Life With Sports Bets Only

Boredom = no cost at all

Betting= losing all your money

Deal or no Deal?

We are all bored at some times mate with our little harmless pastime behind us!!

I do not know about you but being a bit bored as opposed to be absolutely broke?

Can I phone a friend??

I CANNOT WIN BECAUSE I CANNOT STOP

Stumper

Hi Captain...or should I say "Chairman of the BORED".......you will look back on these feelings in time a realise boredom is a small price to pay to give up the dreaded gambling.

Robot....I could do with one of those....it could clean, laugh at my jokes, do as it's told, cook etc....ooops got one of those already.. a husband! lol

I really enjoy your diary Captain...you are very good at writing...it reminds me a little of "Bridget Jones Diary"...it's good...and you are doing really well.

Jas xx

Seano/Stumper/Jas, thanks for the posts

I'm not usually awake at this time of the morning but cant sleep for thoughts running through my head about another weekend of no gambling and whether I can deal with this.

My weekend would certainly be brightened up by just a couple of bets on say football and golf. My worst fear is that I look at the football fixtures or latest on golf, predict results in my head, track the results, get them right and feel really annoyed with myself for NOT gambling.

The alternative to this is do as above, get some results wrong and maybe be glad I've stayed gambling free...I cant just switch off completely and ignore whats going on, but I dunno how to migrate to a place where you can keep an interest without a betting head on. To those who have managed this, I salute you, but I dunno how you got there. The only difference I can see is that some others seem to have other things going on in their lives, which were there when you were gambling so you at least have something to fall back on?

Before the last 12 days my life outside work was all consumed by gambling so there is nothing to fall back on and this Forum is the only addition so far.

Last weekend it was a real effort getting through it and by the end of it I really felt shattered and could have done with a taking Monday off work just to totally relax for a day.

Hi Captain,

You are not alone. This addiction is all-consuming. I remember the first few Saturdays after I stopped, I really had no idea what to do without gambling.

Life does improve without it. Self-respect returns the longer you stay strong. The more confidence you have the more you will try different things instead of gambling. If you have made the decision to stop it does get easier. If you still want to gamble, it just gets harder every day.

Good luck,

DT.

Day 13 - 5.10 pm - done enough for the week, its time to go home.

'Have a Good Weekend' they say.

"You too" I say. 'Fat Chance' I think.

I leave the office. My body is aching, my stomach churns. Should I gamble this weekend or not?

There are 2 bookmakers on my route home. I get to where the 1st one is. There are no parking spaces free nearby. I drive on. There has been an accident and there is a road closed on my normal route. I need to take a diversion.

I therefore dont pass bookmakers No. 2.

I am home. 13 days without gambling. But should I go to my local bookmakers tomorrow or Sunday?

1st of all captain well done on 13 days of abstinence. . Ive been reading your diary lately and personally dont think your 100 % committed to bein gamble free. Why would you even want to go near a bookies tomorrow or sunday if you were intent on giving up. I know its very difficult mate am like you the only golf am really interested in now are the majors or the ryder cup.must admit dont watch much tennis either tho andy murray has me hooked this week. In the past i would be up blowin hundreds on the early rounds where 1 would let my accumulator down at a stupid price. . As ive said before ave tried to do selective gambling and dont think it works. . Thats why am here. . Sorry if im bein harsh but Just think tomorrow is 2 full weeks. . It can only get easier. . Keep it goin you can do it we all can mate.

Hi Captain,

Thanks for this evenings post on my diary,(i have replied).....,i'm really feeling for you tonight captain,believe me,i know only to well what you are feeling and how damm hard it is for you at the moment,i hope you do manage to refrain from having a bet this weekend,however if the urge gets unbearable and you do have a bet please stay on here and keep trying,

seano.

Hi Captain

Nice chatting just now.

Have just read your diary and the last post really made me smile.

"Shall I gamble..hmmm... no car parking at the first bookies, accident at the second bookies, so you have to take different route."

From where I'm sitting and with my beliefs now...Wow..the Higher Power is working miracles for you and you don't even believe in it or see it.

C'mon, somebody or something didn't want you to gamble today. They went through a lot of effort to stop you by putting all those obsticles in the way...

Positive thinking....every day I find something good in my day,even if it is..the sun shone for 5 minutes today and made me smile.... I also made a plan of things I can do when I get bored, gym is good, going for a walk and reading is good, maybe go and make amends and see people that have been neglected for years due to the all time consuming gambling.

