[Emma8]

Home from my holiday today and feeling full of positivity. It might be the sunshine and vitamin D that have me feeling good, but I’m going with it!

Coming back to the normal routine at home this week might be more of a challenge for me, but knowing that I already have 11 days gambling free under my belt is a strong start. 🙂

[Emma8]

Thank you so much for your comment!

One thing I can fortunately say, is that after digging myself into the debt hole a couple of years ago I no longer reach to further borrowing to support my gambling habit. Over the past year or so I have simply spent the funds available to me in my current account. Whilst this isn’t a positive, I have avoided making my debt worse at least.

Moving forward now, knowing that the money I have in my account is safe too as long as I remain gambling free, it feels really good.

I’m so glad that you feel happy. Often our mental health can have the biggest influence on our habits!

We can both continue on this road with happiness and motivation knowing that it is taking us to a much better place!

[Emma8]

Welcome to the forum!

If you haven’t already I would go ahead and set up all of your self exclusions and gambling stops to give yourself the best chance possible of stepping away from the addiction. Also, look at when you normally gamble. Do you sit on your phone whilst at home for example? If that’s a common habit, place your phone on the other side of the room to help prevent you from feeding the habit.

Recognising triggers will help too. If you know what encourages you to gamble you can remove those triggers wherever possible.

Wishing you all the best! Make sure to update your journal often.

[Emma8]

I’m on day six now of a third or fourth try at stopping gambling and figuring out triggers is really important to me now.

Clearly we all have things that draw us in, which can be recognised on the surface, but I think it’s also important to dig deeper and see if we can discover anything else. 

Its hard to fathom why you’d ever want to take part in such a terrible activity when it can be so harmful, isn’t it? 

I hope you’re able to make progress every day and move forward in your life without gambling, I’m cheering you on!

[Emma8]

I’m incredibly lucky to be on holiday with my family right now. Thanks to their company, I’ve honestly not thought about gambling once.

I’m now on day 6 and ready to celebrate my first week tomorrow. Going gambling free feels different this time. I’ve noticed that my focus is far more towards the future, instead of looking back at what I’ve had and what I might be missing out on. That in itself is progress!

Of course, one day at a time is the best way to look at this!

[Emma8]

To anyone who doesn’t gamble this will make very little sense, but I know you guys understand.

This morning I looked at my bank balance and it is the same as it was this time yesterday. THE SAME!

Normally that number would disappear down down down in £10 increments over the day until I either pull myself out of the gambling ditch or hit £0.

The impact of just two days gambling free is tiny in some ways and huge in others. This small thing really does give me a massive boost of encouragement.

To help me out, I’m also doing some budgeting work. Helping my finances should definitely support my recovery.

Oh I feel good today, thanks for always reading and supporting guys!

[Emma8]

Als mijn wiskunde klopt, ben je nu op dag 6? Maak je klaar om morgen week één te vieren!! Wat een gevoel krijg je als je weet dat je zo lang hebt kunnen gaan zonder je geld weg te gooien. Ik vraag me af of je al financiële voordelen merkt? Voor mij is het heel bemoedigend om twee dagen achter elkaar hetzelfde saldo op mijn bankrekening te hebben. Dat zou voor sommigen waarschijnlijk belachelijk klinken, maar ik ben er zo aan gewend om het in stappen van £ 10 te zien verdwijnen. Wat een verschil maakt dat!

[Emma8]

If my maths is right, you’re on day 6 now? Get ready to celebrate week one tomorrow!! What a feeling you’ll get knowing that you’ve been able to go that long without throwing your money away.

I wonder if you’re noticing any financial benefits yet? For me, having the same balance in my bank account two days in a row is really encouraging. That would probably sound ridiculous to some, but I’m so used to seeing it disappear in £10 increments. What a difference that makes!

[Emma8]

Ако математиката ми е правилна, сега сте на 6 ден? Пригответе се да отпразнувате първата седмица утре !! Какво чувство ще изпитате, като знаете, че сте успели да изкарате толкова дълго, без да изхвърлите парите си. Чудя се дали още не забелязвате финансови ползи? За мен едно и също салдо в банковата ми сметка два поредни дни е наистина обнадеждаващо. Вероятно това би звучало смешно за някои, но съм толкова свикнал да виждам как изчезва на стъпки от 10 паунда. Каква разлика прави това!

[Emma8]

Αν τα μαθηματικά μου είναι σωστά, είσαι στην 6η μέρα τώρα; Ετοιμαστείτε να γιορτάσετε την πρώτη εβδομάδα αύριο !! Τι συναίσθημα θα αποκτήσετε γνωρίζοντας ότι έχετε καταφέρει να περάσετε τόσο πολύ χωρίς να πετάξετε τα χρήματά σας. Αναρωτιέμαι αν παρατηρείτε ακόμη οικονομικά οφέλη; Για μένα, το να έχω το ίδιο υπόλοιπο στον τραπεζικό μου λογαριασμό δύο ημέρες στη σειρά είναι πραγματικά ενθαρρυντικό. Πιθανότατα σε κάποιους θα φαινόταν γελοίο, αλλά έχω συνηθίσει να το βλέπω να εξαφανίζεται σε βήματα των 10 λιρών. Τι διαφορά κάνει!

[Emma8]

Если моя математика верна, у вас сейчас шестой день? Будьте готовы отпраздновать завтра первую неделю !! Какое чувство вы испытаете, зная, что вы смогли продержаться так долго, не выбрасывая деньги. Интересно, замечаете ли вы еще какие-либо финансовые выгоды? Для меня то, что на моем банковском счете два дня подряд один и тот же баланс, действительно обнадеживает. Некоторым это, вероятно, покажется смешным, но я так привык видеть, как оно исчезает с шагом в 10 фунтов стерлингов. Какая разница!

[Emma8]

Si mes calculs sont bons, tu es au jour 6 maintenant ? Préparez-vous à célébrer la première semaine demain !! Quel sentiment vous aurez en sachant que vous avez pu tenir aussi longtemps sans gaspiller votre argent. Je me demande si vous remarquez encore des avantages financiers ? Pour moi, avoir le même solde sur mon compte bancaire deux jours de suite est vraiment encourageant. Cela semblerait probablement ridicule pour certains, mais je suis tellement habitué à le voir disparaître par incréments de 10 £. Quelle différence ça fait!

[Emma8]

It sounds like you are stuck in a very negative mindset when it comes to money, which I totally understand.

Now that you have stepped away from gambling you need to step away from your way of thinking about your finances too.

Dwelling on a huge loss won’t help you. But looking at what you might spend that money on instead could. Perhaps a more permanent savings account, such as a pension is more suited. Or an ISA which you can’t withdraw from easily? Help your future self out while you figure out what’s going on with you in the present.

[Emma8]

This evening I realised that I still had access to an online casino. I went onto the website, stared at the deposit button for a few seconds and then headed straight towards the self exclusion section. No access for five years, done.

This evening, instead of staring at my phone I am going to step away and do some meditation and stretches instead. I won’t go to bed having spent £50 and feeling regret, I’ll go to bed having looked after my mind and my body. Just the thought of it already has me feeling better!

[Emma8]

Thank you Steev, this really helps!

Something I have learned in recent months is to dig a bit deeper and I definitely intend to meditate on my habits every day during my recovery. Boredom for me, on the surface, is often laziness around finding something stimulating to do when I have down time.

I, and I imagine many others, rely so much on technology these days to entertain me in one way or another that I struggle to stay away from it. 

There is definitely so much more to gambling than the habit itself isn’t there. And there is so much more stopping it than avoiding casinos!

Ah I love a good reflection!

[Author]

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