Steady as she goes!

What a glorious, fantastic day! The sun is shining and the sky is blue. Monday mornings are so much better like this.

Hope you all have a fantastic, gamble free day!

Weldy

Cheers and I will raise a glass of wine (actually milkshake but still early!) to your post.

Hope you get to enjoy the sunshine. Luv Min

Morning all,

I was in the chatroom last night which contained amongst other friends, two new people who were pretty much at a very low ebb.

I have pretty much thought about nothing else since, one has started a diary and the other not.

I enjoyed the chat, trying to help them start a recovery journey in the chat and I felt that I got a lot of satisfaction from being in a position to offer assistance, but kind of feel helpless to do anymore and hoped to see them both on the forum by today. Hopefully they will and give it a real go.

I am finding that my inner peace allows me to post in a slightly different manner and I feel more in a position to be helpful to others. That said, I question is it right for me, a relatively new convert to the gambling free community, to be actively giving out advice? At which point do we change from being a CG to being a recovering CG? I don't know the answer to this.

If I were to fail, to slip up then what kind of hypocrite would that make me?

Anyway, all the best for today to all my recovering friends, have a great day and it's ODAAT for me today, I will not be gambling. Gambling is not for me.

Weldy

Hi Weldy,

I really understand your last post. I've been on chat a few times and have supported quite a few....they seem to have disappeared into the abyss. It did used to upset me but I now think if I offered even the slightest bit of support which may have made the slightest bit of difference then I succeeded in helping.

It was good to meet up with you in chat last night. Your recovery is doing so well and your diary is great reading.

Jas x

I know what you mean about the chat Weldy,

I think that your advice is as good as anyone, because you are sharing the benefit of your experiences - no one claims to be an expert on there, just trying to offer constructive help and support.

I think sometimes people are so distressed and in a panic on the chat that they dont really take much in. All I know is that everyone said HI to me the first time i logged on and that felt good. I guess all we can do is be welcoming and supportive - the rest is up to each of us.

Take care, hope you are still enjoying the sunshine 🙂

Thanks for your comments Freda.

It's another glorious day today, and thankfully I don't have to go to London again or anywhere else today. So I get to work from home in a leisurely fashion which is a great plus of working for yourself. Coffee in the garden is in order!

I don't have much to report right now, feeling calm and settled within myself, slightly less pressured than last week but still busy so it's all good really.

All the best to everyone who reads this.

Weldy

Hi Weldy,

Just checking in. Calm and settled and enjoying the weather sounds good to me. Recovery is a wonderful thing. Warm regards.. S.A 🙂

Hi Weldy

Just thought pop in and see how you are doing. I haven't read all of your diary but am hoping to do so soon.

From your last posts though it seems as if you are well and truly on your recovery path.

Worrying about giving adivse to others.. I sympathise as I have got it wrong in the past. All we can ever do is go by what we believe to have helped us in our own recovery. Only our own experience is needed to be able to help someone who is so distressed and so disheartened when they first come to this site. I remember when I first came to this site and the friendliness and support I received and still do.

You are doing alright. Do what feels right for you.

I am glad you are here and part of my recovery journey.

God Bless

Charly

Hi Weldy,

Women are always bragging about how they can multi task.. and here you have 2 (me n charly) confessing we havent read all of your diary yet !!

Like everyone else i understand what your saying about the chat sessions, we so want to reach out and help... even if its just saying everything CAN be ok.........

About 3 years ago i connected with someone in a chat session....... we got along so well.... anyway we met up one day at waterloo station (no not under the clock lol) we spent a nice afternoon chatting about the obvious, enjoyed a few beers and generally enjoyed eachothers company............

On my way home i decided to give this person a call, just to say thanks etc etc etc

when they answered their phone i could quite clearly hear those familiar sounds of the bookies..........

I was devastated.... i would even go so far as to say i felt betrayed!!! go figure............

anyway on to the point.......

and no pun intended .. you can lead a horse to water but you cant make it drink.

