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    • #33932
      Adam26
      Participant

      Hi everyone. It’s been about 2 months since I last posted on here. I was honestly getting comfortable with the idea that I didn’t need this site anymore and that i was ‘cured’. Well I’m making this new thread because I’m back on day one again. I thought it was a betrayal of my other thread to post on there after all the good it was filled with.
      Just to recap, I joined here over a year ago after losing my life savings of around £20,000. I’m now 31 and work as a bar steward. I’ve been gambling on fruit machines since i was about 13 and progressed to online virtual slots. I was in a pretty good place having gone 1 year, 20 weeks and 5 days without gambling (a personal best since i started gambling). Weird thing is, in that time, I’ve had some pretty bad days where I’ve not been in a great mindset. Yet it had to be yesterday, feelin fine, that i finally broke. I’ll set the scene…
      Sunday night: Big gambler playing machine aaaaaaall night. It gets to midnight and I urge him to leave. At this point he’s put about £400 coins in the machine and it’s ready to drop. I was wanting to get away so reluctantly agreed, if he left now, I would play for him in the morning before I opened the bar and drop the jackpot. In my mind, as I’ve done a couple of times in the past, thought, not my money, not my problem! Well, he left me £100 and i played it. Dropped it. Had about £30 to spare. So i decided I’d use the £30 on the £500 Jackpot machine and try my luck, replacing it if I won, or saying I lost it in the other if I lost. No prizes for guessing how it went. Lost the £30 in no time. But then for some reason I just went into autopilot without even thinking. I put another £50 in. Lost. £50. Lost. In the end I’d lost the £300 I’d saved up in tips to go towards rent money. This is were old habits took control of me. I went straight home and google searched my old friend ‘Dynamite Digger’. A virtual slot machine that ended up taking my entire fortune only a short time ago. I signed up to GalaBingo and immediately transferred £300 out of my ‘new’ savings. But I was disgusted to find a cap on the max spin. £10 a spin is child’s play to someone used to £100 spins. I’d already committed the £300 though, so ended up just gambling it down to zero. Bye bye GalaBingo. Hello William Hill. Now we’re talking, £100 max spin! So i started moving a thousand pound a time from my savings to my bank and then moving £500 a time from my bank to William Hill. At one point my phone rang. I knew it was the fraud department before i picked up. Since my paypal account is in my mum’s name, they wouldn’t talk to me, even when i reasoned that it was me spending it. It got to the point where I’d moved over £2300, and my latest attempt to move over another £500 was denied. I checked what I had coming back into my bank from winnings and it was on £1700. Not bad I figured but I was still badly behind. I noticed there was an option to withdraw the withdrawal. So I made the decision to play with the £1700 winnings and just go £100 a spin. It didn’t go well at all at first. Each spin was met with nothing as it edged past the thousand pound mark. Then with about £400 left in the bank, I had one good spin that took me right up to exactly £3000. I immediately cashed out and closed my account…
      I’ve tried to do the math. I think that with the £300 I lost at work, plus what I took out the bank, I should find myself about £400 in profit. Yet I was SO distraught. I felt sick to my stomach all night. It’s not about the money I could of lost, or the money I eventually clawed back on this occasion. It’s about them days. I was so proud of those days I’d accumulated. One year, twenty weeks, five days! Now I have to get used to the fact that it’s back at one and that kills me. It’s gonna take so much effort to get some days together now, knowing what I had accomplished only a couple of days ago. Worst thing is, my boss is on holiday for two weeks starting yesterday. So I have to be at work all day, every day, being eyeballed by those pesky bandits. I’m confident I’ve learned enough over the past year that I can jump straight back on the sober wagon. I will try. I know I can try.
      To everyone on this site who constantly called me an inspiration, all I can say is sorry. I never felt comfortable with the inspiration tag as I just always had it in the back of my mind that I could let everyone down at any point. So that’s me. An inspirational failure. Hopefully I can better my last run of clean days and inspire a new bunch of people joining in a bad place. Remember. We’re all better than this evil gambling drug! Peace everyone!
      Adam

    • #33933
      Adam26
      Participant

      Note to self – Today is the first of many clean days.

