[Palmsandsun]

Three months have passed since I started this thread. And I did it. I downloaded an app on my phone which counts the days, and yesterday I got a notification that I haven’t gambled in 90 days now. It is paying off.. even though I was out of debt. I’m in a small debt again because I went on a holiday. I’m fine with that, next week I am out. My life feels so much more stable. My depression is already gone for a long time, and I also quit smoking weed AND cigs now for already 6 weeks. I’m addiction free at the moment, maybe only a Youtube/Netflix addiction but I am totally okay with that at the moment. Love is coming into my life again, I met a girl some time ago and we have a really nice time together. I’m starting to feel some butterflies in my stomach aswell. 🙂
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nI do however still have to deal with guilt. I might (almost) be out of debt on my bank account, but my student debt is at 35 000… every time I think about it it just hurts and could still cry. I am opening up more about my addiction to others.. first 2 months I was still ashamed. Now I told my friends how bad it was, where I gambled (like work etc) and how much I have actually lost. It feels good. Next step will be my parents, they have to know at some point. I know their reaction will be supportive but they will also be shcoked.. I will just wait with that for a while.
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nAnyways, I’m going in the right direction and still feel that I NEVER want to look back anymore. Ofcourse there are some urges sometimes, but now it is only down to 1-2 times a week. I can live with that.
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nI hope you are all doing fine! For those who just started: you can do it. Keep strong.. once you reach some milestones it feels amazing. Every little second counts!!

[Palmsandsun]

Hey!
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nOk so I haven’t updated this in a long time BUT…. I still didn’t gamble 🙂 I am gamble free for 42 days now already and it feels really good. Yesterday just before going to bed I realised it: I am out of debt! My bank account was at -1000 for pretty much a year.. and now is the first time I don’t see the – anymore ! I also spent much more time on hobby’s, especially making music and I feel a little bit more energetic throughout the day. I still have urges sometimes, but I made a deal with my best friend: he also quitted and now I have someone to account for. I am not planning to gamble anymore! With the money I have now I am going to do a small roadtrip. Unbelievable that I can only do this now because I haven’t gambled. It’s the first time I see real good benefits after quitting.
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nAnd @steev, thank you.. you were absolutely right. I did trade gambling addiction for weed. I already used to smoke weed like 3 times a week.. but now it is everyday. I want to quit that too now.. but I also quit nicotine already and quitting three harsh addictions at the same time just doesn’t feel right for me. I don’t want to relapse on smoking and definitely not gambling. I must say though: I stay sober throughout the day and get my stuff done.. then late afternoon/ evening I just smoke one to relax. It is not good, i know.. but I can live with it for a while 🙂
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nCan’t believe this many days have passed already.. time flies
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[Palmsandsun]

Hey, time for an update 🙂

So this is day 16 already that I have not gambled. I must admit that the urge is already getting a little bit less & I am starting to feel more relieved. Before I quit, I always had these random moments during the day were I felt stressed/guilty because of money problems. This feeling is now pretty much gone & I did some nice things with friends (the bars are open again) and for the first time I could think like: wow! I can actually afford a few beers now without stressing. Really nice and didn’t have that feeling for a long time.

BUT on the flip side… I am also feeling more ‘guilt’ or I am just now starting to REALLY recognize how bad my life has been influenced by it. I can suddenly link A LOT of my problems to gambling. Last year I was depressed, I lost my relationship of 3 years and almost failed the entire year of school. I can now see that gambling is highly likely a main cause of this.. it hits hard.

Not only that, also the fact that I could have done SO much with that money to achieve my dreams. I just know that if I never gambled.. i would have never felt the guilt and stress that lead to my depressive thoughts and end of my relationship. I just feel like I would have achieved much mor ein life already, not only money related.. There are so many things I didn’t do because of money problems. I just hate myself for it.

How do you guys cope with that feeling? I’m happy and proud that I didn’t gamble for more than 2 weeks. That’s a huge milestone for me and I know I will continue. I have never been so dedicated in my life. But these thoughts just suck.. since I quit gambling I started smoking muuuuuchhh more weed (every day) because then I forget.

Hope y’all are doing great!

[Palmsandsun]

Hey !

I think we have a lot in common. I am also a student (22) and also spend pretty much all my student loan on gambling. It’s a huge amount of money – I don’t even wanna know, but probably between 15-20k 🙁 It makes me feel horribly sick just writing that down.

I only registered on this forum 8 days ago, and I haven’t gambled anymore since that time. I know I am an addict for more than a year already and told myself I would quit every month, but it never worked. I believe you can only win this addiction with full commitment and by fully admitting and understanding you have a big problem. And this is the time, we are both in our early 20’s. Our lifes are not wasted yet and we can change it. I am 100% sure about that. Yes it is a lot of money, but over the span of a lifetime it’s ok and we’ll be fine if we can stop now.

