My long journey

Hi Luckygirl

Well done on posting and committing to defeating this illness. we will be behind you all the way!

Linda (day 71 and loving every minute gamble free)

Thank you for your support Linda, I know I am able to do this!

Going forward I have recognised that my happiness depends on me being gambling free. My moods were so up and down and that I cannot just go to bingo without playing the machines. So I have realised that the whole thing has to stop.

So today I will not gamble and this will be my first day of happiness and not sadness.

Onwards and upwards.

LG

Good luckx

hi LG

Thanks for posting on my diary!

I can really understand about the machines at bingo- I would often say till 1 or 2 in the morning if I could and I almost never could walk out after a win- all that did was give me more credits to play with for longer!

I spent so many years doing this that the last 70 days have been tough in dealing with its absence but I have and will continue to do so- however tough it may be its not nearly as bad as the gut wrenching feelings that losing again brings with it!

Linda

LG

There is a mantra we the compulsive gambler live by whilst at it

I CANNOT WIN BECAUSE I CANNOT STOP.

For me like many others this is brought on through all forms of gambling, if I had a go on the fruit machine or bought a lottery ticket it will lead my gambling brain to see this as acceptence, that gambling is ok.

then before I know it I am again stood infront of the fobt, my nemisis.

For me total abstinence gifts me a 100% payrise, my hard earnt stays exactly that.

The new mantra is

I DID WIN BECAUSE I DID STOP

You my friend joined that club again.

My advice Enjoy it.

Recovery the gift that never stops giving

duncs stepping forward never back.

Thank you so much Duncan for your post, I cannot reiterate how much you have hit home with me. I have never looked at gambling like that before. I have given up for a whole year before, but I had a bereavement and I just went back to my comfort blanket and the rest is history! But in that year I never looked at gambling like that, and I would very much like to join that club!!

Day one went well, with very positive thoughts as I know this will be a long long road with many ups and downs but maybe with this mindset of I DID WIN BECAUSE I DID STOP it will be enjoyable and I can spend my hard earnt money to better use.

Onwards and upwards

LG

Hi LG

Some great advice from others already, its great to take it all on board and use what you can in your situation.

Great that you managed to give up for a year. I managed nearly 2 years, before slipping for a few months. Take what you learnt from that year, and add it to the extra advice you get here. Like many other things in life, giving up gambling is a learning process. Some people do it first time, others like you and me, take longer. But the main thing is we get there. You will get there.

Well done for making the right choice.

Thank you Doodle for your supportive post, it is very welcoming. Well today I went swimming for the first time for years, I thought I would try and put my energy into something different so hopefully I will get a bit fitter. I have had already two flyers in the post this morning from bingo offering half price and free bingo. I have torn them up and put them in the bin. I am sure there will be many more.

My aim is to keep busy over the next few weeks so I don't start to feel bored as then that's when I start having those gambling thoughts. Hopefully my plan will work.

LG

hey LG

Glad to see you are staying strong and thanks so much for your comments on my diary they really have helped.

I called my local bingo hall in early december to self exclude and they said all they can really do was to take me off the mailing list. Ok I said that will do as I wont go down there I just didnt want to see them bloody flyers every day! Anyway I have had them every single day since. One time I had a personal letter giving me a month of 5 pound off vouchers! So anyway what I do now is I save them all up and use them in my incinerator bin in the garden when i wanna burn my rubbish. Its actually quite theraputic lol! Anyway, I dont know if you know but there is a challenge 2014 thread over on overcoming problem gambling and it would be great to see you check in on that. Its a great support system and has been a huge help. anyway no pressure up to you but either way ill keep checkin your diary to see how you are doing.

Best Wishes

Linda x

Just wanted to say hello and congratulations on starting a diary. I have learned a lot on this journey and know progress takes many forms. You may slip, you may falter but you will get nothing but support and useful advise on here. Best wishes for your recovery. Jx

hi lucky girl, ive managed to stop gambling for 58 days today, im doing really well, I never want to gamble again. I started of gambling in bingo halls putting a £100 in fruit machines that only would pay out £50 crazy. Then I moved onto fobt machines in the bookies losing thousands of pounds. im pleased that I ve nearly stopped for 2 months now.

Thank you for the support jwillquit, stop and Linda it does really make a difference and helps when you begin this journey. You can see by the many posters on here that you realise that we all understand the feelings we have everyday and the huge strength that is required to get through each day.

Today is a hard day, my family have just gone out and will not be home until about 4. Now last week I would be getting ready to go to the bingo, I identified this could be a problem today so I have just informed the family that they will be coming home to a nice roast dinner which they are happy about. This in turn has now put in a defence for me. I cannot cook a roast dinner and go to bingo!! I also had a day off from work on Tuesday but I have now arranged for me to work overtime. Now I know I will not be able to do this all the days I have off but in these early days I know I have to start trying to put things in the way of my gambling just so that I don't get to a day with nothing and on my own which I have identified as a danger to my recovery.

Thank you Linda for letting me know about this challenge. I will go over to it now and ask if I can join.

I CANNOT WIN AS I CANNOT STOP

Keep strong and onwards and upwards

LG

Hi its good that you are not going bingo anymore ,i lost every penny I had in bingo halls when I was about 25. Then I moved onto betting offices putting thousands of pounds into the machines then finally gambling online which is the worst.

Thank you for your post stop, you are definitely correct about online gambling. When I was here 8 years ago and that was online gambling. It was the worst mistake of my life. It took over a year to pay off the debt and i have never been to a online gambling site since!

Today has been difficult, the kids are back at school and I have been on my own, so to try and stop those gambling thoughts I went shopping and then went swimming. I need to identify the danger days and put in place a plan. At work tomorrow so I will be fine.

Onwards and upwards

LG