To reply in the best way I can to your analogy of the child pulling on your pant leg is to say that,as a parent, we all know that if you give in to a child pestering they will never stop. The general rule is that you must learn to ignore them,in the short run, and the will stop, eventually, because they know it wont work for them. Same goes for addiction. You have to hold out so that the patterns that have been mapped out in your brain have a chance to change. It sounds impossible but it works. I have had a few relapses in the past months, but for the most part, I’ve gone from struggling to make it 7 days to easily having no problem going 30 without even thinking about taking the risk of trying again. The urge, the need, is just not the same anymore. When I think about it, the excitement attached to the act has changed for me and I dont feel the need to gamble to get dopamine released. You need to do whatever you can to break the patterns. I was an online gambler so I got gamban on my devices. Find whatever you can to put in place a distraction, for the time being, and then work on your issues once the child at your pant leg has stopped pulling quite as hard. Have a good day today and I hope you are gamble free
