[thegamblersgauntlet]

Hi everyone. I am on my second and hopefully final relapse in compulsive gambling. It started in college when I played online poker. I lost what a college student would consider a lot of money. Lied to my parents for about a year, and finally came clean to them. They were upset and angry but still extremely supportive. Fast forward 4 years, I start playing online blackjack. This eventually spirals out of control until I am almost out of money. I come clean to my parents again, they are frustrated, angry, sad, upset, you name it. I tell them I need help so I immediately start GA.

GA is a great resource. Unfortunately, I didn’t take it seriously enough during my first relapse. I thought I was cured after a few months and stopped going. Fast forward 10 years to last year. I am now married with two kids. During this 10 year period, I didn’t do any “binge” gambling. I bought the occasional lottery ticket, did some fantasy football, and office pools, but not binging. In hindsight this led to my second major relapse. When sports betting was legalized in my state, I started out slow, thinking I had the strategy to win this time. Of course the compulsive gambler never wins in the long run. My wife eventually got wind of it, and I had to come clean to her and my parents and her parents. I created a mountain of debt for us. I’m not sure she will ever forgive me, but so far she hasn’t divorced me and is being as supportive as she can.

So what’s changed this time:

1) I started therapy
2) I go to GA meetings ever week (I take them seriously and am genuinely excited to go!)
3) My mindset. I know I can bever be “cured”, but I can recover and overcome. I need to work on this daily and can’t ever even enter a pool or buy a lottery ticket
4) I started writing. Never thought of myself as a writer, but journaling and blogging has helped me so much

• This topic was modified 2 years, 6 months ago by Dunc.
• This topic was modified 2 years, 6 months ago by Dunc.

[Dunc]

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!

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