Hello everyone, I found the urge to post a message on this forum in an attempt to briefly explain my story.
Well, I started gambling around 10 years ago. I used to be a frequent online poker player. I gambled away £1000’s that I could not afford to lose back then which put me in a horrific financial situation that I am still recovering from to this day.
I have used gambling as a “get out of problems” system and this has caused nothing but additional misery and of course a heavy financial losses.
I have been in my overdraft for as long as I can remember and I am slowly trying to work in getting out of the debt that I have accumulated.
Over the past few months I started gambling again. I would say that I am an on - off gambler; if there is such a thing! Anyway, yesterday something switched in my head and I decided to place some crazy bets on the football. These bets also resulted in hundreds of pounds being lost. However, after my 3 hour gambling binge something in my head told me I need to STOP gambling. I come to terms that all this is doing is causing emotional distress and you are losing money you cannot afford to lose.
I then managed to pluck up the courage to remove all the gambling apps from my mobile phone and unliked/unfollowed all Facebook gambling posts that I have been following.
More importantly, I have told myself that I will not place any further bets or play any more online poker. I also came clean to my girlfriend and I expressed how disappointed I was to her. We spent over an hour having a conversation about ways that I need to take my mind off gambling and it really isn’t a get rich quick scheme.
Yes, I know I lost hundreds of pounds yesterday that I am not getting back which upset me massively. However I must not dwell on this and today is a new day and the start of the first day in where I will no longer gamble.
I am now determined to now like to help other gamblers overcome their problems on here.
Welcome to the forum Wemuststop.
I also got carried away with the online poker craze that sold an idea that with a bit of intelligence you can win millions. They never stressed the 'luck factor' when trying to promote it.
Well done on being able to stop half way through a gambling binge. I've never had the strength to stop until the last penny has been wagered. Also, well done for recognising that this is a place to help others two. It's amazing how a post from a stranger can sometimes mean more than a bit of support from your other half or family.
I'm in a very similar position, 10 years of gambling, always lived in an overdraft despite earning quite good money and always being questioned as to why I can't afford to go on holiday, go out or get new clothes etc etc.
It is quite depressing when you think about missed opportunities but not always a bad thing to associate a lot of negatives in your life that just happen to have been when you were gambling,
Thats why I don't think its a bad idea to dwell. If I have an urge now I try and think about all the bad things gambling did to me and how I never want to end up in that position again.
Sounds like you are taking a positive approach to this anyway which is fantastic.
Keep posting,
Jimbo
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