One day at a time

Yes NT, I know what your saying.

Its been a little easier that I imagined, I thought I would be tempted by the Rugby thats been on recently but no urges came along.

Im paying absolutely no interest in the lower legue results at all. Only interest im having is the Premiership. The fight for the Champions League places is gonna go down to the wire....

Anyway, day 49 today. The big five-o tomorrow 🙂

Hi sonic boom, just swinging by to say a belated congrats on your half century 🙂

Keep @ it - ODAAT

Just a quick update...

Ive had dreams in the past few weeks that involved actual gambling. Little frustrating but not dwelled on them as I cant control what I dream about

Anyway, this morning I woke to recalling a different kinda dream I'd had. I was actually HELPING (or at least trying to) a colleague who the office had discovered had a gambling problem. We were walking through town and I was trying to explain that I knew what he was going through and knew exactly his feelings and though proceses. He was shocked finding out I'd spent at least 40 grand over the years and said he'd no idea about me. I told him it was good that he'd let things out in the open. As hes only 18 hes young enough to nip things in the bud before it spirals out of control. Thats when my alarm went off.... Anyway I wonder why my dreams have changed in that way??

Hi Mark,

Could be a very good sign, to,show you have turned a good positive corner.

Well done on your gamble free days.

Stay strong and keep winning.

Suzanne xx

Yes maybe Suzanne. I have to admit im getting to the stage where its more important for me not to ruin my day count than the lure of the possibility of winning a few quid.

Enjoyed watching football on TV without the stresses of relying on the result to decide how im feeling.

Good to see your almost on 300 days - thats impressive!

After reading allen carrs book the easy way to stop gambling (which i highly recommend reading btw) ive been thinking loads about the will power method of abstaining from gambling.

You would have to read the book to fully understand but ive though of this scenario which I hope may be helpful to anyone whos reading this;

When you were a kid and you wanted to play out with your frienda there were tines when your parents said 'no you cant' youve got to finish your homework you can play out tomorrow or whatever. Your actions were in part dictated by your parents - a good thing as if were up to us we would have been out 24/7 with our best mates doing whatever. You probably felt you were being deprived of being stopped spending time with your friends. The point is you didnt have to use your own willpower to stop yourself from spending too much time playing out when you needed a healthy balance.

Move on to now...

So you havent got your parents making decisions for you any more. You can do as you please, see your friends whenever you like. You dont even have to use any willpower to stay away from them. Thats crazy - you want to see them - you make plans to see them...

Now gambling and the willpower method...

The whole point im trying to make is that using willpower not to do something implies that doing that thing is desirable to you in the first place - like i know that donut is gonna taste soooooo good but i shouldnt really as im supposed to be in a diet and ive already had 2 today!
You wouldnt use willpower to stop yourself from doong bad things afterall - like putting your hand in a fire would you?

So the example above should beg the question - why am i using willpower to stop myself from doing something that I clearly recognise as being BAD?

Allen's book will make you realise that setting off with the mindset of using willpower is not the right way to go about beating your addiction

I kind of get what you're/Allen is saying but for me, willpower is required when my head is filled with nonsense about how it will be different this time! Hell, I know gambling is bad but the lies & false promises make it sound great! I cannot win because I cannot stop & my day count is far too valuable to throw away on some c****n who has lied to me for years!

Whatever you are doing is working as told by 60 wonderful days of winning 🙂 Don't give up on willpower completely!

ODAAT wrote:

I kind of get what you're/Allen is saying but for me, willpower is required when my head is filled with nonsense about how it will be different this time! Hell, I know gambling is bad but the lies & false promises make it sound great! I cannot win because I cannot stop & my day count is far too valuable to throw away on some c****n who has lied to me for years!

Whatever you are doing is working as told by 60 wonderful days of winning 🙂 Don't give up on willpower completely!

Im glad you said what you said ODAAT... because the book is very big on the brainwashing that takes place by the people with a vested interest of getting your money from your bank / hand to their bank / hand.

theres only one winner in the long run ... the book makes you realise that and clears your brain

Hi NT

Good to hear you let the urges pass by without acting upon them. The book talks about urges being a 'little monster' begging for food and water to stay alive. You just made him that little bit weeker by not feeding him. Eventually he will die and not ask you for help to stay alive.

day 62 today - or exactly 2 months as I last gambled on 24 Dec last year.

Not even been close to placing any bets. My dreamteam football makes the weekend games interesting. Now I dont have constant stress hoping my winning teams dont concede in the last 5 mins or preying that the next team to pop up on the vidi-printer is the team I need for my accumulater.

Funny that I always thought my gambling problem was the roulette and the FOBT's - that was where my BIG losses occured, but im well aware that a lot of the negative energy was invested in sports betting. Usually losing on that triggered wanting a quick way to get my money back and a visit to the FOBT's.

Im having absolutely no thoughts of FOBT's now that im getting by without wanting to place sport bets.

Long may it continue.

Well done on day 62 , day 63 writing this mate not far behind you and my last blow out was just after Christmas.

The only thing I have left for Saturday is my super 6 , I said when I closed my betting account if I was able to keep that going it would be great and it seems to keep my mind occupied when I think of gambling.

I think at this stage it is will power alone that will get you through this I cannot imagine going back to the old way of life and think that scares me to continue recovery.

Hi Mark,

Great stuff 2 months,

Lovely positive post.

Suzanne xx

I still do the super 6 as well John. Usually check how ive done after all the games - good that i dont obsess on how well ive done. Its virtually impossible to beat hundred of thousands of other players. Ive not even managed to get all 6 results correct this season never mind all 6 correct scores!!

I run a dreamteam comp at work (for small entry fee). Will have to weigh up my thoughts about that come next season. Its entertainment to me and I dont see it as a opportunity to win money.

Hi Mark, just dropping by to congratulate you on 9 winning weeks 🙂

Not sure if you're still reading my half cocked attempt @ a diary so just in case you got lost among the drivel, I'm planning on taking a break for a while! Thank-you for your continued support & keep fighting - ODAAT

Good job on tackling the debts; still going well?

Hi Jenilee

Yes my debts are steadily going down. Expect that in 14 months or so i'll be debt free. Pay day tommorow so another few hundred pounds will be paid off.

How are you doing?

Mark