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  • in reply to: Phase II of my life #169123
    Don14765
    Participant

    Rising : congrats on your ongoing great sobriety !
    I am happy to hear that your family is helping you, if you have no money extra you cannot gamble ….

    You said you were going through some
    Temptations and
    Withdraws symptoms…
    If you don’t mind I wanted to ask you a question: do you think that at those times when you choose not to listen to those thoughts, not to listen to those ideas; are you basically saying “OK gambling, you got me, I surrender, I can never beat you and you will always win therefore I give up”???

    It is very hard
    To accept this kind of defeat, call it quits, quell the ego, and just accept the fact that if we go back to gambling, we are never going to succeed ….and it is much better to just surrender it…..?

    I have a hard time letting go, I have a hard time saying that “okay gambling, you win I can never win”

    Do you feel that essentially that is what you are saying -that you surrender?

    And there is nothing wrong with that!
    Any tools that help me/you / everyone
    To stop gambling
    Is quite ok ….
    Just thought that I would ask you from a different kind of perspective….

    in reply to: This addiction is killing me from inside. #169122
    Don14765
    Participant

    Housedd:
    Congratulations on burning yourself from 4 casinos:)
    I two, had to ban myself from my local casino…
    Someone told me something once about one year ago and I truly believe it he asked me “do you think that the casino is in business to make you rich?“

    Any slot machine technician will tell you that the machines are random and that there is no set time they will pay off? Although it’s funny how I put in $600 equal to about $450 of your euro dollars, and I don’t win? I think those machines are rigged to take your money for sure…

    Yes, it will take time for you to retrain your brain to not give into those thoughts, I was told by an old sponsor many years ago that you absolutely cannot stop the thoughts coming into your head…. but what you can do is choose to not listen to those thoughts and eventually it becomes easier to not obey those thoughts as time goes on….

    in reply to: newcomer here #168695
    Don14765
    Participant

    Hello Forum- I’ve been away for
    About 1 month….
    A member on here mentioned winning quite a bit…gambling off what was won…
    Last month I managed to win almost
    Everything I’ve lost
    This year….
    BUT!! This is exactly what I’m afraid of??
    Now I wanna win more 😯🙄??

    Isn’t it just a vicious circle….
    I mean…you win at gambling…
    You wanna keep on winning, if you lose you wanna gamble to make up your loss? Just seems the logical thing is to stop gambling? But I can’t help think when I won a month ago and

    what it would be like to win a little more to pay off my bills🤨??
    Am I perpetuating this vicious cycyle?
    I’d
    Like some of you folks
    At this forum
    To help me out with this ?
    Over the last
    5 years of gambling ,
    I’m still very much behind what
    I’ve
    Spent gambling 🤨

    in reply to: newcomer here #167040
    Don14765
    Participant

    DE: thanks for your helpful comment 🙂
    I really “hope” I’ve hit rock bottom …

    I don’t wanna go out and “bang my head more”
    As an old sponsor once sAid in a meeting
    A few years back when I was battling another addiction…
    Yes- it appears I’ve switched addictions and
    Now gambling is my most troublesome/prevalent…

    I would like to reach position 2 …
    Sometimes I find the urge to gamble so strong /powerful….
    Possibly because I have not given my brain enough time to be trained? Trained to always reject a gambling thought when it comes in my head,that is….

    I am good at game shows- guessing answers
    And a lot of the time I’m right…
    But when it comes
    To gambling – I’m terrible at predicting outcomes
    And have lost plenty of money ….
    That should help me switch to position 2…

    in reply to: Today is the day! #167039
    Don14765
    Participant

    Congrats on your 9th day of being gamble free!
    Keep up the good work

    in reply to: newcomer here #166997
    Don14765
    Participant

    Thank you Charles, for your response & help…!

    Part of me (probably a big part!)
    Would like to be able to
    Control and enjoy gambling….
    But like you say-
    If I could control the amount of money I spent on gambling then I wouldn’t be on this forum-you are right😀

    I guess I am probably trying to control the addiction?
    I just know there is a part of me that wants to try so hard to control and enjoy gambling, and spend a certain allotted amount of money, but then I always seem to overspend on gambling which should tell me there’s no control…

    As far as posting with some good sobriety news, I guess I just wanted to be a
    Positive inspiration for people on the forum here ….but then again I struggle so mightily while trying to get even a week of sobriety….

