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College football on today. Thats okay i have things to do with my time instead wasting it watching tv all day. And oh yeah i have better things to do with my money such as a family dinner tonight and movie. While being quit is difficult at times, the rewards can be very satisfying. Staying quit today. Thanks for stopping in Nick.
Hello all. Im ready for another day of being gamblimg free. No thos isnt easy but its possiible. I hope all of you have a great day.
Posting late but staying quit today. Been a long day. Not the best day but my resolve to stay quit is atill there. No gambling today.
Hello Jay,
I had to post to your thread because a lot of things you are dealing with are similar to my gambling addiction. I think nearly all of us addicts suffer from giving up gambling for GOOD. As you said, you lose, go through a little depression , take some time off and clear you head to only place another bet and win back some of the money and sometimes even more than you originally lost. However, as addicts we have no control over our gambling and eventually give back everything we won plus more. Its a repetitive cycle. Lose, take time off, win, lose it all, take time off, win, lose it all, take time off, win, lose it all… I’m the exact same way. There have been many times when I have taken time off, only to win and think to myself, hey i can win at this. I can beat the books ; only to lose back off the winnings. I’ve finally come to the conclusion and truly believe I can and will never be able to beat the books. Yes I might run lucky and win from time to time but in the long run I will always be a losing player because I lack control and discipline when it comes to gambling.
I have also lost in excess of 100k over the course of my 10 plus years of gambling, so you are not alone. I have to be honest with you, you are going to have to accept that in order to move forward with your life. Yes its a very very difficult thing to accept but its the truth. No, we can never get that money back. Its gone but at the same time, we can find satisfaction in the fact we will never give another dime of our hard earned money to the bookies ever again. If we don’t quit, that 100k will turn into 200k then 300k and before you know it, we are looking back on life with those same thoughts “wow, I can’t live with knowing I gave 300k over the course of 30 years to my bookie.” Because, as we both know, that’s exactly what will happen.
You made mention of you changing your lifestyle a few years back and becoming involved in fitness; why not give that another shot? Being active is great and the mental benefits can definitely help with this addiction.
I know you can beat this addiction. Its possible. We just have to take it one day at a time. Win today and nothing else matters. I do know you will have to let that loss of 100k go. You cant beat yourself up over. Many people have lost more. And thats not to compare your quit with anyone elses’ its just to say you are not alone. Others have giving up gambling, why cant we? Why cant we find happiness and success in other venues of life ? The truth is we can. We just give our all to our quits in order to achieve happiness outside of gambling. I’m up for it, and I hope you are as well. Have a great gamble free day!Watched a little baseball last night and didnt have any real thoughts of gambling. Only had a little bit of time to watch the game anyway. Had other things to do like spend time with family. Life is good. No gambling today!
Its far from smooth sailing but i have the mental toughness to get through today without placing a bet. I have people depending on me and i cant take care of them until i take care of myself. So today i will not gamble. One day at a time.
Have a blessed day everyone.Thank you very much for the kind words. While I definitely don’t feel like an inspiration, I’m extremely grateful I can help contriubute to this forum. As a tobacco user for over 15 years and being quit for the last 3, I feel like i understand my addiction and I know my triggers and weaknesses. That DOES NOT mean I have this thing beat because I dont. I probably never will but I am willing to take this battle on one day at a time. As I said, I have been 3 years quit of tobacco and I know I’m only 1 pinch away from being a full blown addict again. My urge to use is not there at all and very rarely do I even think of tobacco. I know this will be the case with sports betting, however, there are plenty of tough days between now and then. And quite honestly, I’m not worried about the end game, I’m worried about getting through each and every day.
Again, I thank you for your kind words. I’m glad to be here and I know I wouldn’t be where I am at without this forum! See you all tomorrow for another day quit!
Hello Trucker,
Its great to see you are doing well today and having a positive attitude definitely helps out. There were a couple of things that I have to share with you, and the first is that BIG win we were speaking of. Well, just to give you a little background on me, I’m a sports betting addict and I have been betting on sports for about 10 years. I can honestly say the ultimate high of my life was a sports bet (wow that sounds terrible) but it is true. I asked you the other day what the chances would be of you hitting it “BIG” and actually walking away; and I did that because there was a time when I placed a 3 team parlay bet for 1.5k and turned it into 10,500 all in one night. I can’t begin to tell you how nervous I was when that last came was completed. Ironically, I was working a second job at the time (to pay for my gambling addiction) and I was following the game on my computer as i paced the store in the final seconds of the game. I hit it BIG (at least big enough to get me out of debt a little bit) but you know what, I can admit that I never saw 1 damn dime of that money. In fact, it was all lost within a week. When that happened, I realized I had a huge problem and I have told myself over and over no matter how much I win, there is a 99 percent chance I will give those winnings back plus more!
