Life or Misery; that's the choice

Mixer, please don't describe yourself as weak - you were a fantastic, enthusiastic, supportive and positive forum friend to me and many others and I am really pleased to see you back as I'm sure will many other forum users.

You aren't and won't be the last person to fall off the wagon as you put it. The most important thing is you've made a decision to try again and have returned to the forum.

Best wishes, Phil.

Thank you Phil as always for your sincerity and warm words. I have to confess I feel very different this time around. Quieter, more low key. But ever determined not to feel sorry for myself - I've got myself into this mess and I'll, dragging and screaming, have to try and get out of it etc.

Great to hear from you though Phil and hope life's treating you as good as it can be.

Lots of adversity but gamble-free. Hope to "speak" to you in chat and am fully supportive of you and so pleased to see you back as I said in my earlier post.

Hi Mixer,

Welcome to the forum, and thanks for sharing your story with us.

By returning here, it seems like you’ve taken a brave step in the right direction to help you overcome your gambling problem.

I’m glad to learn that you’ve requested for some more counselling from Gamcare to help you again in your recovery.

Hopefully, you’ll put other strategies in place as well to effect the necessary and positive changes that you require to overcome your gambling problem.

It also seems like you’re aware of yourself, knows what it takes to become gamble free, and you’re eager to meet significant others from the forum who have contributed to your recovery in the past. This I think is a good move; tapping into the resources that benefitted you in the past. Hopefully, it would work for you again.

Please don’t hesitate to contact us on our free phone Helpline on: 0808 8020 133, and speak to an adviser about your recovery process or, for further help and support.

I’ll encourage you to try and stay in touch with us, and please keep posting!

Kind regards,

Beatrice

Really enjoyed chatting buddy.

Thank you Beatrice for your kind words, what a lovely welcome back I've had, from Phil, Adam, Tri, terrific people all.

I did have, I will confess, a moment of trepidation on my return. That is, because I was reasonably prominent on the forum for a short while, working on the '100 Day' challenge, and then appeared to drop it like a stone when I suddenly left seemingly never to return. Truth is, I had good reasons and a bit of a crisis (to say the least) and unfortunately, a by-product was resumption of gambling. And now, a few months down the line, I'm back where I started and have to stop - I have no choice (there is no choice).

I genuinely felt bad about letting some great people down on the 100 day challenge; especaily those approaching 100 days but I had my reasons and simply couldn't continue. I won't resurrect the challenge, certainly not in the short term because I feel I need to get back in the gambling-free zone again, chat to people on here and do what we all do best - share experiences and help each other. Credibility is also a factor - I need to earn the right, with the right frame of mind and consideration of others, before starting off any other challenges (and in fact there's a perfectly good one called the 2017 Challenge which is the "daddy"!). I'm certainly not on any ego trip. I'm a recovering addicted gambler who needs help, like we all do.

But I certainly intend to be active once again on the chat and forums, but quieter, more thoughtful, with suitable humility borne out of my continued gambing illness and, perhaps, latterly, weakness.

So, Day 1. I've cancelled my remaining casino membership and on Monday will ban myself from all local bookies. Practical steps. My missus has my card and has changed the pin. She controls the finances; I'm happy with that, "whatever works". Again, practical steps. My short term target (always prefer short-term goals) is not to gamble, or even look at anything gambling related, until Christmas.

Life could and should be much better for us all; gambling is a menace when you're 'wired' like me, and, sadly, so many of us.

P.S. Great chatting to you, too, Phil 🙂

You too!

I have always thought you were a considerate person who wanted to help other people and was gutted when - obviously for your own reasons - stopped using the forum.

You may have changed your approach and attitude but you are still YOU - a good person who unfortunately got sucked back in but wow honesty etc.

I've got your back my friend and I'm sure you've got mine.

Best wishes your friend, Phil.

Thanks Phil - and I've certainly got your back, mate - have no doubt about that.

Hi Mixer, welcome back, sorry it's under such circumstances.

I have a question I want to ask in regards to your title thread & that is...What's the point? Are you actually ready to stop gambling because that just sounds to me like you want to get it under control?

Whilst I accept that in your head you may have had very valid reasons for leaving the forum, you did let people down but most importantly, you let you down because whatever that justification was, it could never have excused your return to gambling which was what leaving was actually about!

Getting through today gamble free is a mini goal. Trying to not gamble until Christmas is admitting defeat! Gamble free time doesn't fix anything, let it go once & for all, that way you can start to heal - ODAAT

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Good to have you and your energy back Mixer but first of all you must concentrate on yourself. Stopping till Xmas is a good goal for now and hopefully you will acheive this and go well beyond. You put aside a lot of time for people on here and it was certainly appreciated by me, you did not let anyone down on here. Remember you are also important so concentrate on yourself too. We have all slipped up from time to time and whether you regard it as weak or not the fact is you are not alone. The Mix is back in the Mix, hope it goes well for you.

Pleased to see you back Mixer...forget Christmas....concentrate on today. People say, you have to be selfish in recovery....maybe last time you became so busy with the 100 day challenge, you didn't do enough work on you. For me joining the SENSE scheme and excluding from all casinos was a big step...it was me saying I wanted to let it go. Looking forward to catching up with you.

Welcome back mixer

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