ex and would be ex-gamblers support thread

buddiebabe

Hey

I know what u mean riquelme i received a CD through the post yesterday with a letter offering me £25 for creating an account and then another bonus £500 to play for free once i made a deposit of £1 and downloaded the casino on the pc!!! My first thought was oh well whats the harm but like you say its to draw you back into it. The letter has been shredded and the CD is in the bin outside :j the worse thing about it all is that i have never heard of the company before but they must have my details from somewhere.


The only thing i do nowadays is the lottery but that is done as part of a works syndicate so there is no temptation to spend more i just hand over my money and at the end of the year if there are any winnings they go towards xmas.

Hope everyone is enjoying a gambling free weekend

Buddiebabe x

Triggles

Still hanging in there. I'm thinking about making stopping entirely a goal starting at new years. Not ready to give up free games yet. But am considering it.

geelamch

hi to you all,
been trawling this thread for a few months and I have to say the people inspire me,honesty is a great asset,

My story.
Been a gambler for around thirty years,cheated, robbed ,lied ,you name it.How on earth I have never been to prison I really dont know.Tried ga and stuck it for about 18 months, but I knew in my heart I was not committed, but it definetely worked as i did not gamble during that time.Walked into a bookies at that period and put on a bet ( won 2200)and back on the road to ruin.

these days i am married with two kids live in a council house and on the outside probably appear quite happy.i earn around 50k have done so for years so I could have bought ten houses by now (kick myself every day)
I am very lucky to have a good job and a good employer (great pension and he takes £120 quid a week off my wages and puts it away for me and if I ask him for access he asks my wife and gives it to her so it is her savings in affect).
Dont want to dwell on my personal life as we all live the same story and the wooes etc.You probably know what I am saying if you have been there.
to any younger guys starting out in life out there,DO I FEEL BAD ? I FEEL LIKE A SHI? EVERY DAY OF MY LIFE.
My wife has been the biggest victim through all of this she should have been living a good life and benifited.
i havent gambled for approx 6 months now paying off all debt and my wife has forgiven me again .
Dont know the point of my ramblings but if it makes any sense then I hope it will serve as a wee lesson to someone or maybe it is just to remind me of the places I have been and could end up back in.
thanks for reading.
gerry

riquelme

gerry - it makes perfect sense and has given me some painful reminders of what i had and what i lost because of gambling.

triggles - please be careful

buddie - keep strong, your doing great.

on buddies point about doing the lottery what do people think about ex gamblers/ gamblers in recovery playing the lottery, personally i avoid it. whats everyone elses thoughts

Money-Saving-Student_2

Hi all,

Just signed up to this site, and hopefully last night have made my last ever bet. Have been reading through this thread and you all have inspired me to post.

A little bit about my situation,

Currently at university, used to gamble socially before, but never was a problem. Now I am living and surrounded by people who gamble at different levels. Most of mine takes the form of casino blackjack, both on-line, and in outlets, as well as heavy betting on football. In the past week I have lost around £500 on football betting, my overdraft limit is max'd out, and cannot withdraw any more. Parents send me money for food in a separate account which is never used for gambling. I feel so low, and sickened by my actions, I hide alot of my losses through guilt and embarrassed, although it is clear to close friends I have a problem

I recognise the fact I have a problem, I have tried giving up twice before, but failed, mainly due to emails, advertising and the people around me winning money.

Tonight, I cant sleep, due to this problem, a new low, but I WILL stop this time.

First steps,
Signed up to this, and sharing with you all
Installing K9 on my computer to block out any betting
Resign to the fact, that the money is lost, clean slate, move on.

thanks guys
M-S-S

cantcope

Welcome MSS and well done for ADdmitting you have a problem. I would think your next step is to admit it to your friends so that they can support you.
have a look on the GA website and see if there is meeting near you that you can attend this week.

Life CAN be great without betting.

Riq, re@lottery

Personally i think its a bad idea. What would happen if we won a big amount? enought to lear debt, buy a house, car and still have some left over? I'd love to say i'd invest it, but i accept i would probably gamble it away so there's no point. It's just feeding the greed in me for more.

buddiebabe

Hey

The only reason i still do the lottery is that i don't control it. I just pay my money every week to someone who goes and puts it on. There are over 30 of us in it so if we did win a big amount it would be life changing but probably not enough to pay off my debts and my mortgage. My priorities have totally changed before i would be thinking oh if i win i could buy this that and the next thing where as now i would just like to be able to pay off as much debt as possible and have some money in my pocket that i if i wanted to go buy a new outfit or a take away for dinner i could. I just want to be able to have one job and not have 2 work 2 jobs and try and scrimp and save to repay the debts i created by gambling.

I don't do the lottery myself as i couldn't trust myself just to buy one ticket.... i feel its alot safer for me to do it as part of a syndicate.

Buddiebabe x

cantcope

Hi BB,

It's up to you how you live your life and if you feel safe being in a syndicate it's not up to us to judge you. You aren't buying the ticket so there is no immediate temptation to buy anymore. I wouldnt worry about it. We all recover from this shi77y addiction in different ways.

Money-Saving-Student_2

Thanks cantcope,

I have thought about telling friends, but I just don't feel I have anyone close enough to disclose it to, its probably part of my problem. Many people I know I gamble, and its been suggested by them I have a problem, which I usually laugh off.

I'm bet free so far, the real challenge comes in the weekend, with the sheer amount of football on.

riquelme

Money-Saving-Student wrote: »

Thanks cantcope,

I have thought about telling friends, but I just don't feel I have anyone close enough to disclose it to, its probably part of my problem. Many people I know I gamble, and its been suggested by them I have a problem, which I usually laugh off.

I'm bet free so far, the real challenge comes in the weekend, with the sheer amount of football on.

thats the time i used to struggle

heres some tips

1. do not buy a paper at the weekend
2. dont watch sky sports news before the games kick off
3. change your routine - i used to finish work at 1ish on a friday go into town for a sandwich and pass the bookies and pop in for my weeekend bet. then i changed my route so i didnt pass the bookies.
4. get yourself excluded from the bookies - if you feel up to it, go with someone else if you feel you may be tempted, all you need is a passport photo.
5. keep yourself busy when you know that you could be tempted


its gets easier, i love looking at he football scores like i used to when i was a kid and not as a gambling addict. you'll get there and when you do you will know exactly what im talking about

stay strong, get through today 1st then worry about tomorrow