    • #33934
      tamworth
      Participant

      Good luck Adam. Change what you can today. you don’t want to continiue gambling as it will only end in committing crime or death or maybe both.

    • #33935
      theone12221
      Participant

      Hi Adam, it’s a good lesson to learn. We can simply never gamble in any form whatsoever, even if its for a dollar or just “on behalf of someone else” – one thing leads to another and with a minor streak of bad luck…things can quickly escalate out of control. Im just over a week clean now let’s make it a year together.

    • #33936
      Adam26
      Participant

      gambled today. not in a good place. lost £1300.

    • #33937
      maverick.
      Participant

      Keep fighting Adam………..I honestly dont know what to say as in truth apart from I am in exactly the same place as you my friend, I have had really good recovery time and like you my happiest days of my life have been when ai have been in recovery and gamble free.

      Also like you I have slipped up and really struggling to get back on track, now we all know the importance of the phrase but I have to ask myslef the question do I………..”we must always stay away from our next bet” I am fine…..life is great but as soon as I place “that next bet” it opens up every door I have worked so hard to close and sets my life back on that path of destruction.

      Adam you have done it before and you can do it again my friend, just for today I made the choice to gamble and as always it was the wrong one, like you I have placed myself in a massive hole and more than I choose to share with you tonight as you have your own issues, you can get yourself out of it my friend and trust me so can I but we just have tobdo what we know is right.

      I cannot tell you what to do as I cannot seem to do it myself, but what I do know is we have a choice and I just wished I choose to do the right thing 25 years ago when I placed my first bet.

      Please trust me when I say I understand how you feel, today I feel worthless, desperate, destroyed, angered and many more feelings I just cant express at this point in time.

      I share this so you know you are not alone but I mainly share this to say you know if we fight hard and do the right thing our lives will get better.

      Adam I wish you well my friend and stay strong, keep fighting and never ever give in.

      Maverick

    • #33938
      theone12221
      Participant

      Hey man, sorry to hear that. Honestly you are one of the most inspiring posters on here and I know you’ve got the strength inside to overcome this addiction. You were doing so good for so long. What is triggering your relapse currently? Is it boredom? Is it work stress? Is it anxiety of building up a house deposit asap? Identify this and do whatever you can to block/prevent those triggers. Self-exclude if you have not already done so.

    • #33939
      vera
      Participant

      Do everything in your power to nip this in the bud, Adam.
      You know it will clean you out.
      Hand over all access to cash to your G/F or your mam.
      Lock up at closing time no matter who asks you to try to win their money back
      It will ruin you.
      Run when you can.
      Chasing down blind alleys is a waste of time.
      CGs A L W A Y S lose. You know that.
      Get your Plan up and running . You know this will end in
      tears.
      Cut your losses and walk away.
      Maybe look at changing jobs. That place is lethal for you.

    • #33940
      theone12221
      Participant

      Hey Adam,

      Vera speaks the reality of what will happen if you don’t stop now!!! You can cut your losses now before it gets out of hand.

