Staying Strong to end the misery .

Morning Diary . Day 59 .

Thanks Volcano , had a good chuckle at the Fandango post . Ha ha I did identity with the guy in the 2nd row , 2 left feet but doing his best bless him . Going to take your advice and dance my way out of the addiction , difficult to boogie and think of fobt machines at the same time .

Sharon , hope your having a good weekend , thankyou for your words of encouragement , you are one of the true great treasures of GamCare world , up ahead in the distance fighting your little heart out with so much courage , resilience and hope for a better tomorrow .

Love and best wishes to all my fellow travellers on the road of recovery . All kinds of wondering people sharing a common goal . Lets put this madness behind us and start to live again....... " Theirs got to be something better out their ".......

Stephen, sorry I haven't supported you lately, thank you for the last post your wrote to me and sorry I never replied. You probably guessed why. Anyway I am back now and I intend to stay close to this site.

I am truly glad to see you are doing so well and have so much support from friends on here

I am so proud of you and an inspiration that at 66 you are turning your life around and enjoying yourself with salsa, swimming, walks, nice vegetarian meals.

Hope you are having a lovely weekend x

Thanks Stephen, hope you're having a great weekend, I am slowly learning to like and trust myself again, With my debt I make one payment a month then try to put it in the not thinking about it file in my head, otherwise I would drive myself crazy, Thanks for your kind words as always S:)

Hi Stephen ,

Tomorrow is another milestone for you 60 days ! You're doing a great job . Turning your life around after retirement is wonderful. You're giving us inspiration and I respect you for doing that . You're right money is gone and just move forward and accept what's been done.

Thank for helping me ,

Sars

Well Diary only a couple of hours to my next milestone . Day 60 without a bet . Really pleased .

Thankyou WAI for your kindness , missed you , pleased your back . Take care , you are with friends who sympathize with your predicament and are wishing you well in your recovery .

Thankyou Sharon . Definitely mixed emotions when paying my debt repayment each month . Don't like it hanging around my neck for years but pleased my debts can be repaid in a manageable way / Relief another bit of It has been paid off but niggled as I could have spent it on something else . Anyways what's done is done , at least i can make sure it doesn't get any worse .

Thankyou Sars , great positivity from you which is great , well motivated and good recovery strategies in place .

Best wishes to friends in recovery . We are alone but we are together , looking forward to a better tomorrow .

Thank you for your post and congrats on the 2 months. Solid stuff. This gambling world has enough mugs in it we won't be missed! Well actually there so greedy we probably will be missed but f**k em! Excuse the language I'm in that kinda mood.

Great to see another gamcare member going strong, keep it up, I love reading success stories.

Take care, stay strong.

Fanfare please 60 days!!! Fantastic am so pleased for you S:)

Ha ha thankyou Sharon , today has been excellent , i wish I had a tail so I could wag it ! ..... DAY 60 GF , I am getting more self belief , deep down I feel i can overcome this compulsion to gamble , it is the chance of a lifetime for me and i'm not going to let it pass me by .

No doubt in the future I will experience happiness and sadness , however it wont be dependant on my winning or losing money .

The simplest of things can bring happiness , maybe I can live a more tranquil life and experience some peace of mind .

Assuming i live until i'm about 116 I've only got about 50 years left ! Guess I'd bettle knuckle down and get on with it

Love and best wishes to all my fellow travellers . We're all alone but all together . Lets beat this insidious addiction and live a life of our own choosing . Whatever comes our way , it's got to be better than the life of a gambling addict .

Congrats Stephen, makes me so happy to see how determined you are to beat this and reclaim your life, making everyday count by abstaining and finding happiness again x

Thankyou WAI for your encouragement and support , it means a lot to me . So pleased your back on the recovery road and wishing you a successful journey . Hoping you can reclaim your life and find peace and happiness . Take care stephen x

Morning Diary . 62 Days on the road , fellow travellers helping me along when i'm feeling low . Missed Salsa last night as didn't feel up to it , shame as it makes me feel good .

Think i'm enjoying being retired , quite lazy anyway so it's not a challenge . Just had a coffee and a banana , heading for the gym to splash about in the pool and have a steam . Going to cinema later to see Wonderwoman which should be a good laugh .

Have told several friends about my gambling issues . I'm able to talk about it now i'm in recovery and people are generally quite understanding and supportive . Many people have family members or friends with gambling issues .Yesterdays gone and tomorrows not here yet , so I will focus my energies on today and remain upbeat .

Best wishes to all my friends in recovery . I know some people are really struggling and have great hardship to contend with , in desparation they turn to gambling to solve their problems . Such terrible sadness and heartbreak only made worse by this terrible addiction . If appropriate maybe tell someone , a problem shared is sometimes a problem halved .

Good to see you still gamble free. It will get better every day its just a very slow process!

Stephen, my dear,

Walking on the pier,

Making his way in life,

Dealing with his strife,

Keep looking ahead,

Put your demons to bed,

At sixty-six,

Still getting his kicks,

From salsa, the sea and being a veggie,

But best of all, he's gamble free.

A special person, with lots of friends,

Stephen my dear, walking on the pier.

You are an angel.

Thankyou WAI for the lovely poem , it lifted my spirits and brightened up my day .

Friday has been good , very fortunate as I am not having any urges to gamble , sure that is mainly due to friends diaries reminding me daily of the misery that goes with gambling . The wisdom and support of my fellow travellers is really helping me .

No counselling today due to appointment with dentist . Went GA tonight which was well attended and helpful .

Hi abstainer

Well done on your recovery and i do like your wellbeing/spiritual approach.

Am interested in how much of the stuff you're doing now - eg salsa, is this stuff you've always been into or is it new stuff you've got into as part of your recovery?

All sounds really good positive stuff either way.

Louis