Time for a fresh start ... fed up with doing this to myself

Welcome back wardal1979!

It’s good that you are being honest with yourself at this point and recognise the risk of things going wrong. Having a financial goal like saving for a deposit is a good motivator but it sounds like it’s not enough to keep you away from gambling. You have stopped on your own before, which shows great will power but perhaps you need support to stay on track. Keeping it a secret from your parents can only put pressure on you and it doesn’t help with your recovery. If you are trying to stop gambling and save your money, it would be helpful to ask someone to manage your income for you and help you achieve your goal. If you carry on like this, it will soon be revealed that you haven’t managed to save what you planned to.

There is no reason to struggle on your own. You may get in touch with an advisor by either calling our Helpline or through the Netline and talk about things that can help you, including counselling. Keeping this a secret keeps you in isolation and makes the problem so much harder to deal with.

Best wishes,

Forum Admin

Hiya Admin .. I have been trying to sign up with Gamstop (but they couldn’t verify my identity by the answers I had given to them, so will need to call them up. I also self-excluded myself from the sites I frequented. Whilst doing so one of the sites gave me a code to get a years free subscription with GamBan (which is now installed on my mobile and laptop). Xx

Well I am now up to 5 days GF and it feels great x

Hi wardal1979, well done for making 5 days GF. The early days are often the hardest so don’t underestimate that achievement. GamStop has been great for me and I struggled to register to start with. If it’s post code related it worked when I did it all In Capitals. If not apparently you can request a form to do it manually.good luck in your journey and I wish you the best. A gambling free life is a happy life.

Hiya G100 & Caughtup,

Thanks for your kinds words. I managed to register with GamStop so all is good on that front now too. Today has been payday and it feels nice knowing that I have the strength to fight this. 3 years ago my little sister lost her battle with Cancer aged 31 leaving behind 3 amazing children.(actually I don’t know why people say ‘battle’ as it’s hardly a fair fight. I decided that she fought with every ounce of her body to try and beat cancer, so I need to try and be strong and fight this c**P. Xx hope you are both OK xx

Hi Wardal1979, so sorry to hear the sad news about your sister. I think you are right that you should use your sister as inspiration as a tool to make sure that you win your battle. I think your right also that Cancer is not a fair fight but with willpower, desire and determination our battle with our Gambling addiction is a battle that we can win. Life is too short to let it ruin our lives, when we should be spending our time with family and the ones that matter most to us. Have a great GF weekend.

I am now at 7 days GF ... this feels great. I have tried to stop in the past but put no real stops in place, I just tried to rely on willpower alone. This time GamStop and GamBan are in place. I had read so many posts about stops needing to be in place to prove that you want to stop, and that is soooo true. Today has been a nice day, been gardening with my dad, rather than keep sloping off to go online. Take Care All xxx

I am now 11 days GF ... the girls in the office commented that I seem to have more energy recently .... little do they know that is due to getting sleep at night instead of gambling into the wee small hours !!!

Well I managed to reach day 14 GF so far ... onwards and upwards xx