[Gamblingblows577]

Hi guys, I am new here and this is my first post, but would like your input on ways to stop gambling. This post may be a bit long so please bare with me. I have been gambling on and off for almost 9 years, it all started when I was around 16 years old. I was introduced by my Mom and my grandma when I was hanging out at a bar with them in the city. They showed me how to play one of those poker machines, and I loved it. The first 5 to 10 times I gambled I was EXTREMELY lucky, it was like somebody wanted me to become addicted to this horrible habit. I would win hundreds of dollars on the smallest of bets, and it subconsciously got me hooked.. everybody I was with always said how “lucky” I was because I would never lose! This was the worst thing that could have happened at that time because that was the one and only time that I had control and had not crossed the invisible line of addiction yet.

I enjoyed gambling, but it was just another hobby then, I also enjoyed other things in life that normal people enjoyed (running, video games, TV shows, movies, etc.). I was able to control myself and only gamble a small amount each month and take lots of time off of it if necessary (sometimes months). This just isn’t the case anymore, it seems that with each successive win, I fall deeper into the pit of this addiction. I spend more and more time gambling and thinking about gambling, and over time I have found more ways to gamble (Lotto tix, keno, casino, and occasionally still the bar). I also gambled online but banned myself from the one site that I have gambled online and have motivated myself to stay away from online gambling because it seems to be the most dangerous. I still gamble way too much money now, I have lost thousands of dollars and have become way too obsessed with trying to “win” even though I know for a fact that the odds are well stacked against me and that I have told myself time and time again that I would quit but never did. I feel like my control over it is dwindling and I need to do something before I fall too deep in debt. My bill situation now is tough and if I continue gambling the way I do now, I will lose everything and have to file bankruptcy in less than a year. I have a decent job and own my own house, and am getting to the point that I am barely covering my bills and sometimes taking cash advances to cover them.

At this point, I am just starting to get into debt(about 1k in debt) from about 10k in savings I used to have but slowly (over years) pissed away at the casino and on bills (I made much less money back in my early 20’s but still saved money and paid all my bills). My addiction didn’t concern me until about a year ago when I started going to the casino weekly and couldn’t stop myself. What caused this was a $2000 dollar win one night at the casino, that got me extremely hooked even more. Every day off I always had to gamble and sometimes would gamble my entire check away and have to be extremely efficient for the rest of the week only to do the same exact thing the following week. I feel like my life has become stagnant because of gambling and I haven’t progressed at my job or my relationships or anything else because I am just so obsessed with gambling. Everything I used to enjoy is no longer fun, nothing is fun anymore except gambling and that really worries me. I always tell myself that I will take a long break but could rarely resist the next urge. About 2 months ago, I lost about 1000 dollars at the casino in a single night, I just kept chasing and chasing and never got anywhere. I decided to tell some of my family that I think I had a problem, I thought this may help motivate me to stop. It did for a little bit, but since I live on my own, the embarrassment only lasted so long. They can’t check on me all the time.

My main question is, what do I need to do to stop this nasty habit? What is the most effective method of quitting? Is it Gamblers anonymous? Or is it self exclusion? Or maybe giving up control of money? Have you tried any counseling or calling a gambling helpline? I am a shy person in real life and need to get some courage and do SOMETHING before I destroy my life. I want to have more things to talk about and have normal hobbies, and have money to buy things and not always have to save for being foolish on the weekends. How do I motivate myself to take it day by day and possibly quit forever? I have only lasted over a week two times in the last year, one when I told my family (I quit for 19 days). The other when I had a ton of things to do and was interviewing for a job that I later turned down (14 days). I know it won’t be easy, please help me get back on track. All recovering CG’s please let me know your input!

[charles]

Hello and thanks for starting a thread in the Gambling Therapy forums

Here at Gambling Therapy we pride ourselves on being a caring and diverse online community who can help and support you with the difficulties you’re currently facing. We understand that this might be a tough time for you, particularly if you’re new to recovery, so come here as often as you need to and participate in the forums, access online groups and connect to the live advice helpline if you need one to one support. We’re in this together!

Here on the forum you can share your experiences in a safe, supportive and accepting environment. The beauty of writing it all down is that you can take your time and you will be creating a record of your progress that you can look back on if it ever feels like you’re not moving forward. So, share as much or as little as you like but do try to stick to keeping just one thread in this forum so people know where to find you if they want to be updated on your progress or share something with you.

As well as the forums New Members are invited to join Charles in the New Members Practical Advice Group On Mondays at 21:00 (UK) and Thursday at 19:00(UK)

And on that note….

I’m going to hand you over to our community because I’m sure they will have some words of wisdom for you ??

Take care

The Gambling Therapy Team

PS: Let me just remind you to take a look at our privacy policy and terms and conditions so you know how it all works!

[Jonny123987]

Is gambling still fun for you?

[Gamblingblows577]

Yeah, it’s too fun, it’s addicting.. It’s a lot more fun when I am winning which is NOT most of the time. How about you?

[c21]

Ive lost hundreds of thousands of pounds on this. Ive won some too so like you and like everyone knows the highs are crazy and the lows are hell. The math of this though is an escalation of gambling like I have been going through now and then at some stage we completely skid of the road like i am doing now. At this stage you don′t pay your bills you just wait for the reminders. You wonder if you will have work to go to. You wonder if your family will allow you to stay or talk to you again and you wonder if you want to live at all because what comes as this point is just tears and horror. So the reality is yes it is fun but the costs are to high to bear. So if you can stop having fun do. I could′nt.

gl in your recovery.

[Gamblingblows577]

Thanks for the reply, it is appreciated! Have you tried anything to combat your demons (the addiction)? I would say over time I have lost 15 to 20k (most of which was in the last 2 years). I fear that it is too late for me to quit, but I have not completely destroyed my life yet and would like to stop doing this before I totally hit rock bottom but know that doing so would be extremely difficult. Once I hit over the 7 day mark without gambling I get really bad urges to gamble and very restless and irritable, it’s almost impossible to beat it, and if and when I do manage to beat the urge, it comes back stronger and stronger each day until I give into it. It doesn’t seem to get any easier. I hope you find a way to live with the consequences and could eventually beat this terrible addiction!

[JayKay82]

Hi There GB,

I use this website as a tool to fight my addiction. However the reality is that i made a decision a few months back that if i cant trust myself all the blocks in the world wont help. Compulsive gamblers will do crazy things to place a bet, when i look back a few months ago, and think about how gambling consumed my thoughts and nothing would do until i placed that first bet. I wouldnt start to tell you what to do, but if it make it easier to hand over control of your cards and finances, by all means make that your first step. Find a healthy outlet and engage with other people. If you live on your own it is harder to appreciate life without gambling. Rest assured life gets better very quickly once you make the decision to give up. If you get an “urge” let it pass and move on. They will get less and less, never place that first bet, because thats all it takes for the cycle to begin again.

Hope this helps

[Jonny123987]

I asked because gambling stopped being fun for me after a while. I thought I enjoyed it but in fact I didn’t enjoy it or find other things in life enjoyable. All I could think about was getting my money back or the next bet. I hated myself when I gambled.

[Author]

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