Hawkman, put any message in your head that works to tell you to stop. The road to recovery is different for each one of us, and as @kin has alluded to, perhaps it is best to start by excluding yourself from the casino so that the temptation is not there. Where I live, if you self exclude from the casino then you are banned from being on its premises for any reason and if caught can be arrested for trespass. I know that I certainly don’t want to have to call into work arrested one day so it keeps me away. The biggest part of the battle when you are an addict is saying no in the presence of temptation so why make it harder on yourself? Have yourself banned from the casino and the temptation dissipates easier in the short run, which is the toughest to work through. I am banned from everything land based in my area and although I do have gamban on most of my devices, I can still play on a laptop in my house. The key to not gambling for me is that I had gamban on all devices during the rough patch, the first month, so that I could try to get the bug out of my brain. It has worked for me. That, and being busy all of the time so that I seldom have the “down time” that gets my mind wanting to go back to old habits. We each have what will work for us. Find out what works for you and stick to it. I don’t count the days because then it is keeping relapses and gambling in my head. I dont even think about it anymore until I hit this site, and then the support and posts keep it in check. Keep a diary, a daytimer, see a counselor go to groups. Do whatever keeps recovery working for you, but keep on mind that your mind will not always be cooperating with you so some of the decisions will make you a bit uncomfortable. Fight the discomfort and do what you must to stop yourself any way you can. Have a good, gamble free day today.