I’m also afraid of telling my family/parents. But it is important you tell someone close to you. So I told my best friend I was addicted and that I will quit now. Someone NEEDS to know. I made an ultimatum for myself, if I fail this time I WILL tell my parents and seek professional help. Because I am so dedicated right now that I believe I can do it. However, if I fail I will have to face the consequences.

What helped me so far:
– Made a video for myself every few days, talking the reasons why I want to stop, how I feel and motivate myself to continue. This makes it feel more real with me, it’s like a diary.

– Post progress here every few days. I now know that it is insanely important to stay active beating your addiction. That means posting progress here every few days and staying in contact. Always be reminded of that you are on a mission to quit. Never let your guard down.

– Downlaoded Gamban. I have tried several gambling IP blockers (betblocker, GGG) and at first it worked. But after a few weeks I always knew how to get around it. Gamban is also an ip blocker which costs just +-2$ a month and even after uninstalling/clearing IP list it stilll blocks you from all gambling sites! I would recommend it, it’s a very usefull tool

– Every morning I look in the mirror and say to myself: I WILL NOT GAMBLE TODAY! And repeat that a few times. It looks silly, but it reminds you of your goal.

That is what I am doing so far and it is helping me.
You just have to realise it is impossible to quit gambling if you don’t put the 100% effort in it and think that you’ll be able to quit quite easily. Because you can’t. From my own experiences, after losing a lot of money in one day I also got a gambling hangover. I got sick, felt guilty, cried etc. I have had this many times and EVERYTIME I told myself I would quit, that this was the last time.

It was never the case.. it continued like that for over a year and this hast cost me thousands and thousands of euro’s. I never took the time to go to this forum, never made videos for myselfs and never showed real deddication. If you don’t do that you will always end up losing again when the hangover is over. It’s just how addiction works.

Sorry for the long message. I hope you can do something with it. If you want we can write each other our progress every few days and motivate each other to continue quitting. We’re both studying, both addicted but I think with help of others it is possible to turn your life around.

Again, it’s not too late.

I wish you well!

[Palmsandsun]

Thanks for your advice, it helped me last night! I was drinking/smoking weed with my friends again yesterday and we always end up gambling with the three of us. But this time I said no and explained that I am just sick of gambling. They didn’t fully understand, because they were still egging me on a bit but after some time they stopped with that. I was already pretty intoxicated at that point- it was really hard to say no- but now it’s a really good feeling that I know I can say no even when I’m intoxicated. 

You are right about not letting my guard down. I have to continue this. It has already been 8 days and 14 hours since I last gambed (have an app which helps a lot), my next goal is the 10 day mark. I’m also afraid of letting my guard down, but I think that when you are afraid of that it’s pretty much impossible to actually let your guard down. 

Have a great day!

[Palmsandsun]

Thank you! So far so good, but fingers crossed. I have faith in quitting!

[Palmsandsun]

Thanks for the info 🙂 I will make use of it. 

[Palmsandsun]

So a small update. I did not gamble now for already 5 days. % days already sound like a good start to me and it motivates me to continue. However I must say that the urge to gamble became a little bit bigger after a few days, but I guess that’s normal and I am holding on! There is no way I will gamble anymore. Yesterday I even had to say no to friends. Sometimes we drink a few beers and gamble online once in a while. Even though it’s always a small amount and that I am not gambling alone (so it’s not too bad) I did say no. I’m very proud of myself because of that!

[Palmsandsun]

Hey man! How is it going so far? Almost 5 days have passed, I hope you are doing well so far!

[Palmsandsun]

Nice! Congrats on not gambling for 8 days. That would already be a milestone for me! I have trust you can stay away, don’t think in early days. Every day you don’t gamble is a new victory and the path to a sooo much better life opens up. Thanks for your tip aswell, I will definitely stay active on this forum. I have to remind myself everyday, every hour that I’m on probably the most important mission of my life. If I don’t change now I never will and I can still turn my life around. I didn’t tell my family yet, only my best friend. I am too ashamed to tell it now, but if I fail now I will tell my family 100% sure and go to a therapist. My own ultimatum. 

And thanks, you too! Keep it up 🙂 

[Palmsandsun]

Thanks for your reply! So far so good, I made a video for myself today, talking why I need to stop and what the consequences are if I don’t stop.I will keep doing that for the next few weeks. I hope/think it will motivate me to stay on the right path. I have a question though. You say stop losing acces to gambling & finance. So does that mean I need acces to gambling websites and my finances? I have the Gamban IP block now and I thought it would help. Or do I need to resist the urges while being able to actually gamble?

Hope you have a great day!

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