[charles]

Hi Stuart and welcoem to the Forum. i see you are already getting some good advice and suggestions.

Your ost start “Well here we go again….” So, what can you do differently this time? Self exclusion? 100% accountability as Harry suggestsd? GA meetings? Something else?

Keep posting and let us know the positive steps you are taking.

[charles]

Maybe I should add that if we continue to work recovery then we continue to get better every day 🙂

[charles]

Hello Michael and welcome to the forum.. It sounds like you are already using some of the tools that staying in Gordon House will have given you, well done. Keep posting and i look forward to hearing about your progress in recovery.

[charles]

Nice one Bonkers. I had lots dreams when I was gambling, The difference in recovery is we can expect some of them to come true. 🙂 It sounds like some of yours certainly are, well done.

[charles]

Good post Fox. The interesting things about accepting that we are powerless over gambling is that when we do that it gives us the ability to gain so much more power over everything else that we do in our lives.

[charles]

Hi Berber,

I think we have spoken before occasionally in the Community groups. If not then I will introduce myself now; I am a Compulsive gambler myself in recovery.

Looking at your thread I can see that you are already getting good advice and Velvet is supporting you, in the same way she does many others of course.

I see your husband is nearly 10 months gamble free, that’s good. As the one year milestone approaches though that can cause a bit of stress, it’s a massive thing. When he reaches it it’s important he keeps doing the things that have been working, getting to GA meetings or whatever. We all use support when we want to stop, it’s important to keep using support to stay stopped/maintain recovery. At GA I often see people hit their first year, or another milestone, and think they have “cracked it” – it’s usually a mistake. Maybe get him to connect to one of the Gamblers Groups here, he can talk to other people in his own position.

The best think I read on your thread though is that you are focussing on yourself, getting counselling and recognising things you yourself can work on, well done.

Keep posting and keep focussing on you.

[charles]

My biggest tip would be to not stick our head in the sand, it never helps and ignoring things just makes them worse.

Only carry the cash you need on a daily basis. That of course is a good barrier against gambling but it also helps save money. It stops us making impulse buys that we later regret. It also stops us buying extra snacks, chocolates, wine on the way home etc – In fact the “no cash diet” is probably as least as good as any slimming plan out there 😉

Then when we have stopped gambling, battle inertia. How long have we been with our utility supplier? How long have whatever savings we have been in that account earning next to no interest? What better deals are out there?

For those with debts there is a lot of help out there as well, much of it free, if we can’t get things to a manageable position ourselves then use that help.

Good idea for a thread.

[charles]

Hi sad, sorry to worry you!

Yes it’s important to see the success stories – there are many in the forum and if you go to GA no doubt you hear more there as well.

It’s important to maintain our focus on our own recovery though. I can’t remember who but a long time ago someone said to me “No heroes.” It’s important, if we hold someone up as a hero then what does it do to our own recovery if they gamble? I know I have respect here, I know I have respect at the GA meetings I go to.

I don’t have a problem with that but I’ve also seen the flip side
of that. If we hold up someone as “a hero” then where does that put us if they gamble, it can really knock our own recovery. I’ve seen it happen. If someone realises that they are in some way “lauded” then if they are struggling or having a bad day it makes it harder for them to talk about it, if they slip it makes it harder to come clean. I’ve seen that as well.

The topic group today was on Hope, it’s an important topic and seeing the success stories is a big part of it. Hope was the biggest thing I got from my first GA meeting as i looked around the room and into the eyes of Compulsive Gamblers who were no longer gambling.

So whilst it helps to see the success stories, it helps to see the things that work for others and, if possible, apply them to our own situation, it’s important to stay focussed. That way we don’t let anything or anyone elses actions harm our own recovery.

[charles]

No Problem, see you Monday.

[charles]

Hello Tom_John and welcome to the site.

The are a lot of options around when it comes to sorting out debts; from bankruptcy to repayment options and lots in between. It’s important to get proper advice and there are a lot of free places to get that help. maybe connect to the Helpline here to get some links or click on “Resources” and take a look yourself.

