My first day of not betting

Hi William.  Firstly thanks for sharing your story.  I am 34 myself and have had to come to a point in my life when like you if I don’t make a positive change I will lose everything good in my life.  I have only just started my journey and my advice to you would be to remember firstly your not alone what I mean by that is we are all here for the same reason.  Secondly it will be tough but think about those positives in your life you don’t want to lose, that was my problem I forgot about the most important things I have in my life they are the reasons I keep moving each day.  Lastly I would suggest keep posting I have only just begun to share my journey and I fell that it is helping me to express the feelings I’ve never shared with anyone until now.  Let me know if you feel any of these may support 

Hi thanks for your reply,I'm starting day two of not betting I'm finding it better to talk about it because it stops those little gremlins in my mind from telling me to go on have a bet you will pick a winner today and I might pick one, but I will be loosing in the long run I must stay strong and not go near a betting shop or the online stuff, I really appreciate all your help and support and by just posting it's helping me plant the seed in my mind to stay clear.

Regards William

Keep going William.

It gets better.  It's tough, but it gets better. 

Keep visiting here and have a read through some posts.  Have a look at mine and see if they resonate with you and hopefully motivate you.  I'm not a finished article, but i'm taking great strength from others on here who are doing an amazing job.  we were all on week 1 once and we know how it feels.  keep talking to people who won;t judge and take their advice.  Get your blocks in place first and commit to never gambling again.

I'll keep an eye on your progress and i wish you all the best.

Hi thanks bdog for your support I've managed another day of not betting I've stayed clear of the betting shops and I feel good my family are also supporting me, my wife has my cut up the credit cards although I've maxed them out  and has my debit card which I don't mind as she said when I want to buy something she will come with me and wait until I buy something then I've no temptation to go to the betting shops, I will follow all the great ideas on the site because I know you will all help.

Kind regards William

Hi all it's now day 3 of not betting I've thought about it today I don't know why but it seems to be on my mind today, my wife has took me out for a walk to some shops which I would never do especially when there is racing on TV, I've been to Primark,m&s,home bargains and we're not finished yet but if it stops me from gambling then I will do anything.

Kind regards William

Hi all I'm struggling today I can't stop thinking about having a bet I guess it's because of the Saturday factor I'm used to football, racing the whole lot, the good thing about it is I've no funds to go and have a bet because my wife has my debit card and my money. I can't believe how bad my head is one minute I'm contemplating having a bet then I'm telling myself to pack it in.

My wife has suggested that I start up my hobbie I used to do fishing that would keep my mind from gambling I think that would be a great idea.

Kind regards William

That’s impressive ALN.

Working my whole life in the sports industry and having to know about current affairs makes that impossible for me.

However, I no longer watch stuff that I don’t really have an interest in for betting purposes. Ask me this time a year ago and I’d know the ups and downs of all the football leagues in the world, the basketball spreads for the play offs and probably some other pointless odds on Eurovision, brexit and the quidditch World Cup.

Now all I know is the Premier League and that my team are s**t. 🙂

Hi all my family are helping me so much, they're making sure that I'm not sitting at home bored so I would have a look at the betting sites, they take me out places that before I would probably say no to going because I would rather be betting but now I'm going out with them which is a massive change for me all for the better.ive no bank cards or I don't have cash as my wife will keep my money and if I need anything she will get it for me.

Regards William

Hi all it's now day 6 and I've not had a bet, the thing is that I've thought about having a bet but there are 3 things stoping me firstly if I do I will lose my wife and family , I've no money and I've no cards, my wife has them all which is what I needed.

I've got £7500 worth of debt from 2 credit cards and a personal loan I'm now not able to repay these debt's because I was using one to pay the other one and visa versa I've now reached the limit on both cards.

I'm so worried about these debt's I can't get them out of my mind,my depression has really got me in a mess I've been thinking about suicide at least it will be all over no more worries I have the means of doing it as I'm a type 1 diabetic and I have plenty of fast acting insulin I've just got to take enough to do the job go to bed and I won't wake up in the morning

I'm really struggling with this.

Regards William

Hi William :)). 

Firstly mate get those suicidal thought's out of your head as " It's only money " I'm not saying that flippantly because when I came here a while back I had those very same thought's until one kind forum member passed on some word's of advice which I'll pay forward to you now " Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem" and that word " Temporary " just about sums it up really as thing's wont always be like this . 

Money can be re earn't over time and debt's can be repaid but they have to be repaid in a way that's not going to cause you bigger problems and again as I was once told by someone much wiser " Recoveries for life so why the rush " ? . 

I still have some debt thanks to gambling and me having no off switch but it a strange kinda way I find it quite comforting as it shows me how far I've come , that the debt is going down not up and also serves as a good reminder why I shouldn't go back to those dark times . 

I'm a type 2 diabetic by the way so for me unless I eat 15 crates of donuts I don't think I'd be as quick at it as you ? . 

Mate all jokes aside " It will get better " accept it for what it is and like myself your not a bad person we've just made a few wrong choices in life and that's not the end of the world , if your really struggling with this debt then speak with an advisor at Gamcare or maybe Stepchange or Debtcamel will give you free advice :)). 

Just don't let money cause you more worry than you need as it's just not worth it and I'm pretty certain that your family would rather have you around than not  all for the sake of a few quid .

Stay positive my friend as those feelings will improve with time and those days , weeks and months all take you further away from your last bet and into a much brighter future :)).

Alan   

I echo the comments on money.

the debts can only be paid back with what you can afford, not a penny more.

hang in there, don’t gamble, it gets better.

Hi thank you for your kind words and wisdom you are right in what you say, I just need to see some light at the end of the tunnel, it's just a massive shock to me what I've done now that I've realized it, I'm a stupid stupid person.

Thank you all for your help all your words are going in and when I read your messages it really helps me to feel that there is hope for me.

Kind regards William

Stupid people don’t realise they’ve made a mistake.

You’re a rationale person who has had a blip, recognised it and took action.

I often say keep moving forward/what’s done is done and other positive such things, but someone recently reminded me in another thread that we can ‘glance’ back at the past, but just ‘don’t stare’!

Holding a mirror to ourselves and reflecting is important in all walks of life, but recognising fault is hard and doing something about it is even harder. You’ve made the right choice - a clever choice.

Glance back for a reminder, but don’t stare and get bogged down. 

Hi all thanks for the positive comments, I don't have many friends but the people on here are lovely people who care about each other and you can't help but look forward and not back by the comments you leave in your messages thank you so much

Kind regards William