Truth.

People say we make up any excuse in order to gamble.

Nah - We make up any excuse AND gamble. Not TO gamble.

It softens the blow if there's some kind of apparent reasoned thought process going on - but the reasons can be dispensed with if really necessary. I remember towards the end of my gambling career, getting money out fully knowing i would shortly a) get no enjoyment whatsoever, and b) definitely lose it quickly

...there's an emotional need which is met by gambling.

Our thinking mind tries to make sense of this - tries to rationalise. The thinking mind will try to explain everything away. But with addiction, the thinking mind is really a slave to our base emotions ( or how we respond to our emotions).

The emotions create the gravitational pull - and the thinking mind tries to explain away what is happening.

It's like the relationship between Donald Trump and his press secretary. He's this unpredictable force of nature, driven by ego, insecurity and impulse. She, meanwhile, does the mopping up work, trying to explain to the world his latest rant, how there's this masterplan and he's a genius. He can literally do anything and she'll find a justification.

Good points. I think the most frustrating thing about being an addict for half a lifetime is the lack of structured responce in the healing process. Feels like people must try and figure it out by themselves and there are no structured help just stray jackets for those who go mad along the way. It has taken me many years to get this far down the road.I cant help but think that I could have saved time if the information was at hand. And no offence to this place because this is a lifesaver to many addicts.

Ohh well life is a yourney of learning I guess.

One thing though. I am not wrong when I say that when addiction is created is extremly hard to uncreate. The more you repeat the more... you repeat. Look at it as someone Using a a hammer on a nail. The further that nail goes down the more stuck it will be.

Well ok you can say that there should be better information or support.

But IMO the real issue here is that addicts are unwilling to be open about their predicament, to accept that the way theyve ben operating is wrong, and to be open about the true extent of their delusion.

Once I actually wanted to do something about my addiction - all it took was following a link on the gambling website (which I had previously always diverted attention from) which took me here. That's step 1. There are then further steps you take as you realise that the addiction is really just a barometer of well-being (or lack thereof).

Well

You know how easy it is when the decision has been taken but you know how hard it is to get the mind around taking it. My point is how do you unravel the mind? The thoughts are wrapped in in lies and false truths. It takes certain amount of tools to lock that up. When I was twenty I went to an NLP sit down with some of the best in the business. Some councelour from Main or Florida or wherever managed to get me outside of me looking back at what I was just by words suggestions and talking. It was truly a surreal experience but It had me walking away with the feeling that NO I can do better. Unfortunately at that time I used gambling as social interaction so my journey did not end there (But it could if I had embraced it and not been stuborn).

My point is if there was a way to make things clear to the mind. Maybe one could help others get of it before it becomes to hard get of it at all.

Thinking about repetition really was helpful. HIghlighting the word repetition is helpful to me as a compulsive gambler. Why? Well, I never wanted to think that when I went to the slot zone I was slipping into a mode of repetition. I /we like to think it will be different in some way... each time? Someone had mentioned about the mathmatics of the design of the machines. Of coarse , we know about that, but we want to think that the math ends with us. We are special? No, the math extends , infinately constant as we continue to repeat , as if we are part of the mathmatical system itself... like a robot! zombie! We are not robots. We are creatures of habits and we can become addicted which is even stronger as the frontal cortex of reasoning is short circuited . Let's not be part of the math because we are free humans and we have some help here. Lets use this help to our own benefit and also help others. tara2

Very wise words. I keep the repetition part close as well because that is what we do.Repeat ourselves . I wish evey gambler in this forum could get the repeat part as well. It does or will help where ever you are in this. The good part in recovery is that you eventually get exposed to the truth, by no other than yourself. Yes you can keep on redoing the math and the gambling part for that matter , but you know it can not divert the truth about who you are. And if you are on the road to recovery you find some peace of mind because you do see things for what they are. Eventually the mind becomes more clear and it is easier to take the right decisions.