I didn’t just switch off like that. It took me many years to stay stopped. I did manage about 3 or 4 years at one point and then went back to it (under stress) but each time I “slipped” the damage was a little less.
The first thing I did was to tell people. I told a friend (who then pulled me out of an arcade later) and I told a counsellor who suggested GA. I then decided to put as much effort into my recovery as I had into my gambling – which was a lot. I went to as many GA meetings as I could fit into a week, I carried on with the counselling and I made sure that I didn’t have time to gamble by taking courses at weekends – my most “difficult” time. Possibly having someone alongside me, supporting me may have made things easier? Who knows – I wasn’t in a relationship when I decided to stop – and I didn’t gamble when in the relationships I had after making that decision.
So – tell people, get support, use your time more constructively and get support around your finances – AND if you can – bar yourself from places where you gamble.
I hope this works for you and you can keep gamble free.