My road to freedom

Day 2 and another productive day, no thinking about gambling and also got an email with all the shops I am excluded from 🙂

Hi Mark , We spoke last night :)) Glad to see you made it over to the recovery diary's , the day's will soon mount up buddy just be patient and take them one day at a time , if you need any info just ask and someone will respond .

Take care mate !

Thanks Alan appreciate your reply again. Feeling positive that I can actually do this, the demons will hopefully soon disappear. Been promising myself a holiday next year as without betting I will be able to actually save for 2 weeks in the sun

No worries Mate :)) Always good to have something positive to look forward to , a nice goal or treat and a holiday is a great way of seeing your money go towards something instead of chucking it away , it doesnt take long before you start to notice a difference in all aspects of your life , all the old you starts to come back and you begin to like yourself again , of course it's not all going to change overnight but you'll definately see a difference after a few weeks .

The Demons tend to lie in wait looking for an opportunity to fool you back into the cycle of gambling again , everyone has different triggers but usually if something goes a bit wrong or you have an unexpected bill , that sort of thing can make your brain think " ? maybe have a little flutter , what harm can a fiver do and I could win some money toward that bill thats just come in " That's where the blocks help , it wont stop the feeling completely or stop you gambling but it grants you a little time to think about what your about to do again .

If those feelings visit then just get on with something , anything to take your mind off it and It'll soon pass and the longer you put between you and your last bet , the easier it will become .

No rocket science involved buddy , just common sense really LOL !

Have a great day my friend :))

Best wishes Alan .

Thanks again Alan what wise words, as you said a fiver does no harm to anyone but it makes the demons come back again, this weekend will be the first time in 10-15 years I haven't even looked at a fixed odds coupon. I'm a little later on this evening as I have started a new course to become a football referee, anything to take my mind off betting and also something that will help my fitness at the same time. My third day already and haven't even thought about betting both my mum and dad are proud of me for fighting this illness and something I will beat 🙂

Hi Mark , just caught your post , thats a great idea with going for the referee's course as you said it keeps your fitness up as well , I was going to ask the other night if you'd told anyone about your gambling problem but obviously from tonights post I can see your parents know , that's really good having someone who's aware of whats going on and to have them there for support is a real bonus in my book , I remember telling my partner and grown up kids , it was one of the hardest things I've ever done but it really sets you free to tackle everything head on , addiction thrives on secrecy and all the time you keep it to yourself it always has a way in , simply because you don't have to justify yourself to anyone other than you and you and I being us will always find a reason why we could have a little bet :((.

I think the first few weekends were always a bit tough for me , it was the main time of the week I had time on my hands especially Sunday's and it would turn into one long Gamble fest , from the time they opened in the morning until close , then if I'd won I'd nip to the casino Sunday night and if I lost I'd still go anyway just to chase my daytime losses , see what I mean about our brains justifying why we are allowed to gamble , I know see it for the bolx it was and find much better things to do with my time .

Your mum and dad are rightly proud of you for dealing with this but you should be equally proud of yourself , it's never easy facing something lie this and all credit to you for havin the Ba.lls to stand up and fight back :))

Take care Mark and keep winning by not gambling :))

All respect

Alan