ex and would be ex-gamblers support thread

DF412

When my Betfair float of £550 had gone I had considered depositing more from my current account. I can honestly say that less than a year ago I would have done so and blown the £300 rent that I had in there too.

Over the next couple of days I was greatful that I found the strength to say enough is enough and accept my loss. I only wish I could have found that strength 5 years ago.

I reckon I have it now though and thats whats important. Its my future that is important to me, not my past

buddiebabe

Well i have managed to get through one day without gambling..... day one down..... the rest of my life to go :rolleyes: i will do this one day at a time

Buddiebabe x

cantcope

Hi all,

Sorry to hear you've fallen BB. Just one day a time remember. Do not go on the computer or laptop now until gamblock is installed. It's like keeping slabs of chocolate in the fridge when you are dieting. Lethal temptation.

I'm just back from another weeks holiday and feel exhausted but after reading the thread this morning i feel so much better. I could never have afforded a weekend away when i was gambling yet almost 3 years on and i've had two holidays abroad in the last 5 months!!

Makes it so worthwhile. Keep strong today everyone. Life can be great without betting. xx

Treadmill

I found that when I used to gamble the knock on effect was that I never felt inclined to try to save money in other areas, I used to think there was no point saving a few of quid on car insurace etc, taking advantage of BOGOFs, switching my energy suppliers because the savings made seemed irrelevant to me, it seemed pointless saving pennies in the face of the hundreds or even thousands of pounds I was spending on gambling on Betfair and Slots etc, I started equating money to the size of stake, "why bother saving £2, thats not a real stake" also the sense of despondancy in the face of losing large amounts of money and the all consuming nature of gambling can leave little room for other mental activity. This attitude further compounded the losses I made from gambling.

I've stopped gambling now, I have a legacy of debt on credit cards (about 9K). Currently I am fortunate enough to have a bit of free money to pay down by debt, but at one time it was crippling. The bizzare thing is that I never ever gambled using cards, I think this because if I did I wouldn't have been able to convince myself I didn't have a gambling problem any longer, I used to clean out my current account for money to bet with or deposit hundreds into Betfair and online slots, leaving me no choice but to buy necessities on my credit cards which meant that the credit cards got ramped up anyway, so the nett result was the same.

To my shame I will also admit that I have never in nearly 20 years told my wife that I have a gambling problem, and she and the kids have suffered from it many many times, I became expert at hiding things from her, all the times we have gone without because of me gambling and she accepted it in good part saying that most people find it tough to make ends meet while not knowing the real reason, her having to take money out of the change bottle to buy milk and bread when I'd lost £700 gambling on cricket, football and other sports is one example

I've not gambled since July, when I spent most of a 4.5K bonus on gambling just before our family holiday but I still think about it everyday several times a day and am still tempted, I've gained strength in reading the contributions to this thread so I thank you all

GeorgeUK

Glad to hear you've managed to stop Treadmill. I didn't have the added pressure of others relying on me so can only imagine how some of you felt. Hope you manage to stay away from it.

Have you closed down all the accounts you had? Might also be worth putting something like gamblock on your computer. I fell off the wagon by keeping one account open, even when parts of it were blocked. It's best not to leave any temptation so that in the weaker moments, it's easier to deal with.

jamesey07

I had a gambling problem to, i'd started off on betfair and quickly turned £50 into £1400 in the space of about 15 weeks betting on correct scores, at this time i knew nothing about trading etc and always let bets stand, however after a few months i started getting bored of just betting on correct scores as it was only once twice a weekso i tried out the exchange games on betfair, i quiuckly lost £200 in a matter of mins and chased the lose back by betting on a sport i knew nothing about, horses, i laid a few and won about £160 in about 10 mins and that got me thinking hey if i can do that this easy, so i started laying horses even though i knew nothing about them and usually high priced horses, from odds of 37-60/1 i was also laying dogs where iknew nothing about them either and started losing a fortune, a few high priced horse winners came through and i was now down about £2000, on 1 day i lost £1364 as i started laying football scores and they were actually coming through, at this stage i borrowed about £3000 from my credit union trying to chase back but lucky i got it all paid back to my CU and after a day where i lost about £900 laying football scores i withdrew £2500 on a credit card i had and gambled the lot, i've cut down my stakes big time now, where as before i use to have sometime £1500 on a football game i bet no more than £12 on a game now, i can also say that even every win now still feels like a loss and i suspect most gamblers who r down feel the same even when they win, i will never go back to having more than £20 on a game, i do ok at the min but still down about £3200, wish all the gamblers in trouble now good luck, it really is a horrible game.

Treadmill

I've installed Gamblock and I'm self excluded from all the accounts I had George, Gamblock etc won't stop me going to the cashpoint drawing out money and going to Ladbrokes or the Slot arcade though.

The one thing I've learned is cutting down is no good, I have to stop completely. I was on Holiday in April and went to the bookies to put the familys bets on for the National, at the time I was on the gambling wagon but thought I'd be ok for a fiver on the National, while in there I blew £80 on the slot machine and several hundred on really silly accumulators, cue very tight holiday budget.

One day at a time eh

GeorgeUK

It's definately an uphill path we're on, but i think the view at the top will be worth it.

Jamesey, if you don't want to stop completely or if you aren't yet at that stage, you may want to consider restricting tha amount you can deposit. I know there is a feature that allows you to do this so will stop you having any mad moments. I hope you'll be able to stop completely at some point, but until then, good luck.

cantcope

Nice to hear your story Treadmill. Another survivor from this horrible horrible addiction. I hve to say i rarely think about gambling anymore but i am very aware that it could bite me on the bum at any moment. I know full well i could walk into a bingo hall, or put a few quid into a slot machine but by listening to others who've been off longer than me, or less time that it would never end there. If i won, i'd want to win more, if i lost i'd want to win it back.

I've accepted my losses and moved on. Upwards. We can all get there in our own time.

jamesey07

thanks george, yeah i have cut down my stakes by a VERY large amount, i've very rarely anything more than £20 on a match, most times it's about £9 at the most, saying i will never bet with very high stakes again i hope not, i don't think i will but to be honest i'm sure most gamblers here never thought they would get into a situation where things have got very bad, i for one never thought a few years ago i would have over a thousand quid on a football match, i do enjoy gambling, i have learned though not to bet on things i know nothing about, hope everyone is doing ok