[janey1]

I don’t know if you’re aware, but we have an online group specifically for friends and family and it takes place every Tuesday at 20.00 (UK time).  The group lasts for an hour and it’s your chance to talk, in confidence, about the difficulties you face as a result of the gambling of someone close to you.  This group has been a little quiet of late so I really just wanted to remind ALL of our members, old and new, that it’s still there and we’d love to see people taking advantage of the time set aside just for them!

Talking about something as painful as an addiction can feel really daunting and if you’re reluctant to come and chat to us for this reason I completely understand. However, I assure you, if you do choose to come and talk to us in one of our online groups, forums or on our one to one helpline, you’ll be met with the warmest of welcomes and you’ll be talking to someone who has either been in a similar situation to you, or is trained on the specific issues you face.

 

I really hope we have the chance to get to know you all soon ??

 

Take care

Janey

PS:  If you’ve used a group and found it helpful, please post below to encourage others to take the plunge!

[berber]

Hi all,

I have chatted in group frequently and it is like going somewhere for some much-needed “me time”. Instead of going to a pub and tell my sorrows to people who may not understand, I feel welcome in the group sessions. The relief I feel after speaking up from this secret addiction is tremendous.
Chat to you soon!

[dadda]

Hi, all. I don’t even get to get on here very much at all, but I think the chat time sounds EXCELLENT. I belonged to a in-person support group for nurses several years ago and it really helped me to regain a lot of confidence I had lost as well as see and hear others who had progressed past where I was. I also got a chance to meet others, who from the “outside” still seemed (to me) to “have it all together” but whose career had hit the skids for various reasons. And some of these had gone way below, or so it seemed, where I had been/was and still they were getting results and ahead through their efforts … a real hope booster. I hope things calm down so I can make time for this, as well as reading and getting to know some other members better through their posts. There are NO support groups within 100 miles from here, so I have felt very isolated and completely misunderstood, as nobody in ANY profession seems to UNDERSTAND and all I get is (useless and seemingly callous) platitudes or indifference, as if I have brought all this on myself or participated in creating what I didn’t even know about.

[dadda]

Berber, I just want to say that I like your comment as it echoes many of my own experiences. I went to a group before that seemed to wallow in misery and all the people whose threads I’ve read are certainly not doing that … sometimes I just feel that I have to “keep it all together” and pretend that everything is normal … while I am “freaking out” inside as to where I will find the last few dollars to get the insurance paid (or whatever). The “relief” you mention is something I MISS … I am SO looking forward to someday being able to lay my head on my pillow and just be able to relax and fall to sleep … and rest. Sounds very good; hope I can get involved in that soon.

[sosad]

The group sessions were so helpful to me. Especially when I felt really low. At first I sometimes felt very awkward and didn’t know when to ‘speak’, worried that I might interrupt or not know what people were talking about or even worse that no one would know what I was talking about…once I took the plunge, it was, as Berber said, a huge relief to be in a safe and confidential place. Sometimes if even just for a much needed laugh.
If you are at all feeling shy but really wishing to join in, I can’t recommend it enough. And, if you are at all like me, you may be waiting until you feel more clear headed…You definitely don’t have to have all your thoughts in order before joining in and for me, it helped me to get my thoughts in order to chat in group. ??

[作者]

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