Not sure if you read my diary. Last year I stopped smoking, then I was told I had cancer..I was grateful for it.. it gave me something to focus on..I was grateful for every day I was around to talk with those I love... it's the simple things that make my life complete now. I am upset at the moment because I was horrible to my son earlier and as soon as I am finished writing to you I am going to talk with him and I know that when I go to bed I will tell him I love him and he will tell me he loves me..and that is the best part of the day. I'm here to tell him and I'm here to hear him.

Make a plan for the weekend...spend time with your Mum..I wish I could spend time with mine, but I can't she's too far away...

Stay strong, the choice is yours...

" If I can live without just the one thing "gambling" just think of all the other things I can still do"

Hope this makes sense.

All the best

Charly/Sabine

Wow Captain

I cant say much after that last post from Charly. If that doesnt help you then youre beyond repair m8 lol.

Today m8 will be 2 weeks for you and monday will be 2 weeks and 2 days. I know because even though you feel unsure about things at the moment,you are still staying strong. Being strong is the main ingredient to quitting gambling. the rest my friend will all fall into place for you with a bit of hard work. And youre not scared of hard work. Enjoy the tennis today captain (without a bet lol.)Jeff.

Day 14 of my recovery

I wake up and decide I'm going to place a football bet today. This is a calm decision, not driven by any uncontrollable urge. This immediately makes me feel happier.

This will not come as a surprise to those I have met on here in the last 2 weeks on diaries and chat. If you have read all of my diary you will see I have not stated I wanted to refrain from Gambling completely, only the uncontrollable urges which led to going in to bookmakers and betting on anything and everything and losing unaffordable amounts of money in a short space of time.

I have had no uncontrollable urges in the last 2 weeks, only thoughts of whether I can continue affordable, advance sports bets.

Some on this forum will see this as a slip. Not for me. For me my daily count continues. I am 14 days into recovery and have moved forward a great deal. Placing a bet today is an essential step in my recovery based on where I think I want to be gambling wise.

I realise that in time I may conclude that I cant do any gambling, cant restrict it to advance sports bets but at the moment I hope I can.

My weekend is much better because I have studied the football form and placed my bet. This was a normal part of my life for many years before getting involved in out of control gambling.

I am just choosing to bet an affordable amount of money on football, and enjoy spending time studying form and tracking the results.

No different from someone choosing to spend money on going out somewhere, buying new clothes, whatever.

Its not about the winning, its just about the involvement. I will watch tomorrows Tennis and the Arsenal V Man Utd match without a bet, these are events I dont have a desire to bet on, just enjoy watching out of interest.

I have made a lot of friends on here in the past 2 weeks and I hope after today I will not lose any of you and that you will still support me. I will certainly keep supporting you.

Hi Captain

This is your diary and its also your choice to place sports bets. If you feel you can do it and it wont be a problem, then great. If you still feel you need support then of course you can still have it. I think most of us on this forum would like to bet in a controlled way, but we cant.If you can m8 then thats great.I hope you can Captain.Just one thing If you find you drop back into your old ways dont feel you cant ask for help.Nobody is here to judge you. Just be very carefull kid. All the best Jeff.

Hi Captain,agree with Jeff,and understand how you have been feeling.....,regarding my support,well that's a no brainer mate,i wouldn't care if you had gone out and "binge" gambled for the day.....,i will still offer support and be willing you to succeed (even if that is in your own way).

Seano

captain. . There are 2 ways to look at this. . 1.) this is not G.A where you have to abstain completely. Its GAMCARE where just about every bookies you go into there are leaflets advising of controlled gambling. . 2.) there are people on here who will have lost their partners houses and have massive unaffordable debts due to gambling who may see it as rather selfish and contradictable in what your doing. . . Just because i tried and failed to moderate (if i won on satday id lump on the tea time kick off and then the spanish game and so on) does nt mean you cant do it. . After all its YOUR diary. . i cannot win because i cannot stop defo appeals to me. . Best of luck in your recovery,its certainly unique from other diaries.

Great post Captain.

Truth be told mate i'm glad you have chosen to have a bet. It's obvious that you were not in love with the idea of quitting completely. In the circumstances i am amazed you managed 14 days.

As i understand it mate GAMCARE encourages responsible gambling. I therefore fully support you in what you are doing and everyone else should do as well. You are a good lad and i have had some giggles with you in chat. I hope you manage to find the happy medium that you are seeking.

Just stay away from that Virtual racing okay!!

And so the descent into chaos and pain begins again.

I wish you luck because you are going to need it.

I hope your journey is a short one and you come to your senses quickly.