You also made mention of being jealous of normal people and you wish you were normal. Well, brother, to be honest, I don’t think anyone is normal and I firmly believe everyone is fighting some type of battle. Ours just happens to be gambling. Thats our battle. A lot of people have issues that they are never willing to confront, like you are with gambling. And quite honestly, I look at my addiction like this; yes I could be so much further ahead in life if I didn’t gamble and things most likely would be much better in general. However, I believe tough times help us develop into people of great character. Is lying, cheating, stealing and all those things in order to gamble a representation of someone with great character? Absolutely not ! But when we get through this, we will be better people in the end. These tough times will make us into better people. So yes we could wish to be normal and have an easier life, but would that help shape us into the people we want to be? Going through an easy life wouldn’t develop any character. You can be normal with paying your bills and all those things, but I can promise you this when its all said and done, we will be better people because of this difficult time. I would much rather have that, than to live an easy life and be just “normal.” We will develop mental strength and toughness that only can be developed through tough times. Sorry for rambling but I know I am a way better person today after being free of gambling for 15 days than I was prior.
Keep posting and always feel free to reach out. Together we can do this! I’ll make my promise to you, no gambling for me today, sir.Thabkful to make it 2 weeks without any type of gambling. There have been many urges however i feel relieved not having to sweat out an ending of a sports game. The stress of being free these last two weeks has beem great. But as we all know im one bad mistake away from being out of control. Today i will not gamble and i come here daily to hold myself accountable.
Have a great day everyone!So you have a system that might work ill give you that but you cannot have success in anything in life without discipline. Which leads me to this question is it a lack of discipline you have with gambling or the fact we are powerless over gambling?
While you might have a system and maybe you can pay off all your debt but all the hours and of time spent researching, watching the games cannot replace time you could have spent with your family and loved ones.
No matter how much money we win we are always losers when it comes to gambling because it takes something from us.
Make the right choice.Thanks for sharing your story Trucker. While I don’t claim to know everything and have all the answers I do know two things. One, with any addiction we must first admit we are powerless over the addiction and two, fight our addiction one day at a time. If we just worry about today and making it through today without gambling, it is possible to become gambling free. Just like you turning away the poker with your last 16 dollars. That’s huge. You controlled the moment and the urge and took a huge step in the right direction. We can accomplish anything in this life if we have the mindset to take it one day at a time. Forget looking at the end game, lets look at the process of getting to the end game.
As far as the finances go, I do know this, no matter how bad of shape you are in, it will never get better until you stop going to the casino. You mention of the BIG win, but whos to say you will walk out after that big win? Just like when you were up 900 and the family would be in better shape, you didn’t walk out. Who’s to say that wouldn’t occur with the big win? I’m a firm believer winning is the worst thing that can happen to a gambler because it gives us false hope. False hope that we are in control of our gambling when in fact we are powerless to gambling. Yes it might take a long time to get back on track financially (the same is true with me) but by continuing to gamble it will only get worse. Take that one day at a time approach to your financial situation. Most of us didn’t get in financial troubles over night so we wont get out over night but each and every day of being gambling free is one day closer to being free. It might take a year, 2 years, 5 years or maybe even 10 years to get back on track but at least it will happen.
I’m so thankful you posted your story this morning because you seem like a great person, just like many of us are, but the addiction turns us into people that we are shameful of. Keep the faith and keep pushing forward one day at a time!
You can do this! We are here to help!2 Weeks down. It hasn’t been easy but I’ve made it. I know I need to keep my guard up each and every day because I am an addict. I will keep busy today which will help refrain from making any bets on the NFL. I know it will lead to a lifestyle I no longer wish to live.
have a great day everyone!Will be a tough day with college football on but i have made a committment to myself to not gamble today as i want a better life and nothong worth fighting for is easy. Challenging days improve my resolve to stay quit. I can do this.
Have a great day all.As I read you most recent post I couldn’t help but think about my own personal reasons for giving up gambling. While its impossible to gamble without money; the reason for me not wanting to gamble has little to do with money and a lot to do with experiencing other avenues in life. I truly believe when one feels that way, quitting can be accomplished, one day at a time! Those precious moments in life that occur without gambling are ones we will cherish for a life time. While I definitely do miss gambling (as it was a huge part of my life and I’m sure the same is with you) I know it is something I don’t want in my life. Have a great day Laura and I’m here quitting with you!