I stopped gambling/started posting here in 2006.
I actually hit my 'rock bottom' in 2002. Even though it wasn't the end of my gambling, I call it my rock bottom because that was the most desperate, miserable, hopeless time of my life.
I didn't think that I could ever stop gambling (and I didn't really want to)... but my life was a wreck and I was pretty sure... I KNEW that I could not fix it.
I couldn't fix the financial disaster... I couldn't fix my relationships... I couldn't fix ME.
I HAD to stop gambling... yet the thought of life without it seemed even worse than the mess I found myself in.
I wanted to die.
I began to think of ways to make that a reality.
I didn't do it.
NOT because I wanted to live. I didn't.
But because other people... whom I loved.... needed me to live more than I wanted to die.
It was a very long road.
Fixing things.
But everything about my life... about me, is different now. Well I'm still ME. I'm just a little better version than I used to be.
Once a problem gambler finds themself in a forum like this one... we feel pretty stupid.
How could I have done this? How did this happen to me? How can I stop? CAN I stop? MUST I stop? I really just want to control it... Why am I so stupid?
I wasn't stupid. Sure... my behavior was irrational ... even crazy at times. I was lost... I was consumed... I was sick... I was a lot of things... and I did some stupid things... but I'm not, nor was I ever stupid... or bad.
And I found HOPE.
and HELP.
I was not alone.
Neither are you.
Reach out.
You are worth it.
You deserve your life. You deserve a better life than you are living right now.
Do it.
You CAN do it!
Love,
Peg
Yes yes yes yes i want to be you in a years time - free ftom this gambling life. I'm on day 18 now and feeling good
Thought provoking post.
Thanks
Hope my husbent will do the same...
Hi Peg,
Thank you so much for your encouraging post. Very nice of you to come back here and share your success story.
It seemed like you struggled for a long time with your gambling problem; having hit rock bottom in 2002, but with hard work, you have been able to overcome it. Well done!
The notable thing is that, you didn’t give up trying to overcome your problematic gambling, no matter how rough and difficult your journey seemed to be.
I’m glad to learn that our Forum helped and contributed in your recovery, and is still featuring in your present life.
Also, well done to you when you used the same platform to encourage others in the forum to try and focus on their recovery.
I particularly like it when you wrote the following:-
“Reach out.
You are worth it.
You deserve your life. You deserve a better life than you are living right now.
Do it.
You CAN do it!”
Yes, it’s doable when you reach out for the help and support that you need.
Thanks again for your post, and pls. keep posting.
Kind regards,
Beatrice
We are available 24 hours a day, every day of the year. You can also contact us for free on 0808 80 20 133. If you would like to find out more about the service before you start, including information on confidentiality, please click below. Call recordings and chat transcripts are saved for 28 days for quality assurance.
