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Hi WWIS
Yes this is a disease, and is recognised as such. Like many diseases however, with the correct treatment it can be can be controlled.
Joining this site Is step one of your treatment – there will be good days and bad – it is a difficult addiction to overcome, but people do it everyday.
Countless times I have come back to write about a slip along the way, but once I found what worked for me, it changed my life.
Keep strong and keep trying – you will get there. I hope you get there a lot quicker than I did! We all deserve a life free from this .we may regret time and money spent on gaming Monica, but if it doesnt destroy our lives I guess it’s not an addiction.
Having said that I’m sure gaming is an addiction for many people and gambling can be enjoyed without addiction for many others.
Perhaps it comes down to the individual response to the activity?
This is from the American psychiatric association. If you answer yes to four, you have a diagnosis of gambling addiction. I think replacing the word gamble with the new activity would be on way to answer this question. I guess though with most replacement activities you don’t spend a lot of money.
“Need to gamble with increasing amount of money to achieve the desired excitement
Restless or irritable when trying to cut down or stop gambling
Repeated unsuccessful efforts to control, cut back on or stop gambling
Frequent thoughts about gambling (such as reliving past
gambling experiences, planning the next gambling venture, thinking of ways to get money to gamble)Often gambling when feeling distressed
After losing money gambling, often returning to get even (referred to as “chasing” one’s losses)
Lying to conceal gambling activity
Jeopardizing or losing a significant relationship, job or educational/career opportunity because of gambling
Relying on others to help with money problems caused by gambling”
Conway
It was so nice to meet you in chat today .
You will fight this demon – because it is just that – it seeks to destroy us.
You are sending this demon a strong message by taking action against it .
You have started a thread , you are reaching out for help and you are going to beat this.
I look forward to reading what your next steps will be .Onwards and upwards !
Hi Steev
As a person with gambling addiction I find I always used to look out for new ways to gamble – eg, metal detector on beach, hitting the jackpot on eBay, finding a meteor, finding a valuable necklace or dish by chance in a charity shop or car boot sale.
When I was on the residential we were told to avoid auction sites or anywhere else where we could get a win– not forever but for a while .Since lockdown however I have bought a few things – I think my brain has changed so much though because I now enter my top bid and forget about it completely- only realising i have “won” the item when I open my emails the next day. In the past I would watch the countdown until the sale ended and try sneak in a last minute bet – sorry I mean bid!
I think we all know what gambling is for ourselves – if we find ourselves thinking about the chase, getting too caught up in the selling or buying, unable to switch off from it – we know then that we have replaced one type of gambling for another.
My tuppence worth is that in early recovery we should avoid anything which gives us the buzz that gambling does. We are talking about brain plasticity – we want our brains to change – we do not want to reinforce those gambling pathways. We also were told to avoid video games- I followed advice to the letter and I really think my brain has changed.
There are different type of buzz which will not reinforce the gambling connections in our brains – exercise, painting, decorating, sewing – many of the “old fashioned” hobbies if you like .
I’m not saying I’m right by the way – I am just describing how I view my own recovery . When I have thoughts about finding a valuable treasure in my garden (yes I do this too) I remind myself that I don’t need to find a valuable ring – I have enough! I challenge all thoughts that may be even slightly coming from the addiction which lives in my brain!
So Steev you have given me plenty of food for thought and opened a very interesting debate .
Spent all day in my greenhouse.
yes I love gardening as much as I did in childhood. I found myself cast back to our little back garden where I grew our first successful tomato plant – I had taken a tomato from the kitchen – eaten half and Planted half lol. There was no compost back then – it was plain soil or clay as we called it… and a bit of “organic” manure donated by a local farmer.
Its the loveliest feeling – watching your own “crops“ grow. It is complete freedom as I potter about with shovels of compost, seedlings, designs and dreams.
I could become obsessed – I could be joining the generations of gardening bores in my family ! Lol.
Btw the greenhouse cost £20 in Home bargains!
Hi Johnny
Well done on recognising that you have a problem and on reaching out for help. I’m afraid I know very little about trading but I guess gambling is gambling and the urge to go back for more is similar .
I think barriers on your internet devices would give you a little freedom Johnny . I think gambling blockers also work for trading. I use gamban but you could do some research and find which most suits your needs.
Could you put that 50k into an account which you cannot access without perhaps a months notice ? They would take away the automatic gambling where we don’t stop to think. If out could think of the 80k as a loss on an investment – it could have been a business or a house – in your case it happened to be the stock market, perhaps this would make it easier to let the loss go. The idea of winning back losses has brought many a gambler to rock bottom.
I hope some of this helps – there are others on here who are more familiar with trading and I’m sure they will be glad to give you advice.
Perhaps you could speak to someone on the online help or join one of the groups for lore support.
The important thing to remember is that everyone can stop gambling. Hope to read another post from you soon .
Hi RelapseKing
Your post has really lifted me this morning.
Somewhere along the way I discovered (and I was a much slower learner than you) that the difference between recovering or not is taking action or not.Well done on all the action you have taken. The urges will lessen with time. You should be really proud of yourself – you have taken some really difficult steps. Every time you say no to gambling you are changing how your mind works.
Keep strong .
Pidä hänet valaistuna DE! Hyvin tehty !
Hold henne tent DE! Bra gjort !
उसे जलाए रखें DE! बहुत बढ़िया !
Biarkan dia menyala DE! Bagus sekali !
Keep her lit DE!
Well done !Laikyk ją apšviesta DE! Šauniai padirbėta !