Gambling Therapy logo
Viewing 14 reply threads
  • Author
    Posts
    • #76616
      hopelessdegen
      Participant

      After 20 years of problem gambling and many failed attempts to get help, I’ve hit a rock bottom that might be impossible to overcome. But I will try. In order to regain hope, I need to get rid of illusions of gambling in moderation and give it up entirely.

    • #76623
      Dunc
      Keymaster

      Hello and thanks for starting a thread
      in the Gambling Therapy forums
      Here at Gambling Therapy we pride ourselves on being a caring and diverse online community who can help and support you with the difficulties you’re currently facing. We understand that this might be a tough time for you, particularly if you’re new to recovery, so come here as often as you need to and participate in the forums, access online groups and connect to the live advice helpline if you need one to one support. We’re in this together!
      Here on the forum you can share your experiences in a safe, supportive and accepting environment. The beauty of writing it all down is that you can take your time and you will be creating a record of your progress that you can look back on if it ever feels like you’re not moving forward. So, share as much or as little as you like but do try to stick to keeping just one thread in this forum so people know where to find you if they want to be updated on your progress or share something with you.
      As well as the forums New Members are invited to join Charles in the New Members Practical Advice Group On Mondays at 21:00 (UK) and Thursday at 19:00(UK)
      And on that note….
      I’m going to hand you over to our community because I’m sure they will have some words of wisdom for you 🙂
      Take care
      The Gambling Therapy Team

      PS: Let me just remind you to take a look at our privacy policy and terms and conditions so you know how it all works!

    • #76625
      hopelessdegen
      Participant

      Day 2: Was able to get out of bed and take my dog for a hike but unable to feel any joy. I don’t expect that to come back for a long time. It’ll take a solid year without a relapse just to get out of debt and start to find hope for any financial success.

      Just received an alert that one of the sports books I maxed out my credit cards on has issued a bonus of several thousand dollars to my account, with a big rollover. I could use the money but trying to meet the rollover likely gets me hooked and even deeper in debt.

      Thinking of asking a trusted friend to take over the account and withdraw anything left over after the rollover is met. Hoping for advice.

    • #76890
      hopelessdegen
      Participant

      Back to day 1. Decided to use the free play from my last losses. Turned 2500 into 12,000, lost it all, then lost another 5000. Money I don’t have. It’s now or never for me. Do or die time.

    • #76891
      velvet
      Moderator

      Hi H

      I am not going to call you Hopeless because I know that it is within your power to start a true recovery. Only you can make that true start but I know you can, or I wouldn’t be writing to you.

      Nobody here will be saying that the journey is easy, however, it is worth the fight and the joy you mentioned will be yours for the taking. Yesterday’s slip belongs in yesterday; there is no point in saying ‘what if’ or ‘if only’ because you can’t change yesterday but you can use the memory of that slip to work for you. Use it as a reference when you look back at the journal you are creating here.

      Have you spoken to a friend yet about taking over the account and closing it for you? Walk away from it now and let me know how you are progressing.

      Velvet

    • #76893
      hopelessdegen
      Participant

      Thanks for the note. I really appreciate it. I’ve had a friend close many of my accounts. I always seem to find a new one. I’ve even given a friend access to my bank account but as long as I have a credit card, it hasn’t stopped me.

      I tried going to the only GA meeting in town a couple times and nobody showed up either time. The only real success I’ve had is going to AA and applying their program for my problem.

    • #76912
      hopelessdegen
      Participant

      Day 2 – setting a short term goal here. If I can make it 90 days without a relapse, I’ll be free from debt. If I can make it through September, I’ll be able to reward myself with a vacation. Seems impossible at this point but for now my focus is on making it 90 days. One painstaking day at a time.

    • #76915
      pilotdad1980
      Participant

      I think people like us especially starting out should try just to get through a day and not focus on getting out of debt or anything long term. Just today, don’t gamble and try to do something purposeful and good.

    • #76917
      hopelessdegen
      Participant

      Thanks PilotDad, that’s good advice. I’ll focus on today.

    • #76918
      pilotdad1980
      Participant

      I am right there with you. Just today no gambling. Get a nice meal and be grateful we are still here. Many before us are not.

    • #76926
      Dark Energy
      Participant

      hi.
      I really don’t know what to say.
      i used to give some advice like, use road blockers, limit your access to the cash, use a web blocker …etc there is a lot of these tips here in this forum.
      and don’t get me wrong it works to a certain degree… for sure it can let you cross the 90 days target but to be gamble-free for the rest of my life I really still didn’t figure out the way to do it. the only thing I didn’t try is to expose myself to a family member and tell him about my issue and give him financial control..if you can try this it may be the solution.

    • #76927
      hopelessdegen
      Participant

      Thank you, darkenergy. I installed betblocker but it didn’t work bc my phone is an “unsupervised device”. I’m not tech savvy enough to figure out what that means. For now, I’m just coming here whenever I have the urge to go to a gambling site and following pilotdad’s advice to focus on today.

    • #76967
      hopelessdegen
      Participant

      Day 3 – I made it through day 2. Today has been a busy work day…good because it’s a healthy distraction but bad because my current state has me physically and emotionally drained.

      I found a virtual meeting last night at gamblersinrecovery.com. It felt good to share some of my story for the first time. I made a friend and we’re attending another meeting tonight. I think I can make it through tonight and that’s all that matters to me for right now.

    • #76976
      hopelessdegen
      Participant

      Day 4 – masters weekend/ufc fight night is a bad combo for me. Lots of triggers this weekend. My squirrel brain is telling me just to deposit 1000 and planning how to double up. Then that house money would distract me from my pain. Acting on those thoughts in the past have cost me everything I’ve ever had.

      Still taking it one day at a time. Sometimes a minute at a time. Looking for a good meeting to go to today.

    • #76978
      Badsportsbettor
      Participant

      Hello

      Your story resembles mine in the form of sports betting. It was what really sank me. I know this isn’t easy but I completed deleted any apps about sports so i didn’t even know what was going on pretty much. That was really hard for me because sports are one of my largest passions. That being said Just watching now for me is a trigger.

      Try and find something else you can do that is time consuming. Like for me I started playing sports again instead of watching them and that kills a lot of time. Hope any of this helps and stay strong!

Viewing 14 reply threads
  • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.