[Rhahor]

Where shall I begin from?
Which information do I omit?
Am on a journey to be free from the addiction I got myself into,there are reasons I started gambling(good and bad). At first it was lucrative, very lucrative. I started in my high school days, so getting some little extra cash for school wasnt so bad until now. Am now working, but it seems am working for the gambling site because all I earn I give to them. This has gotten me into so much debt where I had started considering suicide as the only option out. Am on a journey to get free.

[dunc]

Hello and thanks for starting a thread in the Gambling Therapy forums

Here at Gambling Therapy we pride ourselves on being a caring and diverse online community who can help and support you with the difficulties you’re currently facing. We understand that this might be a tough time for you, particularly if you’re new to recovery, so come here as often as you need to and participate in the forums, access online groups and connect to the live advice helpline if you need one to one support. We’re in this together!

Here on the forum you can share your experiences in a safe, supportive and accepting environment. The beauty of writing it all down is that you can take your time and you will be creating a record of your progress that you can look back on if it ever feels like you’re not moving forward. So, share as much or as little as you like but do try to stick to keeping just one thread in this forum so people know where to find you if they want to be updated on your progress or share something with you.

As well as the forums New Members are invited to join Charles in the New Members Practical Advice Group On Mondays at 21:00 (UK) and Thursday at 19:00(UK)

And on that note….

I’m going to hand you over to our community because I’m sure they will have some words of wisdom for you 🙂

Take care

The Gambling Therapy Team

PS: Let me just remind you to take a look at our privacy policy and terms and conditions so you know how it all works!

[Meghna83]

Hello R, You don’t have to omit any of it but rather share your story honestly. Please seek some counselling if you are having suicidal thoughts. Today may seem bleak but it won’t last. Things will only get better for you when you decide to stop gambling. You haven’t lost your life , money doesn’t matter when you are still living and breathing.

Have faith

[Steev]

If you are having suicidal thoughts – then please phone a help-line in your country or area dealing with this – you may find a link here https://www.befrienders.org/

It is up to you what you want to share with others here. We are all compulsive gamblers’ in recovery and so we will have some understanding of what you are going through. The more detail you provide, the more advice we might be able to give – although I am sure if you read around the site and the posts in the forum, you can see what actions you need to take.

They are ban yourself from places where you gamble, get someone else to handle your finances (if possible) don’t carry more money than you need, find other non-gambling ways to spend free time and get as much help and support especially in your local area as you can. I wish you well.

[portnoy58]

I can understand why your inability to control your gambling might make you feel suicidal. Where gambling has brought you is, as I recall from my own experience, a truly lonely place – death can seem attractive compared to some of the other options ahead of you such as continuing to gamble and risking jail or the asylum.

You could also treat this journey as resulting from the gift of desperation. It’s doubtful whether you would be here seeking advice if you weren’t truly desperate. It’s my own personal experience that people like you and I need to experience absolute desperation before we can take any action to try to stop the process of total disintegration that accompanies compulsive gambling.

Please get to one of the various support groups that exist to help compulsive gamblers. I used Gamblers Anonymous and it’s a simple matter of walking in – no paperwork needed. You can find where your nearest meeting is online or by phoning their help line. Just go as an act if faith and of belief in yourself. Go with an open mind and the belief that you are worth a few hours of this support.

I found it a huge relief to meet my fellow travellers who understood what it is like to blow all your money, to steal from others, to borrow without any intention of repaying, to switch off from life in order to gamble. These guys talked about it including the guy who talked about his self-loathing about ‘taking’ money from his dead mother’s purse while she lay dead in her bed. As a class of people there is little we compulsive gamblers won’t stoop to in order to fund our addiction.

On the bright side, some sixteen years since my last gamble, I completed a two year employment contract today and got a two month completion bonus, a fresh two year contract starting from next month with a signing on bonus and a range of great benefits – return flights to the UK for my wife and two kids that I never had when I first showed at GA, health insurance, free schooling etc. My new boss told me she liked my ‘can do’ attitude!

I say this to assure you that there is hope for you and that I know of one certainty: your life will not get any worse if you don’t gamble.

You are not alone. Get to that meeting!

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