The stress of gambling is affecting my mental health.

Sorry to hear this friend. But you are in the right place I too have recently relapsed after five years clean and blew my savings now I'm back to scrimping and hustling through life. All I can say is take a day at a time work out your debt repayment and accept life for what it is. Otherwise it will drive you mad the what ifs. Accept it. Treat like mourning, denial, acceptance moving on etc. You will feel relieved for it. But it's hard work and c**P but there is light at the end as you know the hard work starts now. Hope you feel better and time is the best healer. All the best friend. 

Get your blocks back in place, and remember this feeling your feeling now. Don't beat yourself up too much even though you feel like you ought to. 

Like you I've just done same and blown £1700 in an arcade on fobts I was supposed to be excluded from. It's disgusting the owners there watched me max out withdrawals on cash machine of £500 then allowed me to withdraw 10 lots of £100 on their contactless machine. Also borrowed £200 so I've royally screwed myself also.

Im back to starting again, like you. Need to be more resilient and ensure whatever caused you to relapse is dealt with or block put in place.

So sick of gambling for half my life so best part of 17 years, and the industry has gotten progressively worse and more dangerous with advertising and temptation round every corner. 

Never had a problem with anything else only gambling which has caused so much misery and stress. And that's why we all end up on here. 

Have you tried talking to your partner or family member? Gambling wants us to be lonely and ashamed so try your best to own your recovery if possible. Dont gamble just for today and tell yourself that each day, soon as you place another bet or spin that slot your done until you blown everything and be back here. 

All the best, sorry for the ramble my heads still not right after that recent big loss. 

Regards 

Sam 

Posted by: @allyc123

Today is the day my gambling days end. I can’t live with the pain any longer. It’s affecting my mental health in a big way. Chasing my life away. I have been here before and always fall back in the betting trap. I have been debt free 3 times this year and gambled my way into debt again. The lies I have told makes me feel sick. I have the most amazing wife and everything anyone could ask for but still end up back gambling. It’s going to take 3 years to fix now before I am gamble free. I am ashamed at myself and disgusted. I have ended up back here. I hate myself and what I have become. I just need to break free from gambling to find myself again. Any positive comments would be great. Thanks in advance.

If you decide that, you will succeed. I know. The main thing is to make a decision. Be strong!

Thanks very much for your kind reply guys. On day 1 and have to be strong. Spent months of I can’t afford this and can’t afford that but can blow £1,500 a day on gambling and it’s ok. Im disgusted with myself. I am the only person that can make this better and stay gamble free. To think last year 3 times I lied my way through and became debt 3 times. Now I and £8,000 in debt. Every time this wins and I am going easy on gambling then it ends up worse than ever before. It’s as if I am not happy until I am skint. I have an illness, I M a compulsive gambler and can’t gamble in anyway. 

Hi

The addiction was a painful cycle of pain and fears and not being able to live a healthy life.

The recovery program would make me aware of how unhealthy I was and how emotionally vulnerable I was.

Gambling for me was a form of self destruction.

No one could stop me gambling that was going to be my own choice.

Only once I was abale to abstain from gambling could I start to heal and get sttronger.

I walked in to the recovery program a loner and had lost all confidence and faith in my self.

The pains of my past caused fears in me that I coud not reduce or face.

I got learn and understand what my emotional triggers were.

My emotional triggers were my pains I could not heal.

My emotional triggers were my fears I could not face and reduce.

My emotional triggers were my unreasonable expectations I could not reduce.

My emotional triggers were my loneliness I could not reduce.

My emotional triggers were my feelings of boredom because I did not feel productive in my actions.

Sharing with like minded people in the recovery I got to see and hear my self in other people therapies.

In time I got the message that I did not want or need to gamble any more, just for today.

I would learn to respect my self.

I would learn to love my self.

I would learn to understand what is healthy for my self.

I use to fear my future now I embrace my future.

I use to be in panc mode mode and stress my self out about all the money I was owing people.

Worrying about money did not reduce my fears, it just made things much worse.

Love and peace to every one.

Dave L

AKA Dave of of Beckenham

thanks for you message Dave. You time and experience on how to become gamble free. You are so correct in everything you say. I have lost how to like myself and care for myself anymore. I have a chance to break free from this killer addiction before it takes me. I have everything anyone would want in life but I have went back to gambling so many times. This time I can’t, I need to build for our future instead of being selfish and trying to win my way out of trouble. I can’t live with the lies any longer it’s killing me inside. On day 3 GF but every day that goes by is another day less GF. 

@allyc123 

Hi

It was my pleasure.

Once I admitted to my self that I was being unhealthy I could amke changes for my self.

Like gamble free days can be lost.

I was given the message at the start of my recovery keep going to meetings no matter happens in your life.

It is important to exchange every unhealthy habit in to healthy habits. 

The sooner I let go of my past the better it was for me.

It is not possible for me to change the past unhealthy actions and unhealthy words.

Yet I can learn from my past not live in it any more.

In my recovery my non productive days turned in to productive days.

I now know that when I proctastinate I am cheating my self.

In my past I was not selfish.

In my past I was self destructive.

The lies of the past were very much fear based issues.

Being in the recovery program my pains get healed and my fears reduce.

The recovery program is very much like mountain climbers learning safe practices so that we do not hurt our self any more.

Love and peace to every one.

Dave L

AKA Dave of Beckenham