    • #33941
      Adam26
      Participant

      The dust has just about settled on my latest spiral of self destruction. It’s the third day since I last gambled. I’ve paid my debts to the safe at work and my weeks wages have gone straight into my savings. Daft thing is, before I started, I’d hit my goal of reaching 10k savings (half of what I lost). I’d just finally reached it and the bottom fell out. My bottom fell out too. I’m currently on £8,500 and awaiting my next weekly wage which should be about £470. Basically these two recent weeks wages while the boss has been away were all for nothing. I’ve just worked for free. Cheers Adam. I saw my boss today and told him what I’d done. He seemed pretty surprised and dissappointed.
      I think I’ve been panicking a bit because of my housing situation. I’m currently living in my parents house. They are living in a bungalow and had planned to eventually sell the house when I get a mortgage. Well things have changed. They can’t settle in the bungalow and it’s currently on the market. As soon as it sells they’re moving back into the house and I’ll be given the nudge. I’m still miles away from the £20k they expect me to have in my savings. I’m not sure how mortgages work, but I’m fairly sure they check your financial history. Does this mean a shady gambling past will be exposed? Will it effect me getting on? I don’t know. But I’m worried. Even more so since this latest jaunt has knocked me back a month or two in saving.
      On the face of it though, I’m continuing as normal. I’ve been working hard and trying to keep my itchy fingers busy. Technically, I’ve been cleaning. A lot. I’ve also put a £500 purchase on my credit card. I’ve paid for me and the lady, her son and his girlfriend to go to Alton Towers for a couple of days in October for her birthday. Something else I need to save up for, but I don’t mind that. She shouldn’t have to suffer for my inability to stop chucking money at a chunky electronic thief.
      Anyway, that’s enough from me. It’s only day 3 so I don’t wanna get too excited. I need to get past a week and I’ll start to feel a bit better I think… Maybe.

    • #33942
      theone12221
      Participant

      Hey Adam,

      Great to hear you did not do any further (major) damage over the last couple of days. I totally get the relapse, you are still human (although at times I idolised you admittedly as to how you were able to go cold turkey for so long immediately after a major loss). I also went about 7 months clean before a semi-major relapse (similar to the amount you lost 3 months ago)…triggered by a stressful event of course. Since them I’ve dabbled on and off but “only” lost maybe $200 or so, despite some even stronger triggers trying to tempt me to play big. I’m clean for about 3 weeks now. I think if you can stop now and get back on track, it’s still a very positive sign since you managed to cut your losses before they got completely out of hand (like we did last year). Learn from it, know how to prevent/resist those triggers. We can get through this. You’ve still got a decent amount of savings. Gambling will result in ruin and will take you 10 steps back from your financial objectives.

    • #33943
      Adam26
      Participant

      Ok so today has been a week since my last gambling session. I’m glad I’ve made it to the week mark. Still plenty to do though. Really need to stay focused and strong. Had another setback a few days ago. My bike was stolen from the side of my work. It’s my only mode of transport and I use it every day. I’ve had to order another which has just set me back £480. I’m currently in the process of selling a few bits and bobs of my Liverpool collection to try and cover some/hopefully all of it. I guess these things happen to test us. I won’t be beaten just yet.

    • #33944
      Adam26
      Participant

      Been two weeks now since I last gambled. I’m being tested all the time it seems. I had a row with my girlfriend the other night. It was a pretty big one and I don’t expect to hear from her for a few days. At one point she mentioned I was weak and brought up my gambling as a shot at me. She later apologised for that comment but I knew she was right. I’m very weak, especially where gambling is concerned.
      I’ve sold a few things from my memorabilia collection to cover the cost of my new bike and also get a bit of my savings back. Danny Ings and Nathaniel Clyne boots and a Dalglish signed shirt being some of the highlights (low points personally) in my latest sale. Another thing that really crushed me was a mistake made by a fellow collector. I’ll put it into context. My prized possession is a 2005 (European Cup Winning Year) match worn shirt by John Arne Riise from the semi final against Chelsea. It’s been signed by most of the squad. It’s worth a couple of grand easy. My friend was doing an autograph signing with Riise a few days ago and I asked, if possible, could you get a picture of him holding my (his) shirt up for extra validation. Not a problem he said. Unfortunately, due to a lapse of concentration, my shirt was passed over and signed by Riise. Now, realising his mistake, my friend was very apologetic of course. He’s offered me the picture of Riise signing my shirt as some kind of consolation. So now what I have, is a picture of Riise, signing a shirt, under a big sticker that says PHOTO ONLY DON’T SIGN, and just to the side of his own original signiature. This might seem like I’m being picky, but that’s just ruined the whole thing for me. It was to be an ongoing project where I get everyone from that seasons squad signed on it. Now it has Riise on it twice its just devalued it for me…
      Anyway, that’s enough about that. I’ve not got much good to say so I just thought I’d have a complain about things. Hopefully next week is a better one and still a gamble free one.

