It sounds like you are both making some forward progress! As Velvet mentioned try to remain firm and strong. It’s not a matter of punishing your gambler but being realistic how difficult this addiction can be to control.
My gambler (who is my son) has gambled since he was 19 and is now 26. It has been a roller coaster for our entire family. For the first 6 years he insisted on trying to “beat” this addiction on his own with sheer will power. He would manage short amounts of abstinence but never could have any long term success. He finally realized this addiction was something he was absolutely powerless over and started with a GA program a year ago. I started my own recovery in Gam Anon and on this forum about 1 1/2 years ago.
I tell you this so that you know its not always a direct, quick recovery. You need to make you the center or your recovery and hopefully your husband will follow in his.
As with Velvet I don’t mean for it to sound negative as I couldn’t be happier now with where both my son and myself are… its just that I had hoped as a mom I knew what was wrong and if I could just say the right thing or embarrass him enough we could fix this and go on with our lives! That did not happen and I remained frustrated and angry trying to change my son and not myself!
Take Care Janel… you guys are both moving in the right direction.
