Well a month has gone by since my last post and I am happy to say I am still gamble free and working hard towards paying off the depts I had run up.
Not had any set backs and kept focussed on going forward and not looking back..
Still talking about the issues I had through gambling and also keeping people in the loop with how my journey is going is also helping me to get on with my life,
I am still going to my counselling sessions and will see them through to the end as it helps knowing I have somebody I can talk to each week with how I am getting on even if it is more like a social chat. It helps knowing they are also routing for you.
As I have posted before I have a budget of £50 a week this is £30 I am given from my mum who is looking after my finances and then I get an additional £20 for helping my mum to care for my Uncle. I basically go around every morning after work and make his breakfast have a brew then walk his dog before heading home to bed..
As I knew I had my anniversary to the missus coming up I saved up some of my budget and took her out for a meal on my night off. Picked a nice Indian restaurant and we had a chilled out night.. Having a budget has made me appreciate the value of money and the fact you do not need a lot to have a good time and do things..
I have been very busy at work so I have not joined the gym yet but I have been helping to renovate my mums house and I have also done some work on my own house using money from the joint account with the okay from my missus..
If I had still been gambling I would not have been able to do any of the above as I was so absorbed in trying to win that I lost sight of everything else and was just in a bubble on my own with all the lies / deciet and stress.
Without gambling I have regained my confidence, self respect and a positive outlook again on life and my health has improved as I am sleeping well again and also eating well and actually getting outside and living again..
I still get the guilt trips when I cannot help the missus out finacially but she knows that when I am back on track I will have the money to help her,
One thing I mentioned to my counsellor is that everybody forgets about those whom are helping the problem gambler out and the pressure it has on them as well..
I was lucky that my mum was in a position to help me out but a lot of people would not have been so lucky so this puts a lot of pressure on family members / friends to help them out whom might not be able to help out and then would have to live with the guilt..
I have to get back to work now but thought I would give a quick update..
Hope everybody is doing well and keeping on track….