Dear Caroline
In the middle of the confusion that is going on around you, how are you doing?
I cannot tell you what to do because I know how difficult it is to withhold money, etc from someone who is menacing. It is easy to say do this or don’t do that but in practise it is so much harder and when the manipulation is too great we don’t necessarily get it right – which is why looking after you is more important than anything else.
It is easy to become a detective in your own home and it is not a feeling that sits well with F&F. However trying to second guess what your CG is doing all the time is very wearing and achieves nothing. He will carry on in his own sweet way until he has had enough. Allowing a CG to fall is really hard but it is a whole lot easier when ‘you’ are strong.
I really hope you will get round to telling a friend. You do need support. I know that those who have not lived with the addiction to gamble cannot understand what is going on in your life but they can support you. You can get all the information you want here so you are not asking for opinions, just support for you and that is what a friend should want to give. Perhaps you could take a deep breath and say ‘Charlie is a compulsive gambler’ and leave it up to her to ask questions if she wishes or just give you a hug. Maybe she will not want to talk about it and you can change the subject but if she wants to support you then you have a true friend to turn to.
Speak soon
Velvet
