Today I change my life

Now finished day 20 of being gamble free. Tomorrow it will be 3 weeks since I started on this journey and there have definitely been more highs than lows. I have had one or two very difficult days where I came close to giving in but I stood firm and here I am, still winning!

Day 23 today. No urges to gamble in the last couple of days and I am so glad that I am staying on track. Not having credit cards available to me has been a big help because I somehow when I was gambling on credit cards it didn't seem like real money. Now that all I have is my debit card and I know that the cash in my bank has to feed my family and pay the bills there is no inclination whatsoever to use it on slots. I also have my MOT due at the end of the month and need to make sure that I have money available for anything that may need doing to the car.

Stay strong everyone.

Hey Brum

congratulations on your achievement so far. It must be tough. The internet and mobile apps make it so easy to entice us into a nasty world. Today is my day 1. Here I am, at work. Pretty quiet, on a mobile device and resisting the urge!! Feeling really low due to the situation I have got myself into. Your messages are good to read and I hope to follow in your footsteps. Stay strong!!

B

Hey Brassic,

Thanks for the message. If you read through the my first post on this thread you will see that I was really struggling at the time. I started about 3 of these diaries in the space of a few days but just didn't seem able to stay away from the slots.

A lot of people on here talk about putting barriers in place and for me destroying my credit cards was the thing that was enabling me to keep gambling. Once I took a deep breath and got rid of them the whole thing became easier.

Don't get me wrong, I've still had tough days where I really wanted to gamble but I have made it so much more difficult for myself to cave in.

I'd suggest putting in place whatever barriers you can. Take away the things that enable you to gamble and you will succeed. Good luck in your journey. It does get easier with time!

Hey Brum

Thanks for the advice. I'm gonna get rid of credit cards, they're both max'd out anyway. Need to sort out some sort of financial solution. Not knowing where to turn at mo.

B.

At least now that we are working towards a life away from gambling our debts will start to come down rather than increasing every day. I don't know much about it but maybe speak to one of the debt charities or a debt management company. One thing is for certain and that is that if you continue to gamble the situation can only get worse.

sitting here at the end of day 24 thinking that it seems like months since I last gambled. It's a good feeling because I'm really not missing it in the slightest at the moment. I know there will be ups and downs but for now I feel good. Roll on 1 month!

Morning Brum

Congrats on getting past day 24. Good going! I'm here, quiet at work, not really tempted to gamble. Just continually knackered all the time. Oh well, moving on. Here goes day 3.

B

Day 26 has come and gone and no temptation to visit the slot machines. I've been working extra hard on my business since giving up gambling and I've decided to treat myself by leasing a new car. Need something bigger for when the baby comes and the extra work I've been putting in has started to pay off so I thought this would be a good reward. Just need to decide what to get now.

Stay strong everyone.

Day 27 done. Feeling good. Can't wait until I have been away from the slots for a whole month. My bank balance is looking far healthier too, which makes me realise just how much money I must have been wasting. Onwards and upwards.

Just completed 30 days free from online slots!

31 days in and just had a wobble which very nearly saw me back at day 1. Thankfully the thought of having to come on here and start a new diary at day 1 helped me to snap out of it before I did something stupid. It just goes to show that you can never let your guard down for a second.

Today is day 35 of my life away from online slots. Thankfully I haven't had any more wobbles since my last post and am now looking forward to our baby being born towards the end of December. 35 days does feel like a long time and there was definitely a point where I didn't think I could stay away for this length of time.

Reading your diary is like a mirror. Stay strong. I'm inspired 🙂

Thanks Lady H. Just read your diary. We can both do this. One thing that I have definitely noticed is that I have been a lot happier since I stopped playing online slots. I also think that I am becoming a better person which may sound strange but I think I appreciate the people around me more than I did. Keep going!