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Yippee Lisbeth ,
I am so impressed by your resourcefulness .
I’m not sure why , but the unsinkable Mrs Brown came into my mind when I read your last post .
Unsinkable Lizbeth – impossible to keep down- forever optimistic and resourceful .
GO YOU !

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I firmly believe it Monica – I believe everything in the bible because it is the Word of God – I am not so interested in the customs and opinions of various religions – but the bible doesn’t lie .

It is so much harder to go from a lot to such poverty. It is incredibly difficult and to be honest (I hope you don’t mind my saying this ), your journey has been a huge wake up call for me- Hearing about crimes and prison is not preventative for me – because like yourself I would rather hurt myself that others . Of course I am sure I have inadvertently hurt others through my gambling , but never made a conscious decision to steal.

Monica,- I appreciate it is easy for me to say – but this is a temporary situation . It has not been quite half a year – it might be the half year that changes the rest of your life – the half year that ensures the rest of your life is secure .

Gambling leads to isolation or perhaps isolation leads to gambling ?

I’m not sure – it’s impossible to be really open with people when we feel we must hide such a huge part of who we are ,- what we are. We have to hide our greatest struggle in life – and even if we are open about it others just don’t get it – there is more encouragement for people who are giving up smoking than those who simply cannot stop throwing their cash into a machine ! It just doesn’t make sense to most rational people .

I think perhaps (and yes I don’t really like GA) that trying a different group might be good – you will meet people who get it – maybe make friends instead of getting a sponsor – why not say that at a meeting – “I want friends to meet now and again for a coffee”. You are without doubt an interesting , learned lady – I would love if you lived nearby and we could meet for coffee – I would hang on to your every word..

I miss you in chat – I love the way you view the world – often when I read others’ posts I feel my thoughts and contribution are quite shallow – i like that you have deep insight but never in a boring or condescending way .

I feel the bright sunshine of spring will lift your spirits .
Regarding my reference to the bible – look at some of those in long term recovery – has God restored their lives? -absolutely- although many who wept to God when times were hard choose to credit themselves for the improvement in their life circumstances.
This also happened when Jesus walked the earth – you will remember many were healed but few returned to give Him thanks .

Good times will come again Monica – and you will never let them slip through your hands again .

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hi MS, as a Christian I think it might be worth your looking at churches which might help- some run support groups dedicated to gambling addiction.
Many do relapse- the difference between them and you is your honesty to your girlfriend .

I believe that beginners luck is Satan reeling us in– once we are hooked the losses start and we are led to some very dark places.

I would suggest you buy a gambling blocker for all your internet devices.
With regard to relapses – I try to think of Geordie’s take on that – relapses are not inevitable – they are a choice .

There also are groups like GA which you can join, but they seem to differ a lot from group to group .
Well done on stoppping, on starting a thread and mostly on your honesty .

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привет, М.С., как христианин, я думаю, что вам стоит взглянуть на церкви, которые могут помочь – некоторые из них организуют группы поддержки, посвященные зависимости от азартных игр. У многих случаются рецидивы – разница между ними и вами заключается в вашей честности по отношению к девушке. Я считаю, что удача новичков – это сатана, обманывающая нас – как только мы попадаем на крючок, начинаются потери, и мы попадаем в очень темные места. Я бы посоветовал вам купить блокировщик азартных игр для всех ваших интернет-устройств. Что касается рецидивов – я пытаюсь вспомнить точку зрения Джорди – рецидивы не являются неизбежными – они являются выбором. Также есть группы, такие как GA, к которым вы можете присоединиться, но они, похоже, сильно отличаются от группы к группе. Отличная работа по остановке, началу обсуждения и, в основном, вашей честности.

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HI Lizbeth,
You sound so happy despite your awful flu.
Being gamble free suits you- you have a very full life with your daughters and grandkids and if you feel your friend will encourage you back to gambling, then yes you may have to let her go . If it is a true friendship and not one based on your “shared interest” , she will meet you else where .
It might eve help her stop when she sees how you are moving on with your life
.
The sad thing about getting older is that we lose so many people who were important to us – but I guess they live on in our memories and our hearts – and as you are doing with your mum- the important thing is that we have done it best while there were here with us .

Well done on your sales – I often think how resourceful we can be – I think many of us could have built huge businesses if we hadn’t been afflicted with gambling addiction.

Get plenty of rest and look after yourself .

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Hi Tina
I am going to disagree with most people on here – but I don’t believe partners have to live in each other’s pocket.
I believe that we should keep our seperate interests and friends after we meet our partners… and you can go join him if you wish – that sounds fine to me .
I have always needed that kind of space . Some men don’t like all the psycho analysing we women do – I psycho analyse everything – my hubby kinda glazes over when I try discuss such things and somehow manages to watch football out of the corner of his eye .
You partner is with you because he want to be – it’s that simple.

