My Recovery Dairy (Hope It Helps Some Of You)

Hi Deano i noticed to mentioned about diaries i am interested in that idea but techno phobic any help or advice appreciated new member to the family.

Just a little update, its now day 3 gamble free and i have no thoughts of gambling what so ever.... i know i started again on the scratch cards because i was bored and now i have a plan in my head not to get in that mindset again.... my advice to everyone is never get too complacent, as no matter how long you have stopped gambling for, it can always pop back up unexpectingly when you think you have cracked it... im taking it one day at a time, but i know i have now hit a point where i know theres no going back to gambling... I have looked over my finances and worked out over the past couple of years since i started with the slots how much i have spent on gambling, and i feel sick, guilty and so angry with myself, im more annoyed that when iv been thinking why cant i save money? and realised i would have thousands of pounds saved if i had never gambled, and this was the turning point for me.

Keep strong people

We cant win because we cant stop, one of the most powerful things i have ever heard x

Well today is a whole week of being gamble free! and i must admit im feeling good! ;-)... no thoughts or any intentions of gambling today... im slowly getting back on track with my savings for my holiday in august and completely aim to stay this way.....

life is good 🙂

Keep strong people

trust me its worth it x

Hi justwant2benormal

The thing about falling off the wagon is we can get back on straight away.

I know I am only just starting my recovery (8weeks) but what I have found is when temptation strikes, I think of what else I can buy the family with the money, i.e. £45 a spin on the roulette is family Pizza Hut time (including ice cream factory at the end!), £60 a spin is family bowling night plus burgers and fries, £80 spin is family cinema plus Pizza Hut, £100 a spin is trolley full of shopping from Asda (including a litre bottle of Southern Comfort for the Mrs).

Do I want to ever gamble again - do me a favour!

Paul

Thanks paul, it is a great way of looking at the reality of it, and thank you dean for your encouragement...

Its now been 2 weeks since my last gamble, and i am feeling really good! iv got a few quid saved and money for emergencys, which i know most gamblers would love to be in that position so i am feeling very grateful and thankful that i have now seen the light.

Dont get me wrong there has been a couple of days when iv looked at the scratch cards in the shops, and thought just one of those new ones, it wont hurt, but as we all know once we,v had the one where back in the game and then crave more once we lose!

I do now think i will definitely never gamble online again on the slots as this is what always took hundreds, thousands from me, and i have completely lost the craving for that, the turning point for me with the slots was when i had some compensation money of £2000 late last year and when i checked on my bank statements confused of where it had all gone, i then realised i had spent the lot on slots!! that was then it for me i swore to myself i will never use the slots again!......

But i can honestly say i am taking one day at a time with the scratch cards as these are my demon and i cannot possibly say i will never buy one again, i can only hope my will power and all your help on here will stop me.

Keep strong everyone

We cant win because we cant stop!

Hi Deano, I'm now on day 25 gamble free! Iv been busy decorating for the past couple of days so been very busy and not even thought about gambling to b honest.. though I nearly slipped the other day while I was shopping, I was in the queue and spotted at least 3 new scratch cards which really tempted me. I was sooo close to buying one, then i just thought I wouldn't stop at one I would end up at least 50 quid lighter and the saying 'we can't win because we can't stop'! was the most powerful thought that day... well done to u for coming so far x

Hi all, just a little update as, even though I have been posting on other threads iv not actually updated my own dairy! Lol... anyway it's now day 41 gamble free! And I really think something in my mind has clicked into place as my thinking process is totally different now, it's cheesy but I really think iv seen the light! I think totally differently now about gambling, I really can see now that u always give back more than u win, and the jackpot is never within reach its just there to tease... every time I go in a shop 9 out of 10 people buy scratchcards!! Or do the lottery, before I used to think I'm not buying the same scratchcard as them as that card mite be a winner! then I'll lose, ridiculous I know! and now I think u may aswell have just thrown your money in the bin!, I suppose there is people out there that do just buy them for fun and r not addicted, but that's how it started for me..... all i know is I have seen a massive increase in scratchcard sales since I first started buying them, somewhat 10-12 years ago, and that's not good at all!... anyway keep strong people, and feel free to post on my dairy xx

We Can't Win Because We Can't Stop!!

