Keeping me on track

Thanks for posting on my diary, it is hard trying to recondition your mind to think differently, as it's a lot easier to say " Aww f**k it" as whats another £10, £20 and we all know how the story goes from there. Do what works for you, fight the urges everyday as they will come for you. Take it easy man.

Well done Stevo, your of to a great start, long may it continue. Good luck.

30 days gambling free

As the premiership football returned at the weekend I did have a few urges to bet,the weekends will always be trying for me but thankfully I drove home from work on Saturday and Sunday and stuck two fingers up to the bookies on the way past.

feeling pretty good at 30 days and well proud of myself,was able to go shopping on Friday and spend some money on my girlfriends Christmas/birthday presents(her bday is xmas eve)..I bought her something the previous week aswell so if I can get one or two things every week il be well sorted by xmas..she's still managing my bank card and only giving it to me when I need cash for bills or groceries.shes asking me regularly too about how I'm feeling which is great so I can be honest with her If I'm feeling the pressure or any urges to bet.im lucky enough to have someone as understanding and caring as her as I know if I didn't have her I would never stop gambling.

anyways I'm glad to get that weekend over gambling free,taking it one day at a time,bring on the next one.

Day 32

Yesterday I had the little gambling devil on my shoulder telling me to bet on the football last night,there was a lot of matches on and I had planned to take my younger brother to the cinema so I was going to need my bank card from my gf,but I had €30 and knew it would be enough,the thoughts were creeping in to ask for it anyway to place a football bet but thankfully I resisted and went to the cinema with my wee bro and am happy to say had a great evening gamble-free and the €30 was more than enough,going to have to keep strong and fight these urges for a long time as I know 1 bet for me is never enough as it just starts the ball rolling and the next thing I would know is I'm down 2 grand chasing losses,not yesterday and not today gambling devil on my shoulder.i will resist and I will enjoy my days without the awful feeling at the pit of my stomach wakening up knowing you've to go to work and think about what was lost..not anymore..I was able to buy my gf another birthday/xmas present today,feels so good to spend money on her and my family instead P*****g it away in the bookies.

I'm Stevo and I'm a compulsive gambler and today I will not bet.bring on tomorrow!

40 days!!

40 days without a bet,watching the football stress free is great,no worries on the outcome of the match and just being able to enjoy sport for what it is brings me back to before I ever gambled.feeling great again personally aswell no real urges to gamble although at times after a result of something it would pop into my head awh Jesus I wonder what crazy odds for that would have been but then I just shut it down and say to myself who cares,not me anymore!

I've got most of my xmas shopping done still just a few things to get for my girlfriend so il hopefully have her sorted in the next few weeks,approaching my 30th birthday aswell (13th December) I'm glad I've finally copped on and stopped giving the bookies my money,only took me 12 years!hope everyone else is staying gamble-free and to anyone just starting out my sympathies are with yous it's a horrible place to be,just know it can and will get better and to take each day as it comes!

44 days

Had a good weekend no urges to gamble and my girlfriend threw me a surprise 30th birthday party on Saturday,I was totally oblivious to anything as my birthday isn't until Wednesday week ha she caught me well,had a great night with family and friends,lots of drinks and lots of laughs were had.I've a much sounder mind frame now I don't gamble anymore,life is good again less stress and more quality time with my loved ones instead of my mind being elsewhere,this is definetly the longest I've ever gone without betting.

Hope everyone on here is staying strong and fighting off the urges.may peace and happiness be with yous all and gambling without.

Stevo

X

51 days gamble free

At the start on day 1 this seemed like a milestone too far away for me t get to and low behold I'm here,over 50 days without betting is hard to believe but I've done it,51 days of no stress no mornings of waking up with the horrible guilty feeling in my stomach after losing a fortune the night before.thank god for this site is what I will say because logging on and reading everyone's stories has definetly helped me so thanks to you all.

Had a few urges on Saturday to bet my friends were talking about what to back on the football and when I was leaving work it was going through my head to just go and place a wee safe double sure be no harm in that,but thankfully I said to myself there and then absolutely no chance,not today will I be doing that and hopefully not ever.was out for our staff party on Saturday night then and had a great night still suffering today though but at least it's not suffering mentally from the horrible gambling disease that I used to have so long ago now.

100 days doesn't seem as far away as what 50 days did at the start,just taking it one at a time is the way to go.

Nice one Stevo, I'm starting today hope IL b able to do same

Well done - 50 days is a great achievement!!
Your posts sound so upbeat. You know what you have to do and you're doing it. Results = gifts for your girlfriend, quality time with family and peace of mind. Give yourself a pat on the back, next step 100 days - bring it on! X

Congratulations Sel on 50 days gamble free.

With all our sad memories of gambling it should be a doddle but it isn't. The addiction will try everything to get us back gambling so we must forever be on our guard. Just one bet and it can all come tumbling down around us.

Wishing you a great birthday tomorrow and happy times over christmas.

Thank you mouth I hope you can overcome this addiction just take it one day at a time and believe in yourself that you don't need gambling in your life.

Thank you little miss lost,yes it's great being able to afford the presents for xmas as it wasn't looking good for it 52 days ago I was a lost soul miserable and depressed from losing everything again that I worked so hard for,so getting to this point feels amazing.

Thanks abstainer the big 30th tmoro I'm glad I'm finally seeing sense and gambling for what it is no matter how much the stake starts at..hope your feeling good again I'm following your diary on here I was sad to hear of your relapse and most importantly your health situation,wishing you a full recovery and happy health for the future,you've done very well not to feel sorry for yourself and revert back to gambling which a lot of people would struggle with.

Thanks for the encouaging post on my diary ..... well done on your 52 days gamble free great going, reading through you diary we are similar in that we gambled on sport (mainly football),i hope to get back to watching a match again for what it is and not sweating on how many goals,corners,cards etc there might be. Keep up the good work mate you seem to have came a long way these past 52 days,with proper blocks in place and the support of our gamcare friends we can change things for the better.Have a great gf 30th birthday tomorrow you deserve it.

64 days from the devil's work

I find myself on xmas eve sitting with my girlfriend, stepson and little dog chilling out eating rubbish and watching movies after a hard few days at work,having spoiled herself tday as it was her birthday I'm so glad I gave up the gambling 64 days ago or I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have been able to afford the luxury of buying her lovely gifts and being comfortable with my finances at xmas,i havnt been on the forum as much the last week or so just been busy sorting things,I hope everyone on here is still gamble-free and to anyone new starting their journey then good luck to yous,life is so much better without gambling.happy xmas and peace be with yous all,here's to a gamble-free end to 2017 and gamble-free rest of our lives.

Hi Stevo. Just joined but wanted to say well done and have a great Xmas. I’ve just stopped my sky sports subscription as don’t think I can watch two flies up a wall without having a bet. Always been a Castleford rugby league fan and kidded myself I had the sky to watch their matches ... promised myself if I make a year gamble free i’ll buy season tickets for my dad and kids (used to go with my dad, but cheaper to watch on tv and have a few bets). You seem nice and chilled, so hopefully i’ll get there in a couple of months.

Anyway, keep it up .... at 30 you’ve done great to get to this point ... took me a fair bit longer to come to my senses.

Richard