Hey Bije, welcome.
With the insight that you possess, I sincerely hope you don’t limit your posting. Reading your post is like listening to my own thoughts.
I used to regard people who didn’t have the strength to quit as weak victims. I dismissed enitrely the notion that addiction doesn’t only work in overt and obvious fashion, but that it also works in misleading, vague and subtle venues; that when I feel cured, I’m at our most vulnerable, as are we all. I’m no different, regardless of my inflated ego.
I needed to be deafeated by gambling multiple times in a multitude of circumstances in order to recoginize the obviousness of my addiction. Simply no one can lie more convincely to me than myself. I simply didn’t believe I was addicted.
So, how do we accept this new depriving reality of commonplace once the bitter sting of a recent gambling losss has faded into virtual nothingness? What fills the void we have been afforded?
I have to believe and trust in the notion that it does get better given time and I thank you for your validation.