Recovery starting: January 15, 2014 - Never Bet Again! Not Even Once!

Hi - thanks for the post and I respect your opinion and good luck on your intended abstinence.

There are millions of people all over the world who gamble responsibily. This is not to say that they WIN overall but they lose amounts of money which are affordable and part of their disposable income. They choose to spend their money on gambling as opposed to other interests/hobbies etc.

Unfortunately for many others like you and I we cannot do that because we are compulsive gamblers so we end up losing everything.

As regards my own position, Yes I have had a diary on here since 2010 and in fact have been in recovery since admitting I had a problem in 2008. During that period I have made great progress on a step by step basis and at present have achieved 6 months of abstinence from the gambling type at which I was compulsive, which was my original objective when appearing here in 2010. (During the last 6 years I have completely removed many other gambling types). My current thoughts around a return to random gambling stem from a combination of the compulsive voice in my head and the problems and gaps in other areas of my life.

For many problem and compulsive gamblers, when they eradicate gambling their lives improve. For others like myself, where gambling was providing an escape and in some respects filling a positive need, the removal gives financial and health benefits but the core life issues remain.

Captain46, thanks for writing back, it's good to hear from you.

I believe and we might disagree here, that gambling cannot be something that is done responsibly. Yes, some people might lose only "small" amount but if you look at places such as SBR Forum you can see someone there losing last year "only" $6,000 - and he says he can live with that.

Gambling is an expensive system, designed to ruin you financially ... look at famous people, like Jeremy Kyle, Britney Spears ... me and you are not different ... they're neither ... all human beings, regardless of their financial situation can be affected by this industry.

Same way you wouldn't let your (or a) child cross the road by himself, same way you should treat gambling - it's something destructive that should be avoided at all costs ... no one is making money out of it except for the industry itself.

There is no such thing professional gambler and no one can make money at gambling ... search on Billy Walters ... you would find out he might be the only exception but his story is very much NOT credible and he might be part of the gambling industry itself.

I'm sorry if you don't believe it but gambling should have never been something on this planet, the entire idea of taking money away from someone and doing your utmost to get as much money as possible this way - this is a theft, a "legal" theft, and it has to stop, but since we cannot stop the trend, at least we shouldn't be part of it.

If you look at gambling this way, trust me, you won't have any relapses, not even one whatsoever ... I truly believe in it.

Wanttostop.

Welcome to the forum, I was interested to read your introduction and like captain wish you well in your recovery.

I would like to just ask one question

What difference does the book mentioned in your opening post offer that GA doesn't??

For me I find it difficult to ***** the concept that a reformed compulsive gambler would want to profit from his writings on the subject of recovery.

Surely if you are a recovering addict you would want to share your findings without charge or profiting from other folks demise into the same addiction.

For me this is a bitter pill to swallow, I relate those reformed addicts as just the same as the industry.

Cashing in so to speak.

GA and this forum offer great real life experience for no other reasons than a want to share.

Regards recovering there is for me no right or wrong way.

It is bespoke, I may not follow captains recovery path but my own recovery has taught me to respect it.

Something I gladly receive back.

We all have to find what is right for us, best of all after the fortune I gifted to addiction I found out that recovery is free, it costs us nothing except a belief in ourselves and our choosen method.

I won't wish you luck, I believe any of that ran out long ago.

Regards

Duncan.

Hi Duncan,

Thanks for your post.

Your main question was what is the difference between what the book offers and GA meetings, and why should you trust a book that costs you money?

Well, I was in a few GA meetings myself, but no one, no one has touched the sensitive point this book is touching. Yes, the book costed me 2.60 GBP for Kindle version, which I can turn to PDF and still get refunded for it as if I got it for free (but I won't do it).

The author publishes on his website many of the most important pages for free, without you needing to pay to read those (gamblingfactsandfictions.com), if he is asking for a very cheap price to cover publishing expenses, I honestly don't see a problem with that. That book is cheap, sold for a very fair price. So that's one thing.

Another thing, is the fact Gamcare is funded by bookmakers, without them Gamcare wouldn't be exist, and many people don't know that. Another thing is the fact in GA meetings and generally throughout my attempts to recover from gambling, I always, always treated gambling as something that can be controlled, and always believed I would find the way to get a grip and make money or enjoy my gambling.

The reality is different - and that is the big difference between GA, Gamcare and this book. Whilst the first two try their best to help people to talk about their addiction, to stop it or to talk about it (which is good, no dispute), they still collaborate with the gambling industry by making people believe they can get a grip, and maybe some day find a way to have gambling, but moderately.