    • #33945
      Adam26
      Participant

      Things are going ok at the moment considering. I’m having a bad patch with my girlfriend which doesn’t seem to see me putting a foot right at any point these days. Just when I get somewhere with her, something happens to make things a whole lot worse. I did however tell her that my gambling was a bit more of a problem that I’ve let on in the past. I told her about the pressures from my family to sort out a mortgage and a house and that my savings are nowhere near what they expect. I told her a lot without divulging any actual figures. Thankfully she didn’t press for any. She reassured me that I can get past it and that if push came to shove I could live with her while I save money. But still we seem to be having unrelated problems to this. She actually made me feel a bit better about things, only for something else to go wrong. All in all, I’m still getting on with things. I’m still not gambling after three weeks. I’ve self excluded from the two sites I tried to gamble on recently. I’m sure I can push on with my savings and get more weeks clean under my belt. In other news, Liverpool won their first game of the season 4-3 against Arsenal. Things are looking up…

    • #33946
      lizbeth4
      Participant

      Hi Adam, Congrads on your 3 weeks gamble free time and self exclusions. Keep going! You are doing great. Have a awesome weekend.

    • #33947
      Adam26
      Participant

      Week 4 today, still not gambling. It’s been hard, I won’t lie. I’ve had to dip into my savings a couple of times for various things. It’s worse when I get it into my head that my savings aren’t moving. I just had tea with my mum earlier. We had a brief chat about my future housing situation. I asked about the possibility of me getting a joint mortgage with my girlfriend. Anyway, the chat went fine, but at one point I told a blatant lie straight into my mothers eyes. She asked about my savings and at one point said there was an amount in her head she’d be annoyed if I wasn’t up to. I panicked and said I had £19k. A full £10k off what I actually have. She was pretty happy with that actually, even thought I had less! Brilliant Adam. Good going. So now I’ve gotta get up to at least £19k before I can have any serious thoughts about going forward with my parents help on getting a mortgage. It’s just shit like this that gets me down. I know I can make the money back. But it’s going to take me, minimum, 18 months, providing I don’t have another slip up. On a bit of a plus point, my mates doing a signing with Smicer and Berger today. I sent him about £100 worth of gear and he said he’d do it for free for messing up my last one. So that’s a bit of a result… Bye for now guys.

    • #33948
      Adam26
      Participant

      Week 4 today, still not gambling. It’s been hard, I won’t lie. I’ve had to dip into my savings a couple of times for various things. It’s worse when I get it into my head that my savings aren’t moving. I just had tea with my mum earlier. We had a brief chat about my future housing situation. I asked about the possibility of me getting a joint mortgage with my girlfriend. Anyway, the chat went fine, but at one point I told a blatant lie straight into my mothers eyes. She asked about my savings and at one point said there was an amount in her head she’d be annoyed if I wasn’t up to. I panicked and said I had £19k. A full £10k off what I actually have. She was pretty happy with that actually, even thought I had less! Brilliant Adam. Good going. So now I’ve gotta get up to at least £19k before I can have any serious thoughts about going forward with my parents help on getting a mortgage. It’s just shit like this that gets me down. I know I can make the money back. But it’s going to take me, minimum, 18 months, providing I don’t have another slip up. On a bit of a plus point, my mates doing a signing with Smicer and Berger today. I sent him about £100 worth of gear and he said he’d do it for free for messing up my last one. So that’s a bit of a result… Bye for now guys.

    • #33949
      abettertomorrow
      Participant

      Hi Adam,

      Not posted to you before…..but your story is inspirational. Look, mortgage only affects your statements for up to six months. I have done a fair bit of research into this. Keep it clean and no worries. Your current savings would be enough to get a deposition for you and your partner.

      More importantly, see this a marathon and not a sprint. Not giving you advice as you went well over a year and I am on 200 days but I’m just trying to chill some problems. House will be no problem, just use that to keep off the online slots. Get a mortgage in Lrinciple if you are worried! If not, there is always renting while you look.

