Hey there, 5 days is a good start.
It’s a good question you pose…I think it really depends on the individual. I myself have a fairly addictive personality, and I always need something to do to “stimulate” my mind or give me excitement unless I’ll get bored. Many things I do (whether it’s a hobby, a website, a game or another activity going to the gym) I usually get “too into” and find myself spending a bit too much time on it than I should. I become temporarily obsessed with that thing. So for me personally I do indeed move from one “addiction” to another.
However, that is not to say I cannot lived a balanced lifestyle. There have been occasions where I’ve also been able to live quite a mundane or balanced lifestyle as well. I think the highs of gambling are really unmatched by the buzz of almost everything else we do. That’s why when we suddenly try to stop after a long period of playing, it feels like we suddenly have all this excess time and we almost get “withdrawal” like symptoms from not feeling that sense of risk/excitement we’ve associated strongly with gambling. I definitely find that the longer I withhold from gambling, the less “bored” I become in my normal life as I slowly start to incorporate other routine activities/relaxation activities into my lifestyle. Definitely, I’ll still get the occasional moment when I feel like “damn I’m bored, placing a bet or even watching some people gamble right now would be quite fun/exciting”. But of course I know that’s all a trap, this “fun” will inevitably end in another nightmarish downward slope that I will not allow myself to get on again.
So my answer is, the itch to gamble becomes smaller and smaller the longer you stay gamble-free. If you can find another passion in another aspect of your life, this will also significantly shift your focus away from seeking temporary (and typically self-destructive) escapes during your normal life. But most importantly, remember that, even if gambling may ease your itch, in the long term it will cause you more psychological and physical harm than almost any other addiction. The temporary benefits are fleeting and you only remember the highs and wins because that’s your addiction trying to talk you back into it. Ultimately you know what the end result of gambling actually is ~ rock bottom in all aspects of your life.