This entire term, these two words called "GAMBLING RESPONSIBLY" are such a lie and fraud, created by the gambling industry, and without reading the book it's hard to understand it.

Gambling is not like alcohol which should be consumed moderately in general, it's not like that.

Gambling is not even like smoking which some people might "enjoy" ... it's similar, but its better description is the child crossing the road on his own - would you let him do so? Of course not!

That's what gambling is ... it's like you standing freely on the road and any moment a car can come and it would crash you, and crash you financially, and so bad, and it happens so fast you wouldn't even realize how in a few minutes or days you lost several hundreds or thousands of dollars / pounds!

The book is teaching you to stay away from gambling, treat it as your enemy, treat the gambling industry as your enemy ...

Will you try to fight responsibly with your enemy? No, of course not, your enemy is trying to hurt you and kill you financially ... so once you understand that you would take away from your mind these thoughts of betting online or at all ... it depends what kind of addiction you have but those addicted to sports betting would definitely find that book helpful.

I thank the user lostafortune to write about it in another thread in the forum and quoting from that useful book which I could find here.

Wanttostop

a well written reply fella, i am glad for you that you have found a path that is going to work for you. You have taken huge strides in on your first day. For it a huge well done.

For all of us our experiences are different. I found ga and it i believe is funded by the members, there are no adverts or gambling funding, just a room of like minded folk who want to arrest their addiction.

I enjoyed your child crossing the road analogy.

I look at it through a different view, if you teach a child the green cross code then they will learn to cross the road. Therefore remain safe through there education. Rather like recovering from my compulsion through arresting all forms of gambling. This is what the ga room has gifted me. An education in how to abstain and remain in abstinence. A life choice we both want.

Regards the industry funding this forum, i am thankful, they dont regulate what i write and in truth they dont make the forum the authors do.

I hope you get to use its value as much as i do.

I look forward to sharing your valuable input.

Duncan.

Hi Duncan,

Thanks for your thoughts, it's always good to share feedback and opinions about the path people choose to take.

It's the 2nd day today, I feel it's too little but it's definitely not too late ... I wish I could be here already 2-3 years from now but regardless the time count doesn't matter as much as the life itself, and I'm glad I'm on a journey which I now truly believe in ... a journey without one more bet, ever.

I wish you a nice day today, I'm definitely feeling much better ...

Oh by the way, I surprisingly received an earlier payment today I wasn't expecting, but I just used it to pay back the debt I owe ... so it was $22,000 USD, now it's $18,000 USD ... it's good to see the amount of debt getting smaller, and it's also good to know I'm not using gambling to try and re-pay the debt or for any form whatsoever ... I don't need this destructive form in my life, I can do much better without it.

Enjoy your day.

Wanttostop

fella two things stand out from your last post, we as compulsive gamblers share the same desire to want things 'yesterday'

That instant result.

We can move forward one day at a time, value that day, it becomes more valuable by gifting ourselves a choice

No bet today.

Secondly, I have in my time here seen many times folk wage war with their debt, they frantically work to pay it off, then after doing so treat themselves to a punt by way of reward.

I hope you through recovery learn the true value of you hard earnt.

It has been a revelation in my life.

Duncs stepping forward never back.

Hi Duncan,

Definitely agree with you.

I have no intention whatsoever that once the debt is paid (please god make it as soon as I possibly can), then definitely not "treat" myself with a bet ... maybe buying an airline ticket, a vacation in Australia or the Far East (Hong Kong / Thailand) sounds like a much better thing to do, but definitely not gambling, not at all.

Yes, I'm going through the 2nd day now, I really have to put my focus into University but I find myself playing games or reading websites online ... it's not a big deal as it's not gambling involved ... but I am still trying to concentrate and focus on University so I can finally do my assignment ... any tips how to do that? 🙂

Day 3 - Another lovely day to enjoy life without gambling, I honestly love every day without it.

But I still want to use the diary to remind myself of a memory of something bad that could have happened to me. In the book I was referring to in the beginning of the diary there is a section talking about people who sell picks, you know, those people who tell you you can pay them for picks and then you supposedly "make money" out of it ... it's an illusion, because if anyone really knows how to make money he wouldn't sell that information to others, he would use it himself. It might be difficult for some people to understand it.

