These recovery journeys of ours are never going to be "always" OK.
167 days is brilliant. Just think about where you were 167 days ago and where you are now.
Money may be tight but what if you had gambled during the last 167 days?
You, as a CG, CANNOT slip away for an hour. This WILL lead to more hours and days and more losses for you.
But you probably already know this.
Enjoy your weekend.
NT
Hi Jim,
Good to see you still doing so well. Hope you are enjoying your new baby. Our little boy Jimmy is incredible. He's crawling already and is almost standing up by himself.
Ok, with this days business the best thing i can suggest is take the last day you gambled. The day after is Day 1 (if this is a sunday for example) then the first week (day 7) will be a saturday so every saturday therefore will be a multiple of 7. Hope this makes sense.
All the best
Keith
170
got 6 months in my sights now (april 30th). Still tempted but realistic. Didn't help reading shorty's diary today, got a mini- hit from it. Would love a quick financial fix, but none available at the mo.
Update please! I hope you did not succumb to temptation.
Update please!
OK!
Well, the update is that there is nowt to add at present. Today is day 173. I doubt very much I'll gamble anytime soon; I was a binge gambler, have been all my life, and it is normal for me to go longish periods with no big problems. In these periods I can play the bandits in pubs, have the very occasional sports bet (maybe 3 a year), lottery a similar amount of times...all OK (although ultimately pointless, since I rarely win - and I've never won anything on the lottery ever). But then, it kicks off, I revert to BJ at the casino or, much worse, online, and then I just P**5 thousands to the wind. when I'm in its grips I also play roulette and jackpot bandits, although they're not really my thing, and the stakes just get higher and higher. Before I know it, my back's against the wall, and I'm begging / borrowing / lying my way out of a hole.
Although this binge gambling has happened throughout my life, the stakes were never quite high enough for it to be a life-changing problem in the past. When I was a teen, it was the bandits in Scarborough and similar places...I would blow all my savings in a day and so on. but in those days, I had no access to easy cash, so apart from denying myseld things (clothes, electronic things etc) I never really suffered much, or thought about it, to be honest.
As I got into my 20s and 30s, and had more access to money (and I was quite a high earner for a while), I still binged but, again, I didn't play things where I could lose enough to be a real problem. Yes, I came home from the pub broke all the time...yes, I was constantly overdrawn...but throwing £50 in a bandit 3 or 4 times a week, although stupid, didn't c*****e me financially, just inconvenienced me.
A well-meaning friend introduced me to a real casino, when i was about 32. This was the beginning of the end. I got a tatse for BJ, the stakes got higher and higher,there were lots of losses but some big wins too. I got clever with counting and betting systems etc, and at one tiem I was £10k up, and I kept a little book detailing my incomings and outgoings.
The problem was that my system relied on bet big to win small; most of the time it worked, but then (of course) I suffered two big losses on consecutive nights, and wiped out the £10k.
Even this stupidity was ..not manageable exactly, but still just on this side of disaster - I was too proud to show my face in the casino for a while, and this saved me.
Finallly, i found internet betting in 2005, when my marriage broke up. This was the beginning of the end.Anonymised betting for mega-money.
I can't calulate how much it's cost me since then, but at least £50k; prob 70. No card-counting online, and restrictions on the stakes make doubling up difficult after a game or two.
Screaming baby, got to go
Good post. Like you, I used to bet in cash when I was younger but never had any crippling losses as I did not have a credit card or an overdraft and was restricted by the daily cash withdrawal limit on my debit card. Online bookmakers ruined everything - so convenient yet deadly - as a student I blew my student loan and student overdraft in a few days, which was bad, but once I got a job and had access to more credit, I lost tens of thousands of pounds betting on the horse racing and football online. Never again. However, like you I am a binge gambler, so have to be on my guard. I can cruise along for months without betting but then something changes and I get sucked back into the evil world of gambling and chasing losses while the stakes get higher and higher and higher.
lucky jim and pellekanin, i m exactly that type of gambler.i can stay bet free for months and in one day i can blow thousands of euros.after the loss feeling terrible for a couple of months(typical depression) then forget it and go on in my life.
at GA meetings they dont care how much you bet.if you bet just one pound it is a relapse for them.i ve started GA meetings early february and it is too early to make conclusions.
first time i gambled big amounts was jan 2011 it was 1700 euros on roulette.
second time last christmas 3000 euros and third time a week ago 4000 euros.
every time i have some spare cash in the bank i blow it all.
i had to loose 10000 euros to realise that i have to hand my money to someone else.but its never too late.now my last 300 euros are kept from a friend and each time i need some cash i call him and go get it.
i ll keep this rule for a long time probably and i ll see what i can do in the future.
second rule i self excluded from 2 big casinos near me but there are illegal mini casinos where there is no self exclusion there.i m living in greece by the way.big problem gambling here as in uk.thats all folks
Half way through your thread some bits I like some bits I don't but well done you are an inspiration to people like me. Baby due in six weeks and I am looking foward to it. Something that I am trying to do is not worry about money sounds daft but when I gamble I tended not to worry about it. If I am stuck I will borrow it if not I won't. As I am not gambling the hole is not getting any deeper.
Day 179
Still no gambling. Will be 6 months' abstention a week on Monday.
Had to cut into my overdraft yet again for neccessaries. Will post finances next time.
Hi LJ,
Glad to see all is well.
Read your post to lucky mike and i dont think ive ever been described as a plodder but i will take it as a compliment :0)
Stay Strong
E xx
Are you okay? I hope you have not relapsed. Only a few days before you cross the six-month barrier. Keep strong and do not give up.
Hi Jim, your almost there to another fantastic milestone, in 3 days you have achieved what you could only dream about 6 months ago. you should be so proud of yourself and how far you have come in that time. i know having you on this site in that 6 months has also helped many other people, myself most of all. have a great weekend bud.
Pat
Six months on Monday, wah hey!
Hope you have a little treat in store for yourself ready for this momentous occasion!
Have a great weekend,
NT
Day 181
Pelle, Pat, NT, thanks as always.
No relapses, but money is becoming a problem. Radiator bust on the car this week, £200. OH wanted a new dress and shoes for a wedding, very very unlike her so I couldn't say no (of course), another £250. Plus all the normal ins and outs. I daren't post my finances just at the moment, since it would make sorry reading and certainly be significantly higher than last time.
Anyway, gambling has barely popped into my mind this last few weeks, so that's good. Real life is sometimes a great deal harder than living in the gambling bubble, though. I honestly have no idea how I'm going to shift these final, stubborn debts. I suppose I'll have to go into self-denial again; I started that way, but relaxed a little over the last few weeks. I'm a little worried over the heating bill, since before the children came I'd never have in on from March onwards. Nowadays, it's on 24/7 (we're on a hill, and it's not the warmest place to be).
No, go on, time to phone the bank and work out my debt.
(...)
Debt 1 - £5,400
Debt 2 - paid off
Debt 3 - paid off
Debt 4 - £2,900, Cc
Debt 5 - £1,300 CC2
Overdraft: £500
Opening debt: £13,500
Current debt: £10,100
Last gamble: 31st Oct 2011
Debt-free day: 24th december 2013
I will get a small cash injection in June, around £600. I hope to pay off my o/d with that.
Stay strong, everyone.
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