Neveragain42

Day 96,

I need to take my recvoery lighlty. I have been so careful not to read anything about betting in the paper or on the radio and this has helped me immensly in recognising this addiction for what it is and keeping it at bay.

Right now i am struggleing with situation at work where a colleague is betting and they are up and down and telling me about it, i was strong at first and told them i can not hear anything about betting or see anything and it was ok, but recently he is telling me about his betting and i am listening, i can not do this !! I need to be strong and tell him i can't listen anymore and he should respect why.

Apart from this i am in a much better place than i was 97 days ago, my mental wellbeing is so much better and although the debt does weigh me down sometimes i know that this is gradually going down and not increasing as it most certainly would do if i was still gambling.

Keep going a day at a time.

Harry

Day 111

Still going strong, one day at a time - most important thing is to work on my self and change as a person if i want true happiness and to be sure i do not go back to gambling

Keep strong peeps.

139 days no bet, have not said that in a long while.

Have not posted for a few weeks, but have been getting on with it. Days are going by and its nice to see that my recovery is over 100 days and look forward to going over 200 and then hopefully towards the year mark.

I know i can never get complacent and complacency is the biggest enemy to me, I need to focus on my recovery, improve me as a person and work on my character defects, there is no stop to self-improving and learning. My life is slowly but gradually improving to where i used to be, always consumed by getting my next fix. I no longer have these urges, don't get me wrong ..out of the blue after a few weeks or so a thought will pop into my head 'it aint so bad' ' you can control it' the old bad habits trying to lure you back but no way!!! I am recognosing these thoughts and then telling my self what the truth is about gambling it is NEVER ok for me.

Today i am gamble free and have a choice, if i choose ever to go back to gambling then this will be taken away from me, as when you are in action there is no choice or freedom.

One day at a time.

day 163 - still going strong.... things slowly but surely getting better. Peeps life does definatley get better without gambling in your life, the constant worrying, lies, diecet..hiding winnings and never spending any of it. Hiding mail, thinking of the next excuse why you are late.....

BUT, I have to be on my gaurd and never complacent as this addiction incase i ever forget will always be with me and i can never be complacent. one day at a time.

Hi All,

I can't believe its been so long since i have posted on my diary. I am still gamble free, I have just checked my number of days and it is showing as 236 really pleased with that i make it 129 days away from completing my 1st year of abstinence since i got hooked on this horrible addiction.

I just want to jot down some of the things that i have done/changed implemented whcih i believe has helped me to get this far and in the hope it may help someone else.

1) Complete honesty

Owned up to my wife of all the debts/gambling related, all credit hards. This was the hardest part to tell how the LARGE amount of gambling debt i had once again accurred, hard but has to be done, no secrets allowed if you want to try and beat this addicttion as the addiction lives of secrecy and lies.

2)

Surrender of cash/credit cards

No access to funds unless i steal it from somewhere or my wife gives me some money, this has been essential to me as I know as long as i have access to funds when the urge becomes too strong i am at risk of giving in, without access to funds no matter how strong the urge i can not do it. This is still sometimes difficult to get used to but you just have to get on with it.

3) GA Meetings.

When i stopped this last time i made a big effort to go to as many meetings as possible as was recommended by other memebers, 90 meetings in 90 days the motto is and i went to as many as i could, and i must say this really kickstarted my recovery, you can learn so much from the meetings about this horrible addiction that will help you through the early days. The advice from the long term members with years of abstinence is priceless.

4) Change of lifestyle

I started to fill my time with more meaningful things, i.e going to places, discovering new parks, going to the gym regularly, reuniting with friends/family that i had avoided like the plague during my gambling days ...all of these things have slowly brought me back to a normal way of living.

5) Not following any form of Gambling

I made a massive effort not to read any racing articles, watch any racing and this helped me greatly as sometimes the commentary or advertising would get my head back to the bad old places.

These are just a few things and i have much more to work on as i have many character defects that need to be addressed. One thing i always do is never get complacent as i know this illness/addiction is always with me and i am never cured but i can chose to not have a bet today which i would never have a choice if i was gambling.

Wishing everyone the best

Great to see you still taking a day at a time.