january 25th 2006 ......the last time i ever gambled id just blew 300 in a fruit machine and came home near suicidal ,i remember that day well .id come home and thought i need help my bank loans credit cards were out of control .i couldnt afford to repay them .i was in trouble .big trouble .
my name is kevin i havent posted on here for years and for that i feel a bit regretful but i wanted to share to anyone that reads this my recovery ,if i can inspire just one person to succeed i will be happy.
coming back to that day jan 25th i went online looking for GA but was drawn to this site and went online ,i soon got friendly with a few people in the chatroom and i suddenly didnt feel alone anymore .
i met someone called shaz online she too a gambler .id go to the arcade every dinner time and night and weekends .The craving to play and gamble myself out of debt was huge .so we made a pact which to this day saved me from ruin .i had to check in online on skype with shaz every lunchtime and evening to keep me away from pubs and arcades and it worked and for which i owe her a debt i cant repay .the first 2-3 weeks were hell but in time it got easier .
my finances though were in a mess i was told i was bankrupt .in desperation i rung a financial advisor who i also owe everything to he managed to remortgage my house .it would stretch me financially but i had to do it
i worked 2 jobs for years to pay this mortgage and i wont pretend it wasnt hard ,in all that time i didnt gamble ,i didnt really want to .id reached my lowest point and the only way is up .i was determined to rebuild my life after losing my wife and child in a divorce destroyed it .
now my house will be mine in 3 years i have a new car and savings .i work in one job only now and will retire in 3 years .if anyone had said id be in this position 9 years ago ida thought they were mad.
but i am and i thank god i made that decision to quit on that day .
i could sit here all day telling people to stop .noone will ever stop until they want to .i can give statistics on how you will ALWAYS lose but if youre in the zone you dont wanna hear all that. i know i didnt when i was gambling .
all i can do is ask you to read this and if you really want to change your life i hope it gives you some encouragement that it can be done .
i found it wasnt just finanacillyi felt better , i was more sociable i started to re connect with people i hadnt for ages ,i was more aware of what was going on in my life . i felt a better person for it .
these are all plusses for anyone who stops it can be done ,i had help, gamcare will help, if you want it you can overcome it .
what are my thought now when i see a fruit machine ? nothing realy ,no urge to play them just safe in the knowledge that if i did
i might just as well throw my money in the bin.
ive never seen a poor bookie ,and arcade owners and im sure online gambling sites are coining it .theyre only getting it from one place ...your pocket ...
if you want o try and do what i have done you need 3 things
1 a will to stop and change your life
2 help ,it is very hard to do it on your own
3 determination and a stubborness that whatever the temptation not to gamble .
hard ? yes it is but
it can be done
thanks for reading
good luck
regards
kevin
Well done Kevin. A good story, showing it can be done. Sorry to hear about the divorce etc. But you sorted your life out which is good to hear.
I too am thousands of pounds in debt and in my first month of gambling recovery, but good to hear it can be done.
All the best
Not Again
Hi Kevin having read whT you have said fair play to you mate I've tried to stop nearly had my legs done because off all this and still I do it in in a position in my life now that if I don't stop I will lose everything I have fed up really am of being this person the real me is still inside just wish I knew how to get to him because I can't..
Thanks for posting Kevin. It definitely helps to know that what feels like an impossible task........isn't, it's just very, very difficult.
guys it was one of the hardest things ive ever done .amd i know it aint easy ,i just wanted you to know there is light at the end of the tunnel .i never thought i could do it ,maybe i just realised that you cant beat the system ,however hard you try .
i lost thousands ,tens of thousands ,but it was no good thinking of the money i lost ,it hurts that i was emotuionally traumatised enough to lose myself in gambling and it just accelerated .yes i lost the money i was lucky i recovered ,just remember however hard it is, when you get to "the other side ", the feeling you get is terrific.you actually feel a worthwhile person again like the person you once were before it all started .i hope you guys make it i really do .
kitbag ,ask yourself the question .do you like yor life ? if the answer is no then you must change it .you have to do it .get help from gamcare .once you get past 2-3 weeks the urges do subside and they keep subsiding the longer you stop . in a few months youll notice changes and it does get easier .
P-k .nothing good in life is easy .i dont know how old you are but you have your whole life in front of you .dont miss this chance .i was 45 when i started and ended it when i was 53 .8 years of my life wasted "in the zone" im now 62 .i dont miss it i really dont ,and like many on here wished id never started .
dont give up guys
best regards
kevin
Hi Kevin I've just been on a 3 week bender and it's just got totally out of control I need to sort my life going to a ha meeting tonight to try to start sorting my life out.. Thanks for the comment.
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