      Cheers for your amazing posts! One slip isn’t a huge deal and you are doing ace!

    • #33950
      Adam26
      Participant

      Thanks for the comment. I know it’s a marathon and not a sprint, but that’s always been a big problem for me. Very impatient if I’m honest. Always looking for a quicker way, or a corner to cut. I know I just need to stay on this path and things will work out. But my wages went in today and I like to transfer some to my savings. I’ve got bills and rent and a bunch of other stuff going out this week though, so I can’t do it. It makes me edgy because I’ve not been able to add to my savings.
      My parents bungalow has been getting plenty of attention from potential buyers. An offer was put in today which was 10k under asking price which was flat turned down. But it’s looking increasingly likely that it won’t be too long until my parents move back into their house and put me in an awkward position. Do I stay with them while I quietly save further. Or do I take my girlfriends offer and move in with her and help pay her way. I honestly don’t know what to do and it worries me still.
      So far so good on the gambling front. Not really been tempted at all. I think it probably helps that I’ve not been giving the big gamblers the chance to stop after hours. I’ve been working more at work recently too as the boss hasn’t been well. I guess the extra income helps. He needs a new hip too and although it would mean he’d probably have to miss around 4 months of work, I’d be tempted to work every day to claw back my savings. I’m pretty sure my girlfriend wouldn’t be pleased about that though.
      On that front, things are getting a bit better I think. A lot of her unhappiness stems from her own job. In a nutshell, she hates it. She’s working all hours to compensate for the shit staff she’s in charge of. All we need is a bit of time off together. Easier said than done though of course.
      Anyway, I’ve not much else to say right now. Just wanted to check in. Keep them days going!
      Take it easy everyone. Stay strong.

    • #33951
      Pea
      Participant

      Well done on your gamble free time

      Sounds like you are aware of a lot of things too. Keep going on your days.. you are doing really well, what a change hey

      Pea

    • #33952
      Adam26
      Participant

      Another week goes by. Another chance for life to take a big dump on me. Had a double shot to the plumbs on Thursday. My mum told me that they’d accepted an offer for their bungalow. They could be moving back into the house as soon as November. I had enough time to digest that before she hit me with the second bombshell. She’s got breast cancer. Although she assures me that it’s totally treatable and 100% the best kind she could of got, it’s still cancer. That word can never be good. So a couple of fresh things for me to worry about. I need to be strong though. For myself and more importantly, my mum.
      So here’s to next week. Hopefully better than this one! Cheers everyone.

    • #33953
      Adam26
      Participant

      So far so good on my new journey. I’m gamble free for 8 weeks so far. I need to stay strong and not get complacent. I’m well aware my gamble monkey is always waiting to jump back on. A couple of the big gamblers at work have been taking it easy lately. This has been pretty helpful to me personally as they’ve not been stopping after hours or tapping me up for money. I watched a lad stand at one of the machines last week for about 4 hours. He put £240 in and won £250. He was pretty happy with that. What a waste of time I thought, before quickly remembering that was me on dozens of occasions.
      I’m slowly scraping some money back together. I’ve got £9,500 in my savings so far. But unfortunately about £600 on my credit card that needs paying off. Currently have a pair of Gerrard boots for auction that are at £550 as it stands. I’m hoping for more. Every penny helps I guess.
      God a day off tomorrow. Going out for the day to The Pleasure Beach. Costs a few quid but I don’t get out that much these days. Might as well have a bit of a laugh.
      That’s enough from me for now. Take it easy everyone.

    • #33954
      maverick.
      Participant

      Adam just wanted to drop in and say well done on your gamble free time you are an inspiration to me and many, keep up the great effort and my very best to you, also I wish your mum the very best with her recent health issue stay positive, all you can do is be there for her.

      Hope you have a top day at the pleasure beach tomorrow!