Take Care Weldy

STAY STRONG

Kim xx

Thank you SA, Charly & Kim all for your comments. They are a great help to me.

I have just felt in recent days how much I would like to help others as it feels so frustrating sometimes that there are people feeling so terrible as a result of what gambling is causing in their lives and whilst I appreciate that I am certainly not out of the woods yet, I feel like I can or just want to try and help them.

It's been a great journey for me so far, with such a lot changing for the better and knowing that it can be done is such a massive change in how I was feeling just a few short months ago.

Thanks for your support. I will continue to work ODAAT.

Weldy

Hi Weldy,

Congratulations on your continued recovery, well done to you. I know exactly what you mean about the chat, as I was there too. I am only 13 days gamble free and already I feel as though I want to help others with similar problems now and in the future. I think this may be down to the relief of knowing you don't have to gamble to live and knowing this now (wish someone had told me 20 years ago) means you want everyone else who is getting in the s**t to know it now aswell.

I think it is a natural emotion, especially in a recovering CG who has finally seen the light. We feel cured and relieved, so let's cure everyone else! It's not that simple and all we can do is offer our support in any way possible to people who we can see are having problems but still want to bet.

When they have absolutely f**k all they will stop, until then, like me I am sad to say, they probably won't. It's sad but true that each one of us has to reach our own personal "rock bottom", whatever that may be.

As you rightly say, does being a recovering CG give you the right to offer advice? I think so and I think it helps both parties so please carry on. Your support is invaluabe to me and many others on here, thank you.

DT

Good evening Mr. Weldy sir,

How the devil are you? Thanks very much for your post on my diary, I really appreciate every one of them.

As you may guess from the opening tone of my post, i'm in quite a jovial mood tonight and my spirits are high (but alcohol levels low !!).

I've been reading your comments about the chat facility and I'm considering giving it ago myself but I'm a bit apprehensive as I'm a bit worried that I may post something insensitive (assuming its on-line chat?). With the diaries I am able to read and re-read my posts before I submit them to make sure they can't be interpretted in a negative way or offend anyone. I'd never intend this but texts / e-mails etc. are so open to being mis-interpretted. I have read that you often re-read your posts thourally yourself before submitting them. I imagine on line chat to be much more interactive and therefore less time to think through what I want to say and how best to say it. The other barrier will be the time it takes place, I won't be able to participate if my partner is still downstairs as she'll wonder what I am doing.

Anyway, hows the rockstar life treating you, any gigs planned for this weekend or any record contracts yet? Do you have any video clips posted on u-t ube?

Take care mate, you are doing so well, stay strong and have a great weekend.

LA

Hey LA,

Good to hear from you m8. Yes, I have a gig in Watford tomorrow night. There is a brief clip of the band on you-tube taken with a camera phone - if you put in Wired Rickmansworth Hard to Handle you should find it. Quality not great, but it'll give you the idea of how we perform.

Good to see you are in good spirits, I have been myself lately, it's a great by-product of not gambling!

This evening, about 7 o'clock I decided that I felt like decorating! So off to Home base I go, and by 2.00am me and the g/f have redecorated the whole kitchen! Well pleased with that! (only 6 others rooms to go!)

Completed 75 days on Friday, so progress has continued well, and I don't feel the old temptations very often these days. It seems that you really can train yourself to change old habits - If you really want to!

Wishing you all a great weekend.

Weldy

Feeling very tired this morning as it was a tough gig last night. Felt a little flat, hard to get the crowd going, and the breaking down and packing away is very difficult at that particular venue. Never mind, have a festival next weekend at Boxmoor, and we don't have to set up / pack away as there is a stage already set up, we just go on and play!

I will complete 11 weeks today since I last had a bet. ODAAT.

Weldy

Monday morning, up bright and early for the new week ahead, and it's a busy one at that.

The decorating is under way, 1 room completed, just 8 more to go.

Plenty of work to do, coursework to be started and two rehearsals, before the next weekend's festival, so will keep me busy and out of trouble.

Weldy