Time to Change.... Advice appreciated

Hi lau my names clare and im a compulsive gambler and like you it was online slots. I came clean with my oh and daughter about all my lies and secrets but after finding this forum and with the love and support of my family i have been gamble free for 5 weeks now. I have handed over all financial control to oh and i also attend GA meetings. Im lucky in the sense my GA meeting is women preferred as like you i found it very daunting going to GA. As for seeing someone you may know GA is totally confidential hun but i do understand how scared you feel as that was me 5 weeks ago. Its going to take time for me to prove to my family i am serious about kicking this evil addiction which is not just about money but lies and secrecy and turns you into a horrible selfish human being well it did with me. I had previously stopped before and was told by oh if i ever gambled again he would leave so was terrified of telling him i had blown 1k in less than 48 hours but he has been so supportive. I hope you can get whatever support that suits you hun but keep coming on here as i have met some truly amazing supportive people on here that have kept me gamble free for 5 weeks. Take care hun xx

Well done for finding here you will get some good advice.

You can block over 18 sites through you Internet/phone provider.

As for GA I'm a big advocate of it yes I was nervous worried someone would know me but I was welcomed with open arms no judgements I didn't know anybody but I have seen people around town and we say hi no mention of why goes on in the GA rooms what is said there stays there. After all they don't want everyone knowing as well.

I would say try it and see if it's for you if you don't you will never know so nothing to loss.

KTF

Hi guys, I called Vodafone today to ask them to block gambling sites and said all they can do is block premium rate services so I can't gamble via my phone bill? Sure there must be more they can do than that but I'm still fighting the urges just can't wait for the day to be over x thank you for all of your advice. I'm starting my telephone counselling on tues so I'll see how i go from there and I'll hopefully gain enough confidence to attend GA. xx

Maybe a trip to GA soon will lift you a bit ? ,it seems daunting but its friendly and so full of support. Its amazing to realise you are not alone in this world with this terrible addiction.

Maybe you could think of replacing youre phone with a non smartphone ? i know what its like nowadays with women and their phones ! but it could be an option ? ,sell or trade it in and get a cheaper one that way you cant gamble on it ,for the now at least.

You will get plenty of help here ,loads are going through exactly the same as yourself .

I wish you well !

Thank you for responding!! Can see you want to beat this..fingers crossed for you x

Hi Lau89xoxo, you might find the following links from Vodafone's help pages useful - how to turn on age related content bar.

http://support.vodafone.co.uk/Internet/Content-control-and-Vodafone-Guardian/38914008/How-can-I-switch-off-content-control-on-my-mobile-device-so-I-can-access-age-restricted-content-on-the-internet.htm

Best wishes and keep posting,

Forum Admin

Hi just joined today it's time to stop gambling it's ruining my life

How do i download the block tool x

Gambling puts a horrible dark cloud over your head can't believe I,ve been so stupid

Hi newme just go online and type in gamblock and a few should come up for u to download... yeah gambling is like a dark cloud over your head it is when your doing it anyway, once u find the strength to stop the cloud disappears, trust me iv done it and remember there's only one winner and that's them, we win when we actually stop.
We can't win because we can't stop! Always chasing chasing the money we,v lost that's why we can never really win, and even when we win a huge amount of money it will always get gambled back that's just the way it is... so stopping completely is the only answer.. keep strong x