      Maverick

    • #33955
      Adam26
      Participant

      Nice to hear from you Mav. Mum was fine for the operation. Just gotta wait for the results now. Pleasure Beach was fun if not a little hard on the spine. Those rides are tough man!
      But onto today! Not got much time as I’m at work. Just wanted to make a little post on week ten! Ten weeks clean again. 70 days! I’m pretty happy with how it’s going so far. Hopefully I can keep it going for another ten. Then many tens after that.
      Thanks guys. Take it easy everyone.

    • #33956
      Adam26
      Participant

      11 weeks clean from gambling. Although I must admit, I was quite easily talked into playing on the bandit for someone who didn’t know what to do. There’s a new machine at work and it’s got everyone baffled. It’s scary how easily I can slot back into the old habit of holds and nudges. Obviously I know this is just dry gambling and not good for me. But I’ve not had any urges since. Especially since he went on to lose over £100 on it.
      So it’s official now. My parents move back into the house on December 2nd. They’re expecting me to look for my own place in January. Since I’m approximately 9 grand short on what they think I have. I’m not sure two months is gonna be enough to pull myself out of this one…

    • #33957
      charles
      Moderator

      Hi Adam, well done on your gamble free time.

      I would have a “I don’t play them any more” or “I don’t know the new machine” line ready for the next time you are asked.

      Especially with the short time left till your parents moving back there is no point risking any additional triggers.

      Them moving back, and you trying to keep things secret, can inn itself be a trigger. if they are going to find out anyway then better to come clean. This time you can show them this site, tell them the positive actions that you are taking to tackle the addiction.

      Keep posting.

    • #33958
      Adam26
      Participant

      Week 12 on my long and winding road through recovery. Thanks for posting Charles, it’s nice to hear from you again. I know what you’re saying, you make a lot of sense. But I can’t bring myself to come clean about it at the moment. I’m back in double figures and I know I can carry on saving. Speaking of my savings. I recently sold a pair of match worn Gerrard boots for £880. This is what finally tipped my savings over the 10k mark. I noticed this last week that the lad had put the boots back up for auction. I kept a close eye on them all the way up till the end. I struggled not to put a sneaky bid on them as they went for only £660. I thought that I could of made a £200 profit on top of getting the boots back. Sounds great in theory, but it meant slipping back behind that 10k mark and I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. There will be other chances I’m sure.
      Well I’m currently sitting behind the bar at work. There’s 8 people in. I’m listening to The Who. Struggling to find the energy to care about what drinks these people want. My legs are playing up again. I’ve developed a problem with my right foot not wanting to bend without pain. Too stubborn to go to the doctors. Need some time off. This time in two weeks I’ll be at Alton Towers for my ladies birthday. I’ll be off for ten days around then. Then I guess it’s back to work to play the waiting game. Any time the hospital could phone my boss for his hip replacement, then that’s me running the show for 3 or 4 months. Extra income wouldn’t go amiss. Anyway. Best get back to it… bye for now peeps.

    • #33959
      Adam26
      Participant

      First day back at work today after having 10 days off. Went to Alton Towers Scarefest for gf’s birthday and had a pretty good time. Back to reality and my foots gone worse. It’s now a problem in my heel that’s stopping me touching the ground with it when I first start walking. I can get used to it throughout the day but it’s rest I need really. Not likely. To add insult to literal injury, I had my new bike stolen on Friday. Three months after having my other pinched I’ve lost this one now too. It’s once again money I shouldn’t have to spend but am forced to. I’ve gone with the same bike, only an older model. So it’s £200 cheaper, but still costing me £340. Not sure what gives these people the right to just take things that aren’t theirs, but hey, it’s happened. Can’t change it now. Anyway, not the best way to celebrate going over 100 days clean. Here’s to 100 more though. Cheers guys.

