I see that Michelle has provided a link for you. When I said New Topic option was at the bottom left of the page, I should have said ‘bottom left of the Family and Friends page’, the page that lists all Family and Friends (F&F) posts – not the page where you are reading an individual post. Make sure you choose Friends and Family (and not F&F Topic). You can start a new thread and receive comments specifically for you.
It is indeed very stressful having a cg in your life, but I can assure you that people do learn better ways to live with this, whether or not their cg moves into a true recovery. Recovery is what we want for them, but the cg must be ready to make the right choices him/herself – that is the one thing we cannot do for the gambler. But we can do a lot for ourselves, in terms of looking after ourselves well, meeting our own real needs, taking the focus away from the other person, etc etc. This may all sound like ‘pie in the sky’ at the moment, but I recommend that you aim to give yourself some space and attention and, at your own pace, let things change for YOU. There is no miracle cure – for you or for him – but you can make genuine improvements in your own quality of life.
Tell us more and we can support more.
There is a live helpline available at certain times of day, if you wish to use that – see on the Home page of this site. There are also live support groups, where you can communicate in ‘real time’ with others, including a facilitator – these provide another useful way of learning and helping yourself.
Some groups are for F&F only, some for cgs and some for both. Click on Support Groups at the top of the page and find what times they are on and see if you can make it to any. Velvet runs groups for F&F and I have a mixed group at 20.00 hrs (UK time) on Weds nights (tonight). You will be made welcome at any of the groups; you may find the F&F particularly helpful.
Do start your own thread and I hope you will find the help you need.
Best wishes,
Monique