New young member

Hi Jamie and welcome to the forum .

Your young my friend and can so easily turn your life around if you make the right choice today , the easy part is stopping gambling but staying stopped is the bit us compulsive gamblers struggle with .

I don't know what your poison is , dog's horses or fobt's which were my downfall but you should check out mixers thread at the top of the page which is full of good ideas, information on self exclusion and most things that will stand you in good stead for the journey ahead :)).

If you haven't told your girlfriend what youv'e been doing then I'd advise you to be honest with her , she knows obviously that you have a problem as she's holding your money but the fact that your still able to get it from her with such ease is worrying for a Compulsive gambler because if you don't have the fund's then you simply can't gamble .

I agree it is embarassing to admit to family and maybe friends that you have an addiction but that addiction will thrive on secrecy and will be more than happy for you and it to keep it between yourselves .

I remember well sitting and having that conversation with my partner and my grown up kid's and it wasn't the best thing I've ever had to do but that being said it allowed me to start as I meant to go on with honesty and transparency which are two word's Compulsive gamblers don't live by .

That was over 3 yrs ago and thank's to this place and it's wonderfull members I've not placed a bet since :)).

Have a look around at others diary's when you have time and post whenever you feel the need as it does help and I'm sure many others will follow myself with advice and well wishes :))

I'll talk to you soon my friend but all the best for now :))

Alan

Hi Jamie,

Is this the first time you have tried to stop? I am almost 26 and gambled since I was 18, any bit of money. I’ve done every lie under the sun and done some awful things to get my hands on cash. It’s taken me this long to realise and admit I need help, you are 6 years ahead of me. I’ve been in constant debt and misery and nearly lost everyone around me. You don’t want to end up like 25 year old me in 6 years time.

Good luck mate

Hello guys, yes lnmid i have tried to stop on several occasions but just end up going back when i have money again, do you have any tips on what i could do to stop this? i would say the main cause of me gambling is boredom in work and the desire to win big.

Morning,

My advice would be come clean to family and partner you’re struggling with gambling. I wish I did that a few years back. They will understand and help and support you. You don’t want to waste another god knows how many years of your life unhappy, without a penny wishing you sorted it sooner.

A lot of the success stories on here recommend Allen Carr’s book how to stop gambling, I’ve ordered it off eBay only about £8.

Knock it on the head while you’re a teenager and you have your whole life ahead of you.

Liam

Morning.

Youv'e tried and failed on several occasion's to stop gambling ? Maybe it's then time to stop doing what youv'e alway's done which hasn't worked and try something different ? .

The main thing you left out of your post this morning was " Have you had that conversation with your girlfriend yet " ? .

Controling money seems to be one of your major issues so why wouldn't you be honest and let your partner know your struggling and ask her not to give you the fund's ? , Perhaps like most of us on here when we first arrive you want not so much to stop gambling but stop losing ? , unfortunately for us compulsive gamblers this will never happen .

There's an old saying on here " We cannot win because we cannot stop " and all the time we keep feeding addiction that's the way it will be .

Book's are great for giving some ideas and tip's but to be honest the real change comes from within by changing those parts of your life that are causing you to gamble , which you mention as " Boredom and the desire to win big " , maybe a change of job for something more challenging ? or more rewarding ? .

The desire to win big is a huge plus point we tell ourselves in order to carry on doing what were doing , I used to belive that one big win would solve all my problems financially and that it would be spread around to bring joy and everlasting happiness to my loved ones and what a crock of sh1.it that was ? ................. I was kidding myself in order to justify what I was doing , I've walked out of Bookies and casino's on numerous occasion's with many thousand's of pounds in my pocket and did I ever stop ?? ........... The stakes got bigger until I'd blow the lot and then borrow more to chase what I'd lost , did I ever buy anything with the so called " Won money " ? ..... I could probably think of 2 thing's in a 35yr gambling career , so not agreat return .

The truth is it wouldn't matter how much you could win because a Compulsive gambler has no " Off switch " and money won is just more ammunition for our gambling gun .

Stopping gambling for a day / week / month is a huge struggle for you at the moment , so the thought of giving up for life is something you can't begin to get your head around , which is why it has to be about one day at a time for now . The good news is that those day's turn into week's / month's and years .

But you have to begin that first step with honesty my friend :))

Hi guys, I had a successful weekend of no gambling there and have found various things to do instead of gamble eg go to the gym. I feel better already and haven’t even thought about placing a bet. Hopefully be able to keep this up.