Outside chance

myles

fella don't do yourself the dis justice of thinking you are not worthy of offering advice.

firstly the advice you offer is very well thought out and from it i hope your resolve also grows in equal measure.

great news regarding the car, to set goals and targets has helped me greatly.

keep making the right choice.

enjoy what your efforts gift you.

You became a winner.

feels good ah.

duncs stepping forward never back.

Thank you for your post on my diary it is much appreciated.

Duncanmac is right that setting goals and targets are good. When I stopped gambling last time I wanted to go on holiday so after a year of stopping I went on holiday. It makes you realise how much money you were spending and it also makes you realise how much more you can have!

Keep strong.

LG

Thanks Duncan

I do find it difficult to offer advice without rereading my comments and thinking that I sound like the finished article which I am certainly not.

The goals thing is great because I can see the rewards of abstinence as well as feel it in my mood and outlook. I will work on a new goal for the six month anniversary but not sure what yet.

I enjoy not having to worry about my money or having to borrow money from my mum just to make it to the next payday. I enjoy not hating myself for having lost my wages within a week and in doing so the trust of mum and girlfriend. Mostly I enjoy not biting my nails incessantly and having to think of ways to make things right again.

Just come off a night shift, the first of three, so I'll leave it there and go to bed. Weather's nice though so not great having to sleep through it.

Goodnight and good luck,

Myles

Thanks LG

It's amazing to think how comfortable things can be once you get your head straight. When I was gambling it was always about having more rather than being happy with what I have. I am starting to realise this now and I don't risk it all for more. Through abstinence you actually can be contented. Who knew?!

All the best, Myles

Hi Myles

Just read through your diary.

You sound like you have made great strides already.

Wish you all the best

Jake

https://www.youtube.com/watch…;feature=youtube_gdata_player

Hi guys

I've put a link up of one of my favourite songs. Only just realised how closely I can relate the lyrics to my attempts to overcome compulsive gambling. And I've loved this song for ages so it just shows how attentive I am!

I hope you like it as much as I do.

Another day without gambling and thanks for reading.

Myles

Day 97

I've never really been one to count days, more likely to view it in weeks and months. But after celebrating three months I've got the taste for it. It looks really solid! It looks like I'm good at this. I'm certainly much better at racking up days of abstinence than winners on a racecard.

Finished my last shift and so now I have the weekend to enjoy the weather. Haven't got any plans and now that the football's finished I'm lost. Need to commit to a new hobby or activity. I'll have a think and report back.

Congratulations to everybody who is resolute in their determination to overcome our communal scourge and manages a betfree day today.

Myles

hey Myles

thanks for your post on my diary, and for your kind words. Nearly 100 days for you wow!!!! I think a little celebration would be in order when you reach that milestone. Well done. I've got a while to go to reach the same milestone but am taking each day at a time and will be overjoyed if I get there.

Keep strong. Thanks for being so encouraging and an inspiration to us on the forum

Stu.

Hi Guys

Thanks Stu for your message. You can easily rack up the days if you remain focus and resolute. I can see that you have great personal determination and you show empathy each day as you embrace the forum fully by taking the time to support others. I'm sure that you won't mind if I pinch an idea that I got from your thread; to set myself goals for the next period of abstinence/recovery. I am finding myself fairly bored at the minute as there's no football to speak of and my girlfriend is away on holiday with her friends. I think that it will give me something to work towards and help to deal with moments of weakness which are starting to test me recently. Once again cheers mate.

So the start of day 100...

I am very lucky to have made it this far and I thank people who have messaged me support since 1st March. I am so much happier now than I was and far less stressed.

To top it off I am selling my old car today and have found someone who has agreed to buy it for £240! Not a lot of money but it saves me the hassle of scrapping it and there are some pretty big things to sort out on it. Only cost me £940 two years ago and I have given it a hard time with pizza delivery (until recently my second job). So things are going well.

My goals will be set over the next 75 days (upto 23rd August 2013)

1. Read a new diary each day and message support (sorry Stu I snatched this one!)

2. Get fit again and reach target weight.

3. Have saved £800 for holiday to Greece

4. Read a book a week

5. Clear credit card

Events which happened on 1st March (according to wikipedia) because I studied History at uni and this should be a landmark message!

1565 - The city of Rio de Janeiro is founded.

1692 - Sarah Good, Sarah Osborne and Tituba are brought before local magistrates in Salem Village, Massachusetts, beginning what would become known as the Salem witch trials.

1896 - Henri Becquerel discovers radioactivity.

1912 - Albert Berry makes the first parachute jump from a moving airplane.

1974 - Watergate scandal: Seven are indicted for their role in the Watergate break-in and charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice.

1998 - Titanic became the first film to gross over $1 billion worldwide.

2013 - Start of my long recovery from compulsive gambling...

Take care everyone and stay bet free for today.

Myles

Myles,

first of all a huge well done, 100 days is something that you should be immensely proud of. Secondly, great targets you have set yourself for the months ahead, very achievable and very worthwhile.

good luck and well done again

Phil

Hi Myles,

Congratulations on reaching day 100.

I like that you are setting yourself targets, this helps tremendously. It helps you to keep focused.

You obviously have started to recognise times when you are bored i.e. no football and that the targets will help you on those days.

Take care and keep strong.

LG

Hi guys,

My goals are coming along well. With the financial ones doing better than the others. Most importantly though I am not gambling or self-destructive by doing so. Each day is a step towards where I want to be.

As time goes by the urges get cleverer I've noticed. They no longer appeal to my impulsive side because my defences are strong. Instead they chip away at my resolve convincing me that I'd imagined this problem and that it's not so bad. I need to be very careful but I know this. It's not as easy to remember individual occasions destructive gambling anymore but I can remember a conversation I had with my mum and girlfriend so I will choose to use this as inspiration.

Money is lost but hope is not.

Regards, Myles

Hey Myles,

I know exactly what you mean with regards to urges, i just think that it is maybe a little complacency coming into our minds, i certainly start to think but if I am disciplined maybe I can beat the system, but we all know it just doesn't work for us. Well done tho, you are cruising, keep it up!!

Phil

Going to use my old thread to track my progress again.

I used this site to stop gambling and I managed to do over a year but around the time of the World Cup I convinced myself that I could manage it better this time. As with most addictions it only got worse. Six months later and I am really struggling. I'm now a student again so I don't even have wages coming in - mostly it has been done on credit (money transfers). I'm really worried about my financial commitments but I know that this is the best place to start. I can stop the rot on here and hopefully keep focused on clearing some debt.

This will be Day 0 as I have gambled today. Unlike last time I will post each day and hopefully it can stick this time.

Hope you are all well and thanks for reading.

Myles

Hello Myles,

Well done for coming back and deciding to start again - it might not feel like it at the moment but this is a huge milestone.

I'm in a similar position to you in that I've returned to my diary after going long periods without gambling then getting suckered back in. As you mention in your post each time we return to gambling after a period of abstinence things get worse. For me the damage caused has been to my mental and physically health, as well as my finances. It happened alarmingly quickly and very worried about what a return to gambling could do to me - despite being very tempted to play again.

Whatever you did in those early days last time - do it again! Get yourself through a week, then a month - then take a long hard look at your situation and ask yourself if you think you've made enough changes to your lifestyle to stop gambling creeping up on you once more. This is the really hard part of recovery I find.

I wish you well. You've done it before and you can do it again. This time you can stop for good. It can be done. Read diaries from winningpost, ex-gambler-jeff etc.. these guys are proof that it is possible.

All the best, keep posting.