I've posted a couple of messages about giving up. I realised that this wouldn't be easy since I've been gambling almost every day for the last 6 or 7 years.
The last year or two gambling on Blackjack and online slots got a lot worse, for higher stakes and started affecting my life to a much greater degree.
My first post was in June this year when I was at a real low. After that post I did manage to give up sports betting, online blackjack, going into casinos and online slots. That has been a real positive in the last 4 months.
Then I posted again 3 weeks ago saying how I played online poker. Even when I was writing the post, I was thinking that I needed to give up all forms of gambling and it was wrong to consider poker as a different form of gambling. So I would've liked to given up poker then too - it would have saved me hundreds of pounds.
But I'm now ready to give up all forms of gambling. It feels good to be completely clean and not just partially clean. I'll have more freetime, less depression and more money. I believe that you need to be 100% committed to giving up before you'll succeed.
It's easy to post after a big loss and think you're ready to give up - I've done the same many times - convinced myself that was it, and that I would give up....and sometimes I've failed by the very next morning!......this time feels very different as I'm completely committed to doing whatever it takes never to gamble again.
Anyway, I hope to post again in a few weeks with how many days I've been clean for. Good luck to everyone!
Hi Andy,
The temptation and desire to gamble is something in our heads that tells us to ignore the reality and believe the fiction of the big win. It sounds like you've been gradually getting to grips with the idea that quitting is the path you need to take, but you are right that you will need to be 100% committed to succeed.
Relapsing is something that I've done plenty of times in the past. Waking up after a big loss and promising to never gamble again, but before lunch I'm already chasing that loss.
Stay strong, and consider putting blocks in place on cards, contacting the sites you use to self-exclude to help your own willpower to stay away.
All the best
Ryan
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