[goingtoenjoymylife]

I am in my later 30s and gambling has effected my life severely. I gambled compulsively from about age 19-23 and lost well over 10 thousand dollars.
How much exactly I do not know. Maybe as much as 25 or 30 thousand. I did not keep track.

I was able to stop by my mid 20s and did not gamble at all for about 10 years. I began gambling again a few years ago as I was bored.
I’ve lost over 3 thousand since the beginning of this year and it is a terrible feeling.

The good news is I have not depleted myself financially completely.
I am going to focus on enjoying my life as my user name indicates.

[charles]

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!

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

[charles]

Hi and well done n starting your thread here. First of all my apologies, I don’t know what the problem was but it really shouldn’t have taken so long for your post to appear in the forum.

The good news is that you know you can stop, well done on your previous gamble free period. As you have found, there is no return to controlled gambling however long we may have been free from it, the addiction soon reappears.

You returned to gambling when you got bored? Ok, learn form that, fill your gamb le fre time. Find other interests and a variety of them.

You stopped before, this time keep using support and you can be stronger still. Keep posting.

[goingtoenjoymylife]

Hello,

Thank-you for your response.
Yes, I know that I have the ability to stop. I’ve lost about 20% of my entire net worth this year and that’s largely due to gambling.
My game of choice was poker. I consider myself to be an ok player (above average) at the lower stakes.
I would play tournaments. Most recently I accumulated about 4 hundred total between March 1 and 6. Most of which I’d sent back to my bank account.
Then however after a minor loss I tried to quickly recoup it. That didn’t turn out right and I tried to recoup that, playing higher limits than I should have.

In about an hour I’d lost all of my winnings from 6 days and and additional 400 dollars or so.
If I’d gone to sleep last Sunday night and simply appreciated what I had, it’s possible I would still be playing and would not be on this forum.

In any event, as a result of this recent gambling spree I decided to completely close my poker account and ban myself from the service.
I’d never done this before but felt it was something I should do to prevent myself from trying to play.

While I don’t mind poker, ultimately the game is boring – there’s a lot of waiting around. I have no ambitions to be a professional player.
I would only play because I felt a need to generate some income.. and as I said due to boredom – as a way to fill my time.

I haven’t played now since Sunday night and don’t feel any ill effects. Financially, while I’d like to be better, I am also not in a terrible spot.

I am generally optimistic about my future.
Gambling has had a negative effect on my life but despite this I try to remain an optimistic person. What choice do we have after all? We choose happiness or we can accept depression. I’ve dealt with depression and it’s unpleasant. So I choose happiness!

Finally I will add that I also felt guilty while enjoying the luxuries of western society and watching on television the effects of Putin’s war in Ukraine.

I made a small donation to the Ukrainian Red Cross after banning myself from the poker site. It’s interesting to reflect on my actions: I fully supported the Ukrainians in my heart.. yet it was only after a significant financial loss to myself I decided to assist them – albeit in a small way.

[Author]

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