[G Rec]

Days Since Last Betting: 1

Yesterday was a bad day for me with a huge slip in the space of 24 hours, I lost all of my wages and managed to borrow some money to lose more.

I am feeling very disappointed in myself, but I have been trying to put in as much work as I can to try and start moving back in a positive direction. My in progress and plans for positive steps so far include

• Created a finiancial inventory + a six month payments plan that will get me back debt free and with some savings
• Increased Journal posts
• Start tracking days since having last gambled, this is not something I have done in the past specifically but others have recommended it as an added motivation to stay gambel free as you don’t want to see the number reset to 0
• Closed betting accounts
• Attend More meeting
• Start looking more at the 12 steps program and incorporating
• Added barriers to prevent the access to funds on pay day</ii>
• Create a timetable for each day to try and add more structure and limit having time where there is nothing to do

I also attended the topic group on here last night which was a big help. The group was kind and allowed me some time at the start to explain my recent slip and provide advice before the topic began which was very helpful, and then the topic itself was also constructive.

The topic was on Positive Self Talk. Some of the key takeaways for me were

• Try and rephrase things we say about ourselves in a more positive and constructive light. For example, rather than saying ” “I am such an idiot for betting, I have made such stupid mistakes: instead say “I acknowledge that I have made mistakes in the past but I am working hard to make sure I don’t make the same mistakes again, and to amend where possible for any pain those mistakes caused others”
• When speaking with partners or friends about mistakes made, try and use a similar approach along the lines of “yes you are right, I did XYZ but I can’t change that, now I am doing ABC, is there anything else you think we can be doing”
• Accepting positives and praise from others is important
• Try and replace guilt/shame/embarrassment with pride in having to face a tough decision