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

Its my daughters 21st in a few days, spent yesterday buying presents for her.

I wonder what presents she whould have had if I had still been gambling....not too much I guess.

My family and I have suffererd enough due to my obsession with gambling, we shall suffer no more.

So, no gambling for me, and I dont miss the buzz one single bit, I get my buzz from life these days, not sitting in some bookies with all the other lonely people, throwing my money and my life away.

Jim (last bet 22/04/06)

What can i say that aint already been said to you mr Jim ( well within the realms of forum etiquite ...lol )

Enjoy your girls B'day have a sherry for me

tc

STAY STRONG

Kim xx

Stuff the sherry mate--have a few pints of that MoonBar!!!

A 21st birthday is always cause for celebration but being able to treat her to something special is so much better than blowing our money betting!!.

Have a great day Jim

Stumper

Hi Jim,

Your last post says it all. Family first, every time! Gambling, ultimatly only has lows.

No more gambling lows for us.

Stay Strong

Steve

Hi Jim, thanks for your post!

Family, self respect, emotonal stability, honesty and most importantly a proper loving dad! These are all my gains through quitting my dire gambling addiction, my buzz in life is being a honest decent guy with 2 sons to be very proud of!

I will never forget this stage of my life, lost my wife and nearly lost my sons due to years and years of mindless, brain numbing gambling.....Sheer and utter selfishness i have no excuses for my past, but the future is gonna be so very different, its gonna be gamble free and my sons will be happy, very happy!!!

Anyway this is my final posting and hope you dont mind me doing it on your diary! I can honestly say this forum/chat has been a godsend and for that i will alway be very grateful.

I wish you all the best Jim and hope your daughters 21st is very special (sure it will be), i far too emotional. Be PROUD be HAPPY. ands

Jim,

Have spent the night reading your diary. It is a very good read.

Just thinking aloud... I get the impression that the feeling after almost 3.5 years is that the emotions do not change, they just don't come along as often as they do for the first year or so? There is no cure ? There is no magic receipe that makes things normal, it's just something that you/we will always be aware of ?

Congratulations to you. Congrats to your wife also. Jackie has posted on my diary and her posts have been very very helpful to me and my wife. We spent about an hour last thursday night discussing one of them.

Your diary offers more insights than most of the GA sessions I go to. Some blokes there are 3+ years in recovery and I get a little lost as to their frame of mind.

Congrats again and the best of health to you.

Brian

Hi Jim,

Thanks very much for the post. It means a lot to get support from someone who is living proof of how you really can change your life around completely.

Much appreciated.

Hello Jim!

Not read your diary fully, but seen a few postings of yours here and there!

Full respect in your perseverance [wife 2!] Strength and honour and happy days to the two of you!

Paul

New here not gambled for 2 days now. I just read most of your diary and you are a credit to this place. In 25 years I have lied, cheated and stolen. My marriage broke up and I live with my mum again in a council house my earnings over 25 years of work are near a million and yet I have very little. Good luck in your success.

Hi Jim,

Thank you for all that you do, especially for me.

I am so proud of the way you have dealt with your addiction. I know the journey wasn't an easy one but you stuck with it.

You made those changes that took you away from the gambling world that was your life... so ingrained... and so very damaging.

Now days, the man you have become is definitely the man I love the most.

Jackie xxx

Still gamble free and still working my recovery and still living my life instead of wasting it.

For so many years gambling was virtually all that I thought about, it consumed me, i could not imagine my life without gambling in it.

These days it hardly enters my head and when it does I just remind myself of the pain and misery that it has caused me and my family to suffer over the years and the thoughts just melt away.

I dont miss it one single bit, I have no time for it anymore and I refuse to waste one more precious second of my life on something that almost destroyed me.

My life is anything but dull without gambling in it, in fact it has opened up to all sorts of pleasures that gambling kept me from persuing.

I hope everyone that reads this can find the life they were meant to have, a life without gambling in it.

Jim (last bet 22/04/06)

Jim,

A quick blast from the past to say "well done" on your continued, fantastic efforts - I don't feel worthy of putting much on your diary at the moment - I will post more when I have eraned the right.

All the best

Hatch 2

Hi Jim

Just to say a BIG THANK YOU for all you do and have become. I am so glad to have you and Jac on my recovery path. Without you two my life would be a lot duller.

Sending love and hugs.

God Bless

Sabine x

Jim

Until now I hadnt read your your first diary post but when you posted that you try and remember the the pain and missery gambling caused I went back to read why you stopped.

In reading I saw that you had given up for 3yrs and then started again......I suddenly realised that although the debt I have now is fairly small (hundreds) I had somehow blocked from my mind (but not forgotten) the original debt I was in when I stopped the first time, enough to have placed our deposit on our house when H and I bought our first place (5% 8yrs ago).

I feel lucky at the possition I am in when quiting this time but need to remember how it could have been so much like the first time, or worse.

You are an inspiration and aspritaional.

I wish you continued success

Dave

Best wishes to you and jac, jim.....if you don't mind me asking,I'm finding it difficult to post these days....as are a few others....is this just a phase I'm going through and did you find similar in your first few months...any tips gratefully appreciated. 🙂