What ever you sort out with the finances though it’s important to address your gambling problem, other wise of course any debt solution will only be short lived.

You say you “….have the gambling completely under control….”?

What do you mean by “control”? Have you stopped gambling? Are you using any support to help you stop gambling?

If/when you get your finances sorted what’s going to stop you returning to gambling?

Keep posting and maybe tell us a little more about your situation. You might also want to start a thread in teh “My Journal Forum and tell us how you are getting on.

keep posting.

[charles]

Hi Razzabelle, good to see you posting.

You are right, there are many cases of this sort of thing happening but it’s important not to get distracted. The important thing here is your recovery.

“…I haven’t been posting much because I really have not been actively gambling …”

Maybe learn from that. When we don’t have the funds or the opportunity to gamble is usually the time we should be posting, the time we should put things in place. That way when we do get the money/opportunity we have the support/barriers that will make us less likely to place that next bet.

It sounds like you are in that position again right now? No money so can’t gamble? Ok so what are you going to do in this window of opportunity? How about getting yourself banned from that casino? Finding a GA meeting? Placing other barriers in place so that next time you have money you are les likely to gamble?

It’s important to use help to stop gambling, it’s equally important to keep using support to maintain recovery. Keep posting and let us knmow the positive steps you are taking?

[charles]

<

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.

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!

[charles]

Hi Jmeff and welcome.

The forum may be a little quieter over the holidays. You might find you get more responses if you post in the Journal Forum as well, that tends to be the busier Forum.

I will give you my own opinions on the questions you have asked.

1. You go to the places that can give you support. Coming here is a good start, there are many forms of support out there these days though so check out some of the others as well. My own recovery centres around Gamblers Anonymous so I’d suggest getign to a meeting if you have one in your area. There are also other online sites, counselling etc

2. In my opinion if we could do it on our own then we wouldn’t have a problem in the first place. It’s not often that coming here, getting to GA or finding support is a gamblers first option. We all tend to try it on our own first,trying to control our gambing, only gambling certain amounts or for a certain length of time etc – again it didn’t work or we wouldn’t be here.

3. Yes it does get easier, I rarely think about gambling these days. It’s not just down to the time since our last bet though; the more we work recovery, address some of the traits that gambling gives us, find other ways to fill our time etc the easier it becomes.

4. We are all different. What hobbies/interests have you had in the past? Things you enjoyed before gambling took over? What have you always fancied trying but never got around to?

Keep posting, maybe in the Journal Forum, and keep reading too. You will see a lot of stories similar to your own. You will also see the success stories – what are they doing that you could apply to your own situation?

Take things a day at a time and I look forward to reading your progress.

[charles]

<

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.

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!

[charles]

Hi Steve and welcome,
I’m sure you will already be finding a lot of stories similar to your own on the other threads here. You will also be reading the success stories – what are they doing that you can apply to your own situation? What barriers can you put in place? A gambling blocker on your PC would be a good start, how about doing that? keep posting and let us know what positive steps you are taking.

Now, i see a lot of other new members have made their first posts here as well:

cantgetright ,tarala, Iamwillingtochange, bogdan12, gamblingsucks , hopeforbetter , committedtoquit, alwaysthefish, revolutioninlife and anyone else I’ve missed!
Welcome to the site as well of course. If you all post your stories here on the same thread though then it’s going to get very confusing and hard to follow. Confusing and hard to follow will mean that things will get lost, people will find it too hard to follow which might put them off posting and support and advice will get lost. That’s not good for either Steve or yourselves.

Please fell free to contiinue to contribute to Steve’s thread but i would strongly suggest you post your own stories seperately. Click on the My Journal forum, scroll donw and then click on new Topic. You could just copy and paste what you have written here then both yourselves and Steve will get the support and feedback that this forum has to offer.

I look forward to reading all of your stroeis and seeing your progress in recovery.

[Author]

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