My beginning Journey

Aw thank you so much Stace, 

Hope you're well and I hope you have a lovely Christmas and a happy new year too xx

Late posting from Sunday but I hope everyone has had a lovely christmas, 

Still going strong and have gone past my 6 weeks GF goal. I'm over the moon with how far I have come so far. It's an amazing feeling. 

My friend had told me he was playing a game online on gala spins and had deposited only £40 , he got well lucky and ended up winning £500. I had an awful feeling in my stomach as that's how it all started for me, I trust him and was able to speak to him about my current journey and how bad i got when i gambled. He said hes so glad I got the help I needed and that he would never be like that, he knew when to stop. It's harder said than done though. Hope and pray he doesnt find an addiction for it as I know and so does everyone on here how hard it can be. 

Here's to a new year and new me with a GF new start. I've never felt better and I would never have been able to do it without you all. So a massive Thank you. 

Hoping you all have a lovely new year and hope that next year will be a lot better than this one. 

Kay   x  

Congratulations Kay on your excellent progress.

Respect to you for advising your friend of the dangers associated with gambling addiction and telling him you are on a journey of recovery.

Some people are insensitive to the feelings of others and cannot resist shouting it from the rooftops whenever they have a win. However, they are far less vocal on the many occasions when they lose.

We all start off thinking we are in control of gambling but as time passes by, many people realise it is the other way round.

I sincerely hope your friend does not develop a gambling addiction but the warning seeds you have planted might just set alarm bells ringing if he does start losing control.

Wishing you every happiness over the coming year.

Aum x 

Hi all

I hope everyone is doing well with their recovery. I havent posted for a while but can proudly say I'm still GF. Reaching my 11 weeks now and I couldnt be happier. 

One thing that's started to come back is the thoughts and that now christmas is over with, I kinda do miss the games I used to play. I was speaking with my counsellor about this and she said it's completely normal to sometimes feel like this as I'm still pretty new to the recovery. I felt ashamed in myself for even thinking or having thoughts about the games. 

I still and will always have the stops in place(this has helped me so much) 

Has anyone else had flashbacks/thoughts about this and is this normal? 

Thank you All

Kay 

Hi kay, totally normal but also very unnerving, this is why it's so important to have strong blocking barriers for such times. But that's why we have these tools to use, to help us through the hard times. A few weeks ago after a few things that life throws at you I felt down and I had really strong urges relying on willpower alone I would have relapsed, but I didn't because the barriers gave me the time I needed to get through. I'm so happy I did now I feel back to normal and strong. I will be tested again that's life and that's why I will never let gamstop etc lapse. Please don't feel ashamed you're doing great, keep going, keep barriers up, stay strong.