[ncosta01]

Hi everyone,
To cut a long story short it all started over a year ago with the occasional bingo game. I didn’t think I had an addiction as it was just now and then I played. It was fun you know. Then after a couple of substantial wins I thought… why not let’s play another and I guess I was always waiting for another substantial win and slowly but surely I bet more than I won. I still didn’t think I had a problem. After a while I started playing slots, and same story… after a substantial win I chased another and bet more than I could afford… still didn’t think I had a problem! You see, I’m a single mother of 3 kids and I don’t do much for myself as all the parents in the world, and I thought this was just my thing that was mine to do. But then I got myself in financial distress and that’s when I thought maybe I could have a problem. A year and so into it I now think I definitely have a problem as I’m spending what I can’t afford. It’s very embarrassing really as I’m a mom and shouldn’t be risking money like this. Anyway this is the first forum I joined hoping to meet people that have the same problem and may help me understand why someone gets addicted to gambling and ways of stopping. Sorry for the long story I did try to make it short lol

[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 ncosta and welcome to the forum. Well done 0on looking for help.

You are not alone with this problem, read the other stories here and you will see a lot that you will relate to. You will also see the success stories — what are thye doing that you can apply to your own situation?

You will see that barriers can help, especially in the early days. Get yourself banned/excluded from where ever it is you usully gamble. Limit your access to funds so you can’t gam le easily or secretly.

Most importantly keep using help — if we could do it on our own then none of us would be here in the first place. There is a lot of support available these days, both here and elsewhere. If you cannect to either the groups or the Helpline here you can get signposted specifically for your location.

Keep posting and hopefully I will see you in a group soon.

[ncosta01]

Thank you for the warm welcome Charles. I’ll definitely try to keep posting as I suppose sharing is part of recovery.

[Cruising247]

Hello Ncosta, and Welcome!

After 11 years, I still ask myself «how did this happened to me?»
I have no other addictions or unhealthy habits.
The sad part is we don’t realize we have that addictive gambling gene until after we are hooked.
The most important part is to not place another bet, if you you don’t put any more money into it, that debit hole will hopefully not get any deeper.
One day at a time is the best way to recover. If you start looking at all your debit, as soon as you get money you’ll go chase that lost.
Organize and prioritize your bills and start working on paying them down.

I also check in on the forum, even when I have nothing new going on.
Hang in there you can do this, after a couple weeks, it gets a little easier.

[ujju197]

Hello Ncosta, and Welcome!

This addiction is more like illness, and which affect mental and physical health negatively. So, don’t think about this anymore and just stay strong and stay away from the first bet.(any amount).

There will be lot of challenges in this journey, but have to stay focused «One day at a time».

Almighty will show the mercy and life be normal soon.

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