Been out this morning to do some clothes shopping for my holiday. Something that I never even considered 55 days ago because I would have considered it to be ‘wasting money’. What a fool!
Really happy with my purchases.
Settling in now for the England game.
Hi Dan,
Great to see you are still treating gambling with the disdain and contempt that it deserves. I expect you too are watching those adverts while the footy is on and scoffing as they offer their £5 free bets / money back if Kane scores etc etc in return for nothing. We know different though, it’s not in return for nothing, it’s not even in return for the value of the bet, it’s in return for so much more. Ultimately, control of our lives and selling our souls to the devil. Well, me and you have now seen the light and bought our’s back!
Well done, keep up up the great work mate!
DeterminedDan wrote:
Been out this morning to do some clothes shopping for my holiday. Something that I never even considered 55 days ago because I would have considered it to be ‘wasting money’. What a fool!
Really happy with my purchases.
Settling in now for the England game.
Congratulations on getting over 50 days! Hope you enjoyed the football, really couldn’t come at a better with England doing so well, I actually couldn’t care less about betting I’m more excited of the prospect of us reaching a WC aim my lifetime!
Enjoy your weekend x
Day 60
What a rollercoaster ride of emotions that England have given us over the last few weeks. Finally ended last night.
I’m still not convinced that England are that great as a team. Yes, they got to the semi’s but had they come up against anyone half decent before that, then I’m not sure they’d have got that far. But, saying that, they have a base to build on for the future and have given the country a lot of hope.
Today marks 2 months gamble free. I’ve had a few minor urges over the last couple of days. But I’ve managed to quickly take my mind off it by engaging in something else.
This journey has not been easy but day by day I can feel my quality of life improving.
Day 64
When I wake up tomorrow, I’ll have beaten my previous best ever gamble free period of 64 days. Something that I’ll be very proud of.
But the show must go on!....
I’m a whole lot better off without it. I’ve managed to save so much money in just the two months of being gamble free. It’s opened my eyes to where I could have been if I’d started this journey sooner.
Still, better late than never.
Incidentally, my team in the sweepstake was Croatia. It kind of sums up quite a lot of my past betting...a near miss after so much promise. I would have given the money to my girlfriend anyway.
Dan
Good to hear from you Dan, well done on your journey so far. As you say, on we march =)
All the best.
Well done Dan mate!
You are smashing records daily. Tomorrow’s one of beating your previous best is a great milestone to achieve.
Yep, ‘twas a shame about England but I think 4th place was about right though, the other three teams were the better teams. It’s horrible that ‘getting knocked out’ feeling but the reality is that supporters of 31 out of the 32 teams have to go through it at some stage I suppose. The downside with being a footy fan. The highs and lows. I’ve no doubt plenty of my gambling sessions can be directly attributed to the performance of my club. Being a diehard Spurs fan through all my years, probably a heck of a lot! 🙂
Keep up the top work!
DeterminedDan wrote:
One thing I really suffer from is stress and anxiety. I worry about life far too much and stress about what many would consider the tiniest of things. I’m grinding my teeth, biting my nails etc. I need to look into some relaxation techniques as I’m pretty sure the stress and anxiety contributes heavily to my gambling.
Today, I aim to change that. I need to slow things down and not rush things in my life. I think we’re all guilty of doing that sometimes. Only yesterday I found myself ‘wolfing’ down my lunch because I was running late. I need to plan ahead better and avoid things scenarios like this.
Sorry, I’m rambling....
Off to get ready for work now.
Hi Dan refering to what you have said here, I suffered from the same problems and could not see a way forward. Thankfully i cam across an app called headspace. All you need to do is find a quiet place once or twice a day and listen to the app. There are many different things you can do and its amazing how relaxed you feel after just listening to someone speak.
Really hope this can help you with that problem.
smbyrne2003 wrote:
[quote=DeterminedDan]
One thing I really suffer from is stress and anxiety. I worry about life far too much and stress about what many would consider the tiniest of things. I’m grinding my teeth, biting my nails etc. I need to look into some relaxation techniques as I’m pretty sure the stress and anxiety contributes heavily to my gambling.
Today, I aim to change that. I need to slow things down and not rush things in my life. I think we’re all guilty of doing that sometimes. Only yesterday I found myself ‘wolfing’ down my lunch because I was running late. I need to plan ahead better and avoid things scenarios like this.
Sorry, I’m rambling....
Off to get ready for work now.
Hi Dan refering to what you have said here, I suffered from the same problems and could not see a way forward. Thankfully i cam across an app called headspace. All you need to do is find a quiet place once or twice a day and listen to the app. There are many different things you can do and its amazing how relaxed you feel after just listening to someone speak.
Really hope this can help you with that problem.
Hi smbyrne2003, thanks for the recommendation. I’ll have to take a look at that app. It sounds promising and something that may be useful for me. Thanks.
Day 67
All going well in my life currently. I have a nice summer holiday coming up this weekend which I targeted, 67 days ago, to be gamble free. I knew I’d be about 70 days gf, should I make it. It all seemed so far off when I worked it out 8 or 9 weeks ago.
I’m very proud of how far I’ve come. But, the show must go on!...
My finances are beginning to look healtier than they’ve ever been and that has been a result of my hard work, determination and putting in the extra blocks that were needed from previous failed attempts.
Right now, I’m in a happy place. But I’m always on my guard. One bad move and I could find myself plummeting back to square one.
The thing about compulsive gambling is that it’s taken me 10 weeks to build up something that can be destroyed again in 10 minutes.
So I’m not letting myself get complacent.
Dan
Day 69
One thing that I have begun to notice as the gamble free days have amounted is the fact that I am a lot more generous as a person. Simple things such as buying cakes/biscuits for my grandparents en route to their houses. Buying my girlfriend little gifts more often etc. In the midst of all my gambling, every penny will have been accounted for, simply because I would have needed it to survive for the rest of the month. There would be no other spending aside from the essentials and then some unplanned, desperation gambling.
Being gamble free makes me feel like I’m a much better person which makes me happier.
Hi Dan,
Well done on your 69 days and enjoy your holiday.
70 days gamble free. 10 weeks.
It feels good writing that. I’ve never been this long gamble free.
Happy days.
72 days gamble free.
Tomorrow will be my 3rd pay day in the time that I’ve been gamble free.
Every day is a battle to stay gamble free but with the neccessary tools and some fighting determination, I’ve made it this far.
There have been times over the last 10 weeks when I could have caved but I’ve taken a deep breath and reminded myself what it would mean to go back to being a gambling man again....
More stress, less sleep, low moods, caring less about myself, caring less about others, a more selfish man and generally living an unhealthier lifestyle.
I soon realise what I really want....
Dan
Thanks Caughtup 🙂 every day I’m feeling just that little bit more prouder....x
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