    I guess that’s why they say “one day at a time“ because we never know how we are going to feel the next day, I just know for a fact there are days that I don’t really need to gamble – and I could care less if I gamble, and then there other days where gambling has been on my mind every minute of every hour😩

    in reply to: Phase II of my life #166995
    Don14765
    Participant

    Rising :Congrats on being gamble free for
    1 yr! You are a leader/and I am
    Grateful that you showed all of us that
    We can build a gamble free life
    One day at a time …

    in reply to: newcomer here #166848
    Don14765
    Participant

    Thanks DE for your support and thinking of me!
    It’s been rough the last couple weeks- I am not going to lie to you, I keep trying, although in vain ;to control this addiction:(

    There is a little light of victory though, I am not playing the “big “lotteries anymore ..matching six or seven numbers is not really practical or feasible….

    I really want to be able to bet just on sports online, but I find I am constantly going over the money that I allot myself and I am certainly not winning a whole lot;

    I am behind; not even breaking even…
    I should learn from that?
    I feel I’m a very stubborn
    Person sometimes…

    Thank you for your support and I will try to post more often but I would like to post with some good sobriety news

    in reply to: 3rd And Final #166847
    Don14765
    Participant

    DE: I am glad to hear that you had Road blockers in place:)
    Also- you resisted the urges and that’s great – good way to stay gamble free…
    Also….
    You’ve not risked your money ….
    = no losses 😀
    I like to replay in my mind a quote from the movie that I saw:
    “You can’t lose what you don’t put in to gamble “

    I read some of your past posts in the last couple weeks, I’d like you to consider the fact that I keep trying to get sober and I keep falling off the wagon….
    I’ve never had 37 days of sobriety…
    You have ! Please be proud of that and
    Carry on- one day at a time gamble free!

    I am going over to my post to reply to your comments : thanks for reminding/thinking of me!

    in reply to: Phase II of my life #166185
    Don14765
    Participant

    Rising:yes! Your story and
    Gamble -free journey are very inspiring for sure !
    Keep
    Up the great work

    in reply to: New here #166184
    Don14765
    Participant

    Jvr: congrats on reaching a 10 month
    Plateau!

    in reply to: 3rd And Final #166182
    Don14765
    Participant

    DE: there’s a saying- I’m sure you’ve heard of it -“never quit quitting “
    I guess sometimes we fall..
    Then get back up and try again…
    And perhaps that’s the time it can all
    Come together for
    Us….
    I have also heard the term “progressive victory over our drug “
    In our case gambling is the drug of choice….

    But in all reality it does not matter what our drug is, we can get progressive victory over it …

    in reply to: 3rd And Final #165479
    Don14765
    Participant

    Dark Energy: I hope my support helps you…
    I mean well 😀
    And you’re right! I didn’t realize there was
    Urges as well as withdrawal symptoms
    The way you’ve
    Explained it makes perfect sense…!

    So- It’s the urges I deal with…
    I haven’t had enough sobriety yet
    To deal
    With withdrawal symptoms….
    I’d like some info
    On this “smart recovery handbook”

    I attended a couple GA meetingS
    In my area last year- nothing was mentioned
    About this handbook ….

    Anyway-I’m glad you’re back on track and thanks for proving sobriety can be done

    in reply to: Compulsive gambling with multiple relapse #165478
    Don14765
    Participant

    Lavend94: I’m happy to hear you’ve entered into Rehab-
    Sounds like it’s helping and that’s great!
    I had some gambling therapy a couple years back…and the counselor I was seeing recommended rehab for 2 weeks for me…

    I didn’t go- but might have been a good
    Idea….
    Anyway- congrats on your sobriety:)

    in reply to: 3rd And Final #165398
    Don14765
    Participant

    Dark: congrats on getting back on track!
    Are your withdrawal symptoms still
    Staying away?(hope so!)

    What might you do to NOT act on these symptoms IF they return?

    I am having a dickens of a time with these withdrawal symptoms…
    I get tired of hearing the voices in my head
    Always saying “it’s ok- you’ll only bet $4 or so dollars “
    Then,
    If I listen and obey those withdrawal symptoms, I always end up spending way more than I have intended to spend? Which tells me that is a symptom of the fact I cannot control my gambling 😞

    GLAD you have some sobriety behind you and
    Are able to not have withdrawal symptoms!

    I hope to have a small goal of even 1 week
    Of a gamble-free lifestyle…
    I know it’s one day at a time….
    But a small goal should be attainable…

Viewing 15 posts - 31 through 45 (of 132 total)