Anyway, in another sports betting forum in my local language where I used to participate, I wrote similar things and why people should never bet again, and then someone sent me a private message telling me has information valued as worth 10,000 euros a month from the football clubs themselves, and that I can make money out of gambling, just follow the picks ...

He told me he would send me picks for 2 weeks and without even asking he sent me the first pick, in a Belgian Football game between Oostende and Genk, whatever the teams are ... he said Genk would win (odds of 2.10) ... I told him: look, no thanks, I've tried it before, and I'm not interested.

I had this experience before, someone on the Internet sold me picks and once even "played" for me and lost 500 GBP ... I have tried these things before and you would never make money out of it.

Anyway this Genk team lost 0-1 to Oostende so his pick lost.

Then next day he sent me another message, telling me "why don't try it for free 2 weeks and then decide if you want to continue or not" ... and then again without asking me he included another pick about a Football match yesterday in the Africa Cup of Nations ... between Burkina Faso and Morocco, claiming Morocco would win in odds of 2.00 .... I told him this time "look, I am not interested and any future picks or messages related to picks would be ignored and you would be blocked", and he told me he finally understood and never contacted me since.

However, as much as I wasn't interested to bet on his game, because I learned that it's based on chance and not on "knowledge / picks" although sometimes there could be rigged games etc but just dealing with such dirty things shouldn't be something we all deal with ...

Anyway I've decided to watch that Football match yesterday, and I even checked and most bookmakers lowered the odds on Morocco from 2.00 to 1.80 and even 1.75 before the game started ... and just in the first minute of the match Morocco scored a goal 1-0 and the odds on them were 1.16 ... but I did not feel "sorry" for not participating, not at all ... I wanted to see exactly what this "pick" is about ... I convinced myself the book is more right than this guy ... he might win but he's relying on chance, and only on chance ...

Guess what ... I enjoyed watching the game very much, without betting on it ... I actually wanted his bet to lose ... just to see that idiots should learn not to mess up with people who want to stop ... so I actually cheered up the other team, Burkina Faso, but without betting on them it was so much fun, just watching the game and not being involved financially with it....

Well, guess what ... at the 88' minute Burkina Faso scored the equalizer and the match ended 1-1 ... his bet and his "pick" (worth 10,000 euros a month, yeah right) - it was lost ... I'm not happy for him to lose twice, but I hope he would learn out of it a lesson ...

To all the others and to remind myself as well ... do not ever believe in those picks people try to sell you and do not get involved with it ... I'm so glad I stayed away and had no temptation whatsoever to bet ....

I keep it strong and hopefully keep on going strong without ever gambling again for the rest of my life.

wanttostop

Fella firstly in answer to your question regarding how to complete your assignment, surely the inspiration you have found in the two days of abstinence can be harnessed and used to complete the tasks infront.

the fog will continue to clear, focus will become stronger on what is important in your life.

Regards the most recent post I can only say this I am so glad you found a forum where without doubt the folk here are here to recover.

In my nearly two years here without doubt I have never seen anyone approached by a tipster!! and long may this continue.

Regards Duncan.

Hi Duncan,

Thanks for your support.

Yes, I've finally started to work on my University assignment and it feels much better, suddenly I feel I have so much more to do besides gambling, the fog is not there anymore, which is great.

Regarding tipster, yeah I agree, they are not tipsters, they are people who try and make a quick buck without risking their own finances.

I don't count the days anymore, to be honest, I remember my gambling free day still started on the 15th of January 2014.

Life is much better without gambling and thank god I have no urges to gamble, not even slim ones whatsoever.

I am still updating this diary because I feel it's important.

I hope everyone enjoys this weekend.

Lovely Monday today.

I've completed so much University work yesterday and feeling good about it. Glad I made progress with it.

The days without gambling have been such a bless, and I'm so glad I'm on a path to life without it ever again. I even started a small website to remind myself and others of what I've been going through in my own space:

****

You can visit it if you'd like.

I hope that the week would continue to be so great like it is now.

I would continue to update of course.

Have a nice week everyone.

wanttostop

Amazing fella in five days you have managed what mere mortals can manage in a life time.

I guess your website is not allowed to be advertised on the forum, with it I wish you well.

I was requested t ofollow a site set up by an individual back in uagust, the sad thing is it started with great gusto and has not been updated since october.

Subsequently the bbc wrote that the fella is cured!!

I do hope they mean he is still in abstinence as we both know there is no cure for the compulsion to gamble.

I wish you a continued sucess in your recovery, I hope you keep achieving at such a phenominal pace.

Regards Duncan