THIS IS THE START

DAY 45.

Still staying strong. I know that gambling will only make me feel rough so doing well. No real debts to speak of too. I am going to take a little break from posting though as i dont want to keep drawing attention to it, i know some people come here most days and post and browse but i just feel that i want to avoid all gambling talk etc. I will post when i feel i need to ie, if i have reached a really good goal or feeling tempted and if i dont post it should mean that i am doing very well on the gambling. Every other aspect of life is good apart from the past gambling exploits. Here is to a Fobt free future. Good luck folks.

DAY 46

No urges today. Felling good. I have everything i could ever want in my life. I have never been silly with gambling. i have always stayed within limit within reason, i have always had enough for essentials and even treats, i have gambled spare money in the past but that is still no different. I was going to the bookies for 2/3 hours a day, sweating and getting anxious and hardly ever winning and a lot of the times i was up i gambled it all back so i thought what is the point. FOBT is my weakness, not footy, not horses, FOBT. My methods for staying away are.

1.) Will power.

2.) hand over all bank cards and online banking details to you partner/relative and just be given a small carry each week.

3.) Hobbies. Anything at all. Whether it be reading, gym, music concerts, collecting blu-ray films, going on walks.

Hope you all stay well and keep away from gambling, the rewards mentally and physically are worth it, you will get edgy sometimes but then just come on this site and read through peoples diaries. Stay strong. I will prob post agin on day 50 then leave it for a while until i really need to come here or just give a an update. cheers.

DAY 50.

50 days since i last entered a bookies. Nice to reach this landmark, i have only managed to get this far on three other occasions since i have been a regular gambler so i am very pleased about that. Last time i managed 51 days so i level that tomorrow and need to push on from their. I am feeling a bit low today however with work stresses which in the past has triggered gambling but when you get to 50 days you realise how well you have done and dont want to spoil it. So here is to the next 50 days.

DAY 53

Can i ask, does anyone else struggle when they get to this point? Or do any of you think yes i am doing great then other things get on top of you. My work for example is stressing me out, i do more shifts than i am contracted to or want to do for that matter and feel like i have no choice. It feels like this issue is trying to push me back towards the bookies and i dont want to. It has been 53 days since i last entered a bookies and fed notes into a fobt machine and when i came out i felt terrible, i dont want to feel like that again so that is why i have come here. WHAT ARE OTHER PEOPLE'S TRIGGERS HERE?. last year i had a 51 day break from bookies so i have bettered that by 2 days but want it to continue.

You will find the stress of work , relationships and every day things can trigger off a gambling binge , for me it was a mixture of work and the wife one always led me to roulette which sometimes meant I won a few quid and all was forgotten but more often than not meant I lost a fortune and spent further time self loathing and generally being awful.

If you can battle through the times when life is tough and try find other ways to tackle the problem , gym , walks , swimming just anything to take your mind of the things which are getting to you the most.

Hi NP, I see you say you do more shifts than you want to. Can you do something about this? I was being driven to work lunch breaks, finishing late and then completing stuff on computer at home. I love my job, but felt that work owned me. I have taken back a little control and feel better for it. Hope you can do the same.

Thanks folks for your thoughts. feeling good this evening. Im on day 54 now which is the best i have done since early last year, it is good to keep yourself occupied. I wont let work stress get the better of me. I have a great family life, the only thing i would change is the gambling issue and my work hours, but as i rack up the days away from gambling i am seeing it as less of an issue so thats got to be a good sign. I only ever lost spare amounts of money and decided no more. stay strong everyone and dont give in to the gambling virus.

DAY 55.

Nice number. through will power and understanding from others i have come this far. Feeling good right now. I am going to refrain from posting for a while now though as i dont want to draw to much attention to it if you know what i mean. Stay strong folks.

DAY 68.

All is well right now. I havent posted for a while as i didnt feel the need to which is a good thing. Just thought i would share the positvity that not gambling achieves. I havent been into a bookies for 68 days. That is 9 weeks and 5 days. I am actuallyu starting to see how pathetic gambling is now and the waste of time that it is. Stay strong folks.

DAY 76.

76 days since i set foot in a bookies and lost on the evil fobt machine. Not a single penny coin has been put in one since then and i feel fantastic for it. I now find myself coming here less and less and it is great how good you feel when you build up the days away from gambling. I wasnt a big gambler, i always had money left for essentials and treats etc but that is not the point, i could have been saving up for when i am an old man. Trust me folks, it feels great when you dont waste money on this filth. Stay strong folks.

Just read your diary no problem, the triggers what make us gamble, work - life is it a hiding place for when there is too much stress to deal with and we don't want to face up to things. I am not sure but aim to find out what cause the grief.

Well done day 76 - Stay strong - keep winning by not betting.

Malc

DAY 130. I had a good 91 day run earlier this year but fell off in april and jumped straight back on the horse and it is now 130 days since i last played the FOBT. On that day back in April i lost about 450 quid over the course of about 5 hours. At one point i had won most of it back then lost again. I hated my last job and took some time off sick around that time and i felt rough and made my escape to the bookies. Since then i have had two lovely holidays and saved up some money after 130 days without putting a penny in a fobt machine. I am definatly feeling better and financially improving so why i am feeling tempted again to have JUST A CHEEKY TENNER, is it normal to hit a bit of a wall at certain stages? I am not going to give into it but just looking at what some of you think. cheers.

Well thanks for all the helpful input since i posted five days ago.lol. Anyway i havent fell off the fobt wagon. Very tempted to play gain though. 135 days since i last played and lost 450 quid. That day i won most of it back but was feeling rough with my job at the time and lost it. I have thoughts at the moment like writed down in a book what you put in and take out and think of it as a venture. profit and loss etc and stick to a certain amount each time. When i did quit in april i did it with will power alone, no self exclusions or giving someone else control of cards etc, just will power.

Hi NP :)) Firsly congratultions on hitting your 135 , it's not an easy thing to do getting through those first couple of months so well done :))

I then thought about the fact that nobody had replied to your post 5 day's ago so perhap's it just slipped through unnoticed I don't really know ? .

I was just going to reply to it now but then looked at your start date of 2013 and thought " What can say or advice could I give that you haven't probably heard already " ?.

I guess you do hit " Walls at certain point's " and can only liken it to those invisible walls runners hit during a marathon , the ones that you have to gather all your strength and push through to run another mile ? . Recovery's a lot like that I suppose it's certainly no sprint and there's many a time when obstacles appear in front of you which you have to either sidestep or smash your way through in order to get to the finish . The important thing is to look over your shoulder every now and again and look at all the ground youve covered and the distance youve travelled from where you began :)) .

Maybe time to have a deep breath , suck in the energy gel of life get your head down and push through those walls :)) .

Take it easy buddy and all the best :))

Ever stopped to wonder whether just willpower is enough? Thoughts of controlled gambling & urges are all part of being a compulsive gambler & not wanting to let go...People that have sought help & sorted out their re-wire know this is just addiction playing games.

There's a reason you're here, we cannot win because we cannot stop...Staying stopped is the only way to ensure we don't lose! Push through, get some help, whatever you do, don't place that 1st bet & then you don't need to worry about the ones after.