Start again...Again!!!

Oh just to add one small piece of advice to anyone out there reading this who is still gambling.

Never ever think ''things can't get any worse anyway'' they pretty much always can and will if you carry on, the opposite happens when you stop

I can't stress the things ''can't get any worse'' point enough most people feel it but its not true 99% of the time they can.

here's a poem

I am addiction.

I start in small subtle ways promising many things.

I promise you enjoyment and pleasure beyond your wildest dreams.

I deliver guilt and despair more horrible than your worst nightmare.

I promise you power and courage.

I give you feelings of powerlessness and hopelessness.

I will force you to live in fear always.

I promise you relief and escape from all your daily problems.

I create for you greater problems than you ever have imagined.

I promise comfort, I will give you pain.

I promise happiness, I create much sorrow.

I am addiction!

I will steal from you; your self-dignity, your families, your friends,

your children, your home, your dreams, your spirit, your life.

For love, freedom and happiness are impossible to find in my presence.

So never underestimate me, I am devious and manipulating.

I have no preference as to who I pick as my victim;

rich or poor, young or old, black or white, yellow or red.

I have killed men, women and children.

I have no conscience.

So, if you have met me, Always Beware,

for if you think you can beat me and I will be gone from your life

and all will go well again, Never forget that I will always be there...

waiting in the dark shadows, just around the corner.

I am very patient.

And I will laugh in your face if I can lure you into my evil world

of hell on earth once again.

I Am Addiction !!!

dood i feel for you and hope you can stop this time , like myself i hope i stay stopped as only been a couple of weeks , i was only thinking today maybe just maybe i got this thing beat, but then i read your poem , that tells me no not if i think i beat it only if i think i have to keep my guard up because i can never beat this addiction , good luck mate hate to see someone suffering , i was changed when i gambled i hated who i was becoming , and remember roulette when i played , your thoughts rang true , i thought things cant get any worse but when they were at there worst that is when they always got worse and evrything else after playing got worse to go with it . be strong dont give in , I WILL NOT BE A VICTIM TO THIS ADDICTION

Hi mate I'm 18 days into my recovery but I don't gamble at all. I believe it's the only way forward, your small bet will inevitably get bigger. What's the point of winning £100 it will only make u gamble more in my opinion. My weakness is the fobts, I've lied and cheated to lose my money in these machines but I'm refusing to play tgem again. The thousands I've lost in them has gone I've accepted that now. Used to crazily think I could win it all back with stupid systems but u can't beat the machine. Good luck with your recovery hope u can go 600+ days again

Cheers guys, good luck to you as well

Don't get complacent whatever you do, that was my downfall to relapse, after 20 months plus I thought I had it cracked..I was wrong, its always waiting in the shadows

Keep busy!!!!!!!!!!

nice share plastic

greatest reminder that gambling isnt just about the money is it

its about my life and those in it

i really believed noone else was suffering from my gambling

more fool me

thanks plastic

I think My Gambling has affected Just about everyone I love

Money wise but also the person you become when you are in that bubble, you aren't very nice when you are in that cycle of chasing and losing, chasing and losing

its the very definition of madness repeating the same mistake over and over, as basement Jaxx once said ''wheres you head at''

Again mate, get to a GA meeting asap and see how it goes, they understand and will try and help you.

thanks plastic ill give it thought

Hi PlasticDream - thank you for sharing the poem - a good lesson to remember that we are never very far away from that desire for a 'quick fix'. Good wishes for your journey and remember that we are all in this together, so you'll find lots of support and inspiration on the site.

Joanna

Cheers Joanna 🙂

Day 3 ..or day 2 however you take it

Went to a GA meeting last night my 3rd sunday on the trot, they are still a blur but stuff is sinking in more and more slowly but surely, my relapse knocked my duck off big time after almost 2 years gamble free I thought I had cracked it..You never can be so complacent during recovery its very dangerous ..that 1st small bet triggered a binge like the old gambling me

Anyway onwards and upwards, little unhappy with myself for not stopping totally after my 1st meet back at GA on the 2nd of march but at least I had only lost about £20 in last 2 weeks, it would be 10x that at least if not..there is a light that never goes out

cheers

Bit of a cr** day

Still could be worse as at least I didn't gamble

PD

cr** day, Had a bet, all my online accounts seem to be now clossed, which was 99% of my betting, ended up catching a bus somewhere random for a walk in a bad mood/feeling down, got a bday coming up on Friday 35 and always seem to get more depressed before them..not helped by the fact my GF is away this year

anyway yeah had a coupon in billys for the footy actually won 70 off a 5er which probably aint a good thing, need to pick it up though, need the money big time

dissapointed in myself been to 3 GA meetings feeling better but had 1 bet per week, much beter than it would be without but the idea is to stop

Dust myself off and start again tomorrow AGAIN 🙁

So today I have to start again from scratch, new day one, have to go to bookies to pick up winnings ..walking straight out

Only good thing is that in last 3 weeks I've had 3 bets only since GA it would be 100x that at least

still must abstain

Sorry to read of your blip,as you say dust yourself down mate and start again.

Pick your winnings up and self exclude at the same time.

You know what needs to be done and how to abstain for long periods of time,you can do it.

Ive just realised that by giving up gambling im not really giving up anything that brought me pleasure,its not like giving up chocolate.

In the end winning brought me misery, cos i know it leads to another bet,and so the merry go round starts again.

I hate gambling,I don`t yearn for it,ive accepted my losses,ive stopped thinking about them,its gone,its the only way forward plastic dream.

Well done for coming back,onwards and upwards.

I doubt there are many on here who haven't had blips. Like you, I take some comfort in my lapses being smaller and shorter than ever before but believe it is the way we react to them that marks us out. No chasing, no reinvesting, no wallowing; only leads to more time and money lost to gambling.

Well done for posting and being honest about where you are at. Best of luck in your recovery.