I’ve commented on Allen Carr’s book on a couple of other threads. I’ve suffered from the same issue as you. I’m sure our financial details are different but I’ve spent the last 3 years losing a tremendous amount of my net worth, going in and out of debt. I have been beating myself up the last few weeks thinking just what the hell was I doing?
It’s amazing when you have a clear mind what you think of. December 31st 2014 was my last bet. I came home and finished Allen Carr’s book in a couple of days. My whole perspective on gambling has changed – I just feel like a @#$@ing idiot for it taking me this long to sink in.
Here is a new thought for you – you don’t need to bet to relieve stress, have fun, enjoy a win or any of that other crap we tell ourselves. That winning feeling we get when we win – that’s what normal non-gamblers feel all the time! Gambling is just our body’s way to try and get back to that mental state. Quitting by willpower alone will rarely ever work, you need to look at the whole thing in a new perspective – this is what the book explains and demonstrates. Once you realise the whole thing is a con, you can make the decision to stop now and never look back.
I have tried to stop 100’s of times, but this is the first time I can honestly say I have almost no urge to gamble and it’s all because my perspective on it has changed. The one or two times I had a small urge, it dissapeared within a minute by applying his principles.
Remember, you can’t move forward by stepping backwards. Focus on the now, move on from the past. Set yourself goals – family, spiritual, financial, career. Get some small wins, then get more audacious. I’m only 8 days in but I know that in my life, things will be so radically different in 12 months that all this hell I’ve been living in will one day be ancient history.