Thank you Deano I really appreciate your encouragement and knowledge... it's true u probably are more likely to guess someone's phone number lol... me and u are definitely bringing the sales down!! And yeah I'm gonna keep doing what I'm doing as it seems to be working!!.. take care and keep strong x

Hi all, it is now day 49 and unfortunately for me iv had a little slip.. it started Saturday when I thought why can't I be like everyone else and just have a go on the nat##nal lottery just once a week like everyone else it's not fair! It won't hurt! Well I was soo wrong!.. that one lottery ticket lead to the next day which was Sunday and today me buying around ВЈ100 in scratch cards!! Ok yeah so I won bits here and there but I am still £100 down and so very annoyed and disappointed that I let this happen!..... I'm glad I have realised now today that iv fell off the wagon just for a couple of days and it's not too late to get back on track before I do more damage... i Thought I was able to control it and the amount I spent, but once I was buying them there was no stopping me!... I now know I cannot even have a go on the lottery anymore as this just leads me astray, but at least iv now tried and tested that one and know for sure wot will happen.. as iv only slipped off the wagon for a couple of days, I'm now gonna put my gambling free days back to 47 and go from there and carry on my target of 100 days!! Any advice or opinions most welcome.
We can't win because we can't stop!!!
So very very true
Tried and tested x

deano: wrote: Hi just want to be normal me again lol. This could of been written by me albeit different cash amounts. Glad your back and posting. As always keep fighting
Deano x

Hi Deano, I'm so disappointed, did u have a couple of slips like a couple of days of buying them then? And did u carry on with your gamble free days? Or do u mean before u came on here.. I will get to 100 days! If it kills me! X

deano: wrote: Hi just want to be normal
I slipped by having one lotto ticket Saturday just gone winning 25 pound Sunday I cashed the ticket in for 25 pounds worth of scratchcards. Although I won on them I felt like I had lost. So I gave them to my wife and went back down the ladder to day 0
142 day's to beat this time round I'm now day 2

Hi again lol... I'm so sorry to hear that u have had a slip, like iv said before I do think they should put them behind shutters like cigarettes.. I feel as though this demon will never truly leaves us will it? I think we have to be always on our guard... i think my trigger this time was that I'm going through some stress at the minute something that I can't control, and I'm a very controlling person as in I like to plan and control everything in my life... also the fact that my brother won £800 on the lotto hot pick 3 on Saturday didn't help jammy sod lol... anyway i don't feel like I'm being true to myself by carrying on my days, so I'm gonna start my counter again like u, and we can start this mission again together 😉 x

Hi again all.. another update from stupid old me who's once again gambled.. the bad news is that today I had a couple of ВЈ5 scratch cards even though I'd gone all day without buying them even though iv been around them all day!!.. the good news is I won £100 and instead of keeping it in my purse and probably spending it on more scratch cards! Iv gave it my partner who has put it in the savings.. so I'm now tomorrow will be day 1 of the rest of my life gamble free!!! X

We can't win because we can't STOP!!

Life goes on

£60 on scratch cards today 🙁 ... my mind set seems to have changed.. I want my brain back that I had only a week ago that one saw sense... so annoyed and depressed...

Well today is day 2 gamble free! no urges to gamble what so ever hope this feeling carrys on, I am sick to death of gambling!!!. X
We can't win because we can't stop!! X

Back to 0 days.. me thinking just because I don't spend a lot on scratch cards that it's somehow its OK! But having the compulsion to buy them and then not knowing when to stop is in my eyes a gambling problem no matter what u spend!.. it will be day 1 tomorrow and I have talked to my self all day about the reasons I need to stop for good, and looking at the good an the bad of it.. iv now decided to save roughly the amount I'd spend on scratch cards each week, obviously I can't say an exact amount as some days are more than others, but averaging it out it is around ВЈ60 a week which is ВЈ240 a month! And by the summer holidays I will have saved £960 towards a family holiday! Now if that doesn't give me an incentive to stop then nothing will! X