eventually seconds!).
The money wasn't important, it was the feeling of winning, of beating an inanimate object in a game of chance.
Well I have taken a long hard look at my life, and I have realised I am successful and very lucky. I have a beautiful family and my business is reasonably successful. We struggle for money but who doesn't? How successful will I feel after a year of no gambling? I'm confident it will be a far better feeling than a gambling win.
stay stong everybody!
well done on the honesty
keep trying your going good guns
tri
Cheers Tri.
Had a really busy weekend, lots of temptation in the pub on Friday, but didn't succumb.
saturday and Sunday were too busy to even think about gambling.
today is day 12 and it's all good!
Day 13. Payday today, same for lots of people I expect.
A couple of new hobbies have been keeping me busy and work is mad too at the moment. It seems like the better things are going in the rest of my life the easier it is not to gamble. Also the less I gamble, then the better things seem to be. Win win!
How goes it mate? You done any writing or read anything new?
Alright Scothed? What's up pal? Been so busy with work that I haven't had much chance tbh. Been too busy for most of the urges, one or two temptations when I get a spare half hour, especially if I'm a little tired or stressed. Day 16 today. Only 14 to go until the big 30! Happy Easter everybody!
Yeah no worries, I'm good thanks.
Well done on hitting two weeks as well.
I've done ok so far, not had much of a chance to even think about gambling either.
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