I have to start today....

Thankfully due to my credit history the 25k debt I am now in is all on 0% credit cards but that doesn't make it any better.

3 weeks ago I thought I would try to pay off some of this debt. I deposited 500 and got up to 6k. Great I thought, I'll be able to pay one credit card off. I spent the next 8 hours gambling that plus another 6k. I didn't then sleep for 2 days.

I just need to be able to stop. A few months of not gambling will put me in such a better position as I earn a good wage.

I'm here really to ask how others have managed to abstain? I just need to have that strength and self control.....

Welcome Saffie. I am fairly new here, sorry to hear of your troubles.

The general advice is to get as many blocks in place as you can, fill your time with alternate things to distract from gambling, and give up financial control to someone.

Good luck kicking the addiction in to touch 😉

Thanks. It's so hard and it's hard to admit where I am now to where i was (always financially clever, lots of savings, properties etc)

I wish there was some way of exclusion from all online websites.

I can't tell you how sick I felt after 6 thousand pounds in one evening all on a credit card. I can't understand how a gambling website can allow you to do that but I know now there's no point in chasing. I just have to face this one step at a time.

Good luck to anyone battling this horrible, horrible addiction

Hi saffie,

Sorry to hear this is happening to u. I cannot really give u an advise as i am in the same boat. I am now 14.5k in credit card debt. I had no savings. But now i have managed 24 days gambling free. I got paid few days ago, paid my bills, some of my debt and i have some pocket money left. I think the key is to move on and move away,it's all in the gamblers mind. I had to accept that my 15k will never be won again it's gone. The house will always win. I though i was smarter than everybody else i though this will never happen to me but that's nature of the beast. They whole thing is designed to make peope lose money. So i think and others may disagree, it doesnot matter how many blocks u put in etc the starting point has to be the acceptance that the money is lost and we got to move on..

Thanks Adam. It's really good to hear your story. I'm full of hope today that I will beat this. I have been here before though and I know it's a long road. I accepted the money was gone and I have calculated that I will be debt free in 3 years without gambling so I don't know why I relapsed today.

I really really want this to end now and be normal again.

Saffie make sure you change your approach to quitting, if your tried before but failed then you need to go again but do something different until you find what works.

Give yourself the best chance of succeeding. I find reading the diary's on this site helps, I have developed a real hatred for the gambling industry - I won't be topping up their profits anymore.

Cheers

If you use a phone to gamble you can use k9 to block it....get someone else to set the password. You can use gam block on a computer, or get your internet provider to block adult sites. There are ways to make it difficult to gamble.

I did set a block on my iPhone when I set it up but it hasn't blocked anything! It's very difficult to block gambling on an iPhone unfortunately.

Reading the stories on this website is already helping. I feel full of hope that this time I will do it

So day 1 is over. Feeling full of hope and making plans how I am going to pay this debt down. Roll on day 2

If you can't block the iPhone, ditch it in favour of a model you can or (even better) one with no internet access. You will need to have effective blockers on every device you have access to to make sure you can't act on a whim when the urges strike. Have you got anyone who can handle your finances for you? Making yourself accountable makes it very much harder for you to gamble in secret.

Yes I think I will look at handing over control but at the moment I'm actually excited about saving to pay off these debts. It's almost like the addiction is saving. Before my relapse yesterday I had saved up 1500 (I have still got this in premium bonds as it is harder to withdraw quickly). All my debts are 0% so to be honest I may hand over control of the premium bond account to my mum so I can't touch it .....

Day 2 gambling free. No urges. It's like now I've told myself no and will not give in and joined this forum I have the motivation to stop

Hi Saffie,

Welcome to GC ☺

Great to have you here and you're definitely not alone with your feelings and gambling addiction.
Would advice to read around, so much inspiration on these pages!!!.. also, there are daily live chats and GC also offers free counselling sessions...just give them a bell and you can find out more.

Put some physical measures in place..limit access to money, blocks on devices (K9 is for free). Also...TALK TALK TALK because lone soldier in a field is not a soldier ☺...if you're looking for a peer support and readyy for a real 3D action (face the word in the group of likeminded folks) outside these walls - GA is one of the ways forward also.

You're not alone, take it day at a time. Enjoy good ones and ride out the tough ones..(you will have them all)

Take care now!

B& S xx

3 days.....feeling strong although a couple of urges. It feels really good to have the safety net of self exclusion as I don't even try to log on. My mood already seems more stable and I have not been having palpations and stomach issues through the stress of when I lose a lot of money and put myself in more debt. Feels great.