[daddy23]

I have worked in a betting shop for 4yrs and have always criticised and never understood why people would gamble… until recently. I started gambling online due to having problems in my relationship. I found it quite relaxing. But now it is going to far. When I am at work I can’t concentrate, all I think is about gambling. I lie to my partner. Instead of talking to her I am just on my phone playing slots and losing money and also losing my insanity.
I have also recently been diagnosed with depression and found out that gambling is actually the main reason for this. I am trying to stop. I have blocked all my online accounts, I would never go into a betting shop because everyone knows me and they would start talking about this… the pain that you feel when you lose pretty much all your money it’s horrible!! I wish I would’ve never started.. gamble is not fun.

[charles]

Hello and thanks for starting a thread in the Gambling Therapy forums. By posting to the forums you’re allowing the diverse and caring Gambling Therapy community to help support you through the difficulties you’re facing.

This may well be a tough time for you – particularly if you’re new to recovery, so we encourage you to post here as often as you need to, as well as making use of the online groups and the live advice helpline if you’d like some one-to-one support. We’re all in this together! If you’re a new member, you are warmly invited to join Charles in one of the New Members Practical Advice groups (Mondays at 21:00 UK Time and Thursdays at 19:00 UK Time).

The forum is a great place to share your experiences in a safe, supportive and accepting environment. By writing it all down you can start to build a record of your progress that you can look back on – particularly useful if you’re ever feeling stuck. Share as much or as little as you like – but you’re encouraged to stick to keeping to just one thread in this forum – so people know where to find you to check in on your progress or to share something with you.

The Gambling Therapy staff team don’t generally post to the forums as it is a peer support area of the site – so we’ll hand you over to the community from here.

Take care,

The Gambling Therapy Team

PS. Please take a moment to review our privacy policy and terms and conditions so you know how it all works.

[charles]

Hi daddy23, well done on looking for help. Firstly I need to apologise, it shouldn’t have taken this long to approve your first post here.

Well done on blocking your online accounts. If you can then it would help to be honest with your partner, she could help with one of the other barriers you will reaad about here – accountability.

Read the other stories here, you will see a lot that you will relate to, you will also see the success stories and apply the thiogns that are working for others to your own situation.

Using support is important and there is a lot of it available therse dayys – here we have these forums, live groups and a one to one helpline. Elsewhere as well. Keep posting and hopefully I will see you in a group soon.

[njp31322]

Glad to see the hardest step has been taken, asking for help and admitting lose of control. You have found a safe space here and will only be judged as a person of character and we see you as normal, and like us! I have lost so much money it’s too much to even fathom but I get deep whole hearted joy knowing that I haven’t gambled in a week. I’m taking it one day at a time and doing everything not to take that first bet because it all spirals after that. Let us know how we help, either by listening offering advice or just giving you a place to feel like a normal person who goes through things we are all going through.
Keep pushing and stay strong!

[Autorius]

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