My Recovery Diary (last bet 22/04/06 )

You dont have to thank me. I am your husband and I will always be here for you.

You didnt give up on me when I was gambling and risking our future on how fast a horse could bloody run. There is no way i am going to give up on you just because you are ill.

"In sickness and in health"...remember these words? I do and I meant them when I said them almost 20 years ago.

I have broad shoulders and can carry a lot so just lean on me as much as you need to...I will always be there.

It is because of you that I am so strong, you helped me get my life back, now I will do the same for you.

Together we will face this world head on Jackie and deal with whatever it throws at us together.

Nothing can beat the J team.

xxxxx

Jim (last bet 22/04/06)

Hi Jim,

Hope you are well and hope that Jac is feeling better, just been in the chat room and was speaking to Jac, It was my first time in there (scary) but they all made me feel welcome.

hope you got that computer fixed.

stay strong and think positive, Minty

Hi Jim

Thanks for your words of advice. it is done now. i left a letter when i went to work explaining what i have done.

tough day today.

TAke CAre

AndrewDP

Gull,

You have received the official gamcare support award. Please go to OPG and open up, And the winner is..... Envelope Please thread and pick it up and pass it on.

Great job and thanks

Cashed

I thought I would drag my diary up from the depths.

Life without gambling is so much better than with gambling. It still has its ups and downs but without the added pressures that gambling bring. I can now face my problems head on and get them sorted instead of running to the bookies to escape.

Anyone of us can have a gambling free life if we put our minds to it, it takes determination and hard work but a new life is there for the taking.

Reach out and grab it folks, you wont regret it.

Jim (last bet 22/04/06)

hi mate sorry that your wife is not well awlays here to have a chat mate say a little pray for her

last bet oct 2004

Hi Jim,

Very many thanks indeed for your message. Guys liek yourself have been a constant inspiration for me. I have read so many people who have put some time together then slipped and fell back into the bad old ways again.

To hear from such as yourself & Taffy etc is a great tonic for all. We can break free of this habit and stay clear. There are no rules in recovery, what works for some won't necessarily work for others so I always tried to read as many threads as I could to find whatever works for me.

I hope Jac is keeping better now, always a major concern when something wrong with a loved one.

Both yourself & Jac have been immense in your support of people on this site and in GA, mere thanks is not enough but for now all I can offer.

My new life continues...a life without gambling.

I keep reading about "slip ups"......I hate that phrase. To me a "slip up" makes it seem like an accident, something we cant control.

That is nonsense, we don't accidentaly gamble, we do it deliberately. We have to make an effort to gamble.....it doesn't just happen.

We also have to make an effort not to gamble......again it doesn't just happen.

A "slip up" can only happen if we let it happen.

Get and keep barriers in place and there will be no more "slip ups".

Remember it is our choice to gamble and it is also our choice not to gamble.

What will you choose to do today?

Jim (last bet 22/04/06)

Hi Jim,

"My new life continues"

love that.

Your recovery is strong...it's so important that people who are 'doing it' continue to hang around to show others that it can be done....well....and to continue doing it too 🙂

thanks for being here.

Love,

Peg

Hello Jim,

I've followed your diary for quite a while now and what a remarkble Journey of courage of determination you and your wife have shown. It has certainly given me hope and inspiration that I can to also be sucessful. I sort of agree with your comments regarding the term slip ups and would have fully agreed with you if I hadn't had a "slip up" after a year of not gambling. I felt why are all these people having slip ups its easy just don't gamble. Unfortunately I became complacent and had a slip up. I agree with you make sure you have barriers in place and keep remembering the misery gambling has caused to ensure you don't slip back.

Many thanks for continuing to share your story and continuing to support people in this forum

Becoming complacent is all too easy...I have been there too after 3 years of being gambling free.

But I didnt "slip up", I choose to return to gambling, I didnt just find myself in a bookies...I had convinced myself that I was OK now and could have a bet without returning to the old destructive ways. I freely walked back into the bookies to have a bet.

I learnt something from it though...I learnt that I can NEVER bet again, if I want to stay the man I am now.

Today I choose not to gamble, today I will remember what happens to me when I gamble.

Jim (last bet 22/04/06)

I too am from the south west. growing up in W-s-M and starting in the arcades by the beach, putting the occassional pound in the fruit machine-if only I knew then what i know now!! You're entry has inspired me, I hope one day I will rid myself of this social cancer.

Well Christmas is almost upon us and the end of 2008 draws near.

Another year goes by without a bet and life is good.

I dont miss gambling one single bit, I dont miss the excitement it used to bring me because I know that it was all false and ultimately it would only bring misery.

I dont miss the company I used to keep because again it was all false.

I now live life to the full. It has its ups and downs, trials and tribulations, but it is a good stable life I lead.

I am no longer the person I used to be, I am the person that I was destined to be before gambling got its grubby little hands on me.

I no longer live life in fear of being found out, fear of knocks on the door, fear of the postman delivering letters.

I live my life without fear these days.

I no longer have urges to bet because I have taught myself to hate gambling and everything associated with it.

I will never go back to those hellish days because I will never gamble again. I can never gamble again and that suits me just fine.

Good luck to anyone who reads this...it can be done.

Jim (last bet 22/04/06)

hi gull

insperational words.great to see that this gambling lark can be beaten and laid to rest,its people like you who give me and others people the belief that it can be done.im on the the right path just now,hope i dont stray to far away from it.thanx for posting,certainly as helped me tonight.

Hi Jim,

Merry Christmas,

Can you believe how fast the year went by?

I just wanted to check in with you and give you my heartfelt thanks for helping me in my early days of recovery. As you'll recall, I was all excited because I thought I had found the answer to the whole gambling problem and that my way was better than other ways. I've changed a lot since that time, and am much more spiritual now than I was and I've drastically changed my website. My mantra now is that each person should do what works for him or her. I wanted to let you know that I took your advice and also Peg's advice to heart and am much better for it. If you have a chance, you might like to revisit my site and have a look. It is much different than it was. I also put in my personal story of my own spiritual awakening.

Peace to you and to Jac,

Sincerely,

Gerard