I hope you get your financial plan sorted . If it’s a choice between letting your partner help you out and losing your house – pleAse let him help . You can pay him back – it’s not forever .

Tina , you say your partner is a practical person – the help he can give you may be practical but it is help jus t the same And his way of showing that he cares .

Sometimes in life it’s nice to just go with the flow- if his kind offer relieves some stress for you – that can only have a positive impact in your relationship.

I hope this helps – I just thought it might be useful to get an alternate opinion .

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Hi Laura
Thank you for your post on my thread .
I slightly over indulged on red wine last nite and feeling a little yuk, but heading out for brunch now so that should help.

Did you enjoy your night out? It is so easy to lose touch once we retire – we start off with the best of intentions to stay in touch and suddenly a year has gone by.its nice you made the effort for your friend.
You say about writing on the tablet – I honestly sometimes feel I am having a different conversation in chat because I cannot follow chat and type at the same time or even see what I type on my phone . So someone could deliver really bad news that someone has died and I reply with ” moving on – did any of you see xfactor last night”. It is difficult with the gambling blocker but I am not swapping my betfilter browser for a better chat experience . Lol!

Once someone got mad and said I don’t listen and logged out , but other than that most people understand that we have all have different levels of ICT literacy , varying internet connection strength etc . Your chat read fine to me – don’t worry .

I hope you have a lovely day today – I feel really happy – maybe it’s the wine in my system lol!

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Hi Monica ,
I think u probably need a broad spectrum supplement- I take Well Woman. If you take t consistently for a week I think it might increase your energy levels – I have no medical qualifications so perhaps others will disagree. Maybe your doc could prescribe something – like those drinks which give you everything you need -you definitely haven’t been eating enough nutritious food and those drinks are for people who are lacking nutrition for whatever reason .

I feel you are on the cusp of change –
I keep saying it but you are only a job away from getting your old life back – I know life is not that simplistic but I feel there is a new optimism in your post .

Monica , I hope GM goes really well.
It will be so good to get away and meet others who have been through the horror of gambling addiction .

A little sunshine everyday – even if it’s just five minutes will lift your spirits. Just take it as slowly as you need to.

Keep strong my friend – I do miss our chats !

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Hi Monica,
Will be in midnight chat if U about

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When u travel Laura. -we will have to meet up .
I have another few years to wait until son is grown but how cool would that be if a group of us spent our recovery on crazy trips – Australia , arctic , Japan … yeah being gamble free allows us to dream and follow those dreams through .
Arghhh , I wanna do it now – that old impatience fault ..
It was nice chatting to you in group tonight !

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Hi Jonnhy ,
Your lovely post on my thread made a difference today .
It lifted me .
I am so glad u came to chat – it was a busy group – shame there isn’t another now – the groups used to be much better – more frequent – but they changed – u never get long enough to chat when there is a big number anymore

I get that lack of self esteem Johnny – I think many of us have it – a feeling of not being good enough – or less than others.
Maybe a big win would make us equal ?
We all know how that one works out .

Keep strong – lets beat this horrible addiction .

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hi Micky ,
Just dropped by to wish you a happy new year !
Hope all is going well for you !

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Wow Monica ,
This horrible winter could be just a memory soon -If you feel healthy enough to take a on a job -that will be life changing for you – and going forward gamble free you will appreciate the value of money Ike never before .
Please God things wil work out for you Xx

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Hi Lizbeth ,
Flu seems to be getting much worse than in the past- everyone I know who has had flu has been wiped out it and it seems to last so long now .
I hope you are feeling much better – it is hard to do anything or enjoy anything when you feel unweLl- I hope baby gets on well at docs .

How lovely for you that your daughters are celebrating your grandsons birthday together . It will be a joy for you to have all your family together.

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Hi Laura,
I’ve never heard of laser for bruises – what a great idea.
A windfall that we don’t gamble is indeed a windfall.- when I think of all the gambling fantasies of how we will help others when our luck comes in – and we never help anyone because of course somehow we always lose it . Yet being gamble free means you can offer support to others. Gambling gave us nothing in life only heartache .it is a most generous and kind-hearted gesture to help a friend in the way you did.

Also it is a clear reminder that we don’t need gambling to experience a windfall.

I hold firm in the belief that God will restore everything that the locusts have eaten , that the devil has stolen.

Enjoy you windfall Laura and treat yourself also – you deserve it .

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