    • #33960
      Adam26
      Participant

      Hello everyone. It’s been over a month since my last post. Just thought I’d check in. It’s been 21 weeks so far and I’ve not gambled a penny. It’s just hit me that I’m about a whole year away from my last attempt to stay clean. I managed just under a year and 21 weeks. So still a long way to go for me, but I’m staying on track. Banks looking ok. I’ve got £11,300 in my savings, so again, I’m staying on track. The parents have moved back into the house with me now. From a selfish standpoint, I’ll save a fortune in food costs, so it’ll help build the balance up a bit quicker.
      Just had my birthday this week. Spent a bomb on a couple of trips to Manchester for a couple of concerts and a nice meal with family and GF and kids. Finally saw Limp Bizkit live. I’ve left it a bit late, but I’ve finally seen them and they were great.
      Currently paying off credit card bills in the run up to Christmas. I always end up over spending on people. But I like to get good gifts, what can I say.
      Anyway, just wanted to stop by and clock my days in. Hope everyone has a nice Christmas and New a year!

    • #33961
      Adam26
      Participant

      Checking in again. Hope everyone had a good new year. I was working through Christmas and new year, since someone has to work for others to enjoy it. Bar work means I’m that guy. But I don’t mind. I’ve managed to go into this new year gamble free and with any luck I’ll be able to say the same next year. I had a couple of occasions where there were only a couple of people in and I was encouraged to join in on gambling sessions. I’m glad to say I resisted. My partners son on the other hand seemed to enjoy it a little too much and lost around £12. Not much in my terms of gambling, but we’ve all gotta start somewhere. I’ve tried to put him off gambling without saying too much. They were buying the lottery cards you open up. They let me get involved and open a few. I gather it’s called dry gambling, and after a while of just watching them gamble I was egging them on just to get a bit of a contact buzz if you will. It’s so easy to fall back into the feelings you get from gambling. It was really overpowering I had to step away after a while. I still look over at those Bandits with lust in my eyes. But so far so good and I’m sticking to my guns. Here’s to another gamble free year!

    • #33962
      vera
      Participant

      Happy New Year Adam.
      It’s great to find yourself just hand gliding into a New Year with no gambling regrets.
      We all have long term regrets, of course but being able to hold your head high and have a little inward chuckle is worth the effort .
      It will take the lust out of your eye by watching the “failure to thrive” idiots stuffing their hard earned money in the machines and losing.
      Fair play to you for resisting, one day at a time.
      Have a G -free New Year!

    • #33963
      Adam26
      Participant

      Thanks Vera. Lad at work has lost £800+ and counting so far last night and today… point proven I think.

    • #33964
      vera
      Participant

      Could be you or I, Adam!
      He’ll learn!!!

    • #33965
      Jonny123987
      Participant

      Congrats on quitting and saving some money back. Thanks for being an inspiration to other gamblers.

    • #33966
      Adam26
      Participant

      Not checked in for a while so I thought I probably should show my face, sort of speak. It’s now been 30 weeks since the last time my bank account made me cry. It’s been a tough month since the last time I checked in. My boss is still off on sick and I’m still picking up the slack. I’m in full control of stock, money, staff and of course cleaning all the beer lines. Basically in the last 6 weeks I’ve had 2 FULL days off. But I couldn’t relax as the phone was constantly ringing. At the moment my work place is suffering. We ordered a big stock pile before Christmas to save on VAT. Only problem is, it’s nearing the end of February and customer numbers still haven’t picked up after the New Year lull. Put on top of that the wages they’ve had to pay staff for working extra and the wages for the boss who’s off sick, we’ve basically run out of money. It’s got to the point where I’m working by myself some nights to keep costs down. I’m starting to feel the pressure now, whereas before I was loving the opportunity to finally have full control. I’m starting to get annoyed at people when I’m well known for ultra calmness. It’s going to get the point where I fall out with someone. I’m barely spending any time with the girlfriend either so my relationship is very rocky also.
      Basically it’s doom and gloom at the moment. But one things for sure, I’ve not gambled for 30 weeks! Super chuffed with myself. I recently found out a lad I know has gone ten years yesterday. That seems like an astronomical feat for someone addicted to gambling. I’ve never gone two, nevermind ten! But it’s just another goal to strive for. All the extra work I’m doing doesn’t seem to be helping my bank account as well as I’d hoped. I’m currently on £12,700. Still a ways away from the £20,000 I pissed up a wall. But I shall battle on.
      Cheers everyone.

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