Time to change

Hi westsider, congratulations on coming this far, it does get easier with time and as each week and month passes you will find that you have more money to do more great things with!

Well done on turning down the sweepstake as well! I have read many many posts on here where people have said they still do the lottery or buy the odd scratch card, but in my experience the only way is tee total!! I play pool on a thurs night and the obligatory football card gets passed round, it only costs £1 and half the money goes to the pub to help towards food but I even refuse to play these but instead I put a £1 in for the pub!!

Keep strong and positive and you will best this demon!!

TODAY I CHOOSE TO SAVE MY MONEY FOR MY FUTURE HAPPINESS.

Hi Westsider,

U r doing brilliant, well done on resisting the sweep stake 🙂

U can do this!

Hope u have a gr8 day 🙂

Stay strong and keep going 🙂

Well done on resisting the £2 bet as staying totally well away from the evil world of gambling seems to be best thing for us CGs on here.

And even if you would have won, just remember what always happens to winnings.

Keep up with the great work.

NT

Hi Westsider,

Well i was reading through your diary I posted here a couple of weeks ago. Sorry to hear about your slip up but I am sure that will make you more determined to give up and put the barriers up and give yourself a chance to completely stop gambling. Glad you had a good long weekend in Manchester. I am running on a tight budget also i have 2 bank loans to pay off so I have to make a budget to make my money go far and the answer isn't gambling. But I may have a bit of luck and another chance if things go my way, I find out if I am getting redundancy on tuesday from the army I have served almost 7 years and I am only 24 so if i get redundancy I can pay of all my gambling debt and move on.

I am getting married next month so got a lot to live for without gambling messing it all up. Your still young and have so many choices if you can out gambling away for good You have a chance of living a good life. Give yourself that chance and this site will support you all the way.

Stay strong mate

Ricky

A big thank you to everybody for their kind words and support. This site really does help. I know I haven't been gamble free for very long but I feel a lot better about myself and my future.

Even when I was winning I could never relax. After a big win, I would think about all the amazing things I would spend my money on. Then before I knew it, everything was gone. I was left with shattered dreams and it felt like my heart had dropped into my stomach. I never want that feeling again.

It doesn’t matter where you are, you are nowhere compared to where you can go.

Big wins always lead to disaster. If only I had never had all those 'big wins' in my life...

You're doing well, thinking along the right lines. There is no need for us to go back gambling as winning will just have the same feeling as losing.

NT

No gambling today. I haven't had a very productive day either. I don't have a penny to my name which is my own fault and I have a real lack of motivation and enthusiasm.

I don't really feel I have a purpose. I'm not living my life at the moment I'm merely existing. I live at home and life is too comfortable, I'm getting lazy, putting on weight and feel unhealthy. I can see myself turning into a bitter old man, if I don't sort things out.

I think one of the reasons I use to gamble was I wanted reward for very little effort. In my eyes it seemed like an easy way to make money without really having to try. I need to sort myself out, channel my addictive nature into something positive.

The only cure for grief is action.

No more negativity. I'm not going to feel sorry for myself any more. The one freedom no one can take away from me, is my ability to deal with any given situation in my mind. I can achieve my dreams. I can achieve more or less anything in life if really wholehearted believe I can.

I believe I can beat gambling and I will. The last few day I haven't really thought about it at all. I know how dangerous this vice can be and I will never ever get complacent. The future is exciting and that future will be gamble free.

We did not come to fear the future. We came here to shape it.

thats the spirit westsider. Nothing worth having is easy, and i to wanted the quick win for very little effort, now i find it take a sense of achievement by pushing myself that little bit each day to not run away to face life head on. I love the serenity prayer

God grant me the serenity to accept the things i can not change,

The courage to change the things i can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

Small changes lead you to the bigger pictue.

Keep those positve thoughts and channel them in the right direction.

Blondie day 52

Hi Westsider, thanks 4 ur support on my diary. It means alot 🙂

Great post! ur positivity shines thru 🙂

U r doing brilliant, u should be really proud of urself.

Stay strong and keep going x

I'm maintaining, not thinking about gambling at the moment, in fact the thought of it disgusts me. I am living life on a severe budget at the moment. I'm lucky I have friends willing to help me out with £10 here and £10 there. It's been a hard month but I feel I'm more determined to beat this illness than ever before. I haven't had a bet for 20 days. Long may that continue.

I was looking at getting a short term 6 month loan, to sort my finances out but the interest rates are nearly as high as pay day loans. Society really likes milking people in need. No loan for me! I will struggle through next month, but should be back on track at the end of July.

So many times I've fluttered away £50 without a second thought. Now £5 is a godsend. It's fathers day & I got my dad a ticket for the Olympic football. I kept it quiet for ages and finally gave it to him today. It's good to give. It's nice to be nice. I'll never forget peoples generosity to me in times of need. When I get out of this mess, which I will, I vow to give more than I did before.

Generosity is giving more than you can, and pride is taking less than you need.

Hi Westsider,

U r doing brilliant 🙂

I agree it is nice 2 treat our loved ones, it is so much more rewarding that gambling!

U should be proud of urself!

Stay strong and keep going 🙂

Hello Mark

Thanks for visiting, it is always nice to hear that one is making a difference, sometimes we dont realise. You have done very well second time around and if you keep going one day at a time, hopefully there will be no hiccups.

I am in a good place at the moment, with no real urges, though I was cycling past a bookies today and the voice said go in no one will know, which in one sense is true,but I would be lying to myself and I think that I have grown enough over the last month to at least have that much self respect!

Here is to another day, wishing you the best,

regards

John

I've had a great week since my last entry. I had a spectacular summer solstice at Stonehenge. I've been to a lot of parties, seen a lot of friends and I’m enjoying life at the moment. I'm still gamble free, coming up to a month now! I've had a few urges since payday but they come and go in a flash. I feel I’m better equipped to deal with them now.

I'm aiming to book a holiday at the end of next month as a reward for not gambling. I'm still taking it one day at a time but I’m proud of my progress. I don't want to suffer from the stress and anxiety gambling will inevitably bring. I'm staying strong as I keep on keeping on.

People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing - that’s why we recommend it daily.

So close to a month & I slipped.

Started playing poker was down nearly £200 then I managed to win it back + £80 -- cashed out then < reversed a withdrawal managed get up to £400.. then lost then won then lost. I have finally cashed out £266.62 @ 2:06 I saw the beast in the numbers! It was a weird trigger that made me stop.

--- I'm crazy!! One day I'm never going to gamble again the next day I'm mad for it. It's out of my system for now. I definitely need to install K9 that is my priority. So many people have told me to put blocks in place but I seem to think I can manage without. WRONG!! Typing this has calmed me down. I'm getting my head together. Really can't afford to lose any more money. I have got slack with my posts on here; it doesn't matter if they are short and sharp, just need to keep posting and reading.. I've been stupid but I can get over It, its a blip. I will change.

If at first you don't succeed try harder!