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Be careful about those simulation games. Your ultimate goal is so that your brain gets out of the cycle of continuously needing its daily dose of “gambling stimulation”. Try to find another hobby or activity to preoccupy youself if you can. Try to focus your energy into self-improvement activities such as exercise, working better or living healthier. Good luck on quitting all 3!
Hi Ryan well done on embarking on your journey towards recovery. The first step is to take proactive actions to signify that you truly want to quit forever. Self-exclude youself from all online sites you use or might use. Install betfilter/gamblock on all your devices as added security.
You cannot do this alone and whilst the forums offer great support, seriously consider about attending GA and/or disclosing your problems to a close relative/partner/friend. Emotional support is key to recovery but ultimatelt it is up to you to do the hard yards necessary for quitting. Make no mistake it will be a tough road ahead but if you take it one day at a time and truly want to quit, you can turn your life around.
Hey Steve, dry gambling can be quite dangerous! Hearing about/watching people gamble (in real life or online) can be a strong trigger that can lead you back into the trap.
I find that whether you think about gambling, place “mental bets” or replay previous sessions in your head, they are all extremely dangerous in the long run.
Right now you are still recovering from the initial shock of your big loss recently. You need to take drastic measures to ensure you don’t gamble – this may mean removing all access to any available funds you receive or handing complete financial control of your accounts to someone else. Make sure you’re also fully self-excluded as well! Good luck and stay strong.
Sometimes willpower itself is not enough, you’ll need to self-exclude. It’ll save you when you “listen” to the addiction.
Hey Chloe as someone on the other side with the gambling problem, I can give you a little bit of perspective (though I never stole from my gf to gamble).
We gamblers feel really alone and though we hide it all we REALLY wished we could confess all of our problems to someone we trust. My gf was destroyed when I first told her of my problem but her sticking with me over the last year or so has helped immensely with my recovery. However, know that every gambler is different and unfortunately some may never fully recover or continue their self-defeating ways until everything is gone.
You have to make a choice. Can you handle the pressure of being a supporter and guardian? Whilst knowing that your future may be severely dependent on whether your partner can recover. Your financial and psychological well-being will be precarious durinf the recovery process. Every relapse will also be a big blow to you. I ask you to give it a bit of time and see if you truly believe your partner is ready to quit, take over his finances if possible. How long you continue the fight will depend on your personal beliefs as well as the will of your partner to really quit gambling. If he truly cares for you that will be a gamble he should not ever risk taking again.
Never really heard about online GA except things like these forums and chat rooms on gambling support sites. If you’re vulnerable to online gambling then make sure you have some strong blockers in place against the casino that is IN your house. Have you considered betfilter or gamblock? Self-exclusion from all casinos you have accounts with will also add a further layer of protection. Remember, it’s like aircraft security, have as many safety features in place to stop you from gambling as you can, even if you think they’re redundant at the time sometimes one feature can malfunction or no longer be available and you don’t want to leave yourself open to attack from this unrelenting addiction.
Hey Harry well done on seeking help on here, this is a positive first step.
Now the first thing you should know is that you’ll get a lot of wonderful advice and support from this board from people who are recovering or are in a similar boat to yourself. But rest assured this is a battle only YOU can control. It will be one of the toughest battles of your life, and likely also the most important. Losing a large amount at a young age and over a short amount of time changes the way your brain is wired, the addiction will be with you for life, it’s a matter of whether you can control it or now. Right now you may feel 100% confident that you will reset and just give up gambling but no one simply says “I quit” and gives up forever magically. You need to WANT to stop forever, not to stop losing. You must accept your defeat and accept the losses are gone. You must also put in multiple measures in place that will prevent you from further gambling – full self-exclusion as well as gambling blockers on your devices if you play on the internet. It is also highly recommended for you to get emotional support during this process. GA is a great place to start although it is not necessarily for everyone. If you have anyone you can confide to please do so. Don’t do this alone. You are still young and sound like a smart individual with a lot of potential so please don’t throw away your future to gambling. You have time to turn it around and lead a good life but you must WANT to stop yourself. If you continue you will lose a lot more than your money (I’m sure you already know this). A life of gambling is a life of torture and you need to do everything in your powers to not continue going down that dark, dark path. Grieve the loss but never lose sight of the value of your life itself. I wish you the best of luck.
I do note that I have noticed an improvement in responsible gambling for online sites recently (perhaps due to stricter legislation) such as deposit limits, gaming limits/time limits and flushing/quick withdrawals. Also I’ve noticed some sites even limit the max you can deposit per day (eg. 1k on a credit card per day). I never saw these before. I do hope the industry continues to be more heavily regulated to help prevent problem gambling even if it won’t apply to me, like you said I wouldn’t want other people (especially younger naive online gamblers” destroying their lives to this horrible affiction.
I think we can all agree that some of the “tactics” used by certain online casinos are unethical, such as delaying withdrawals and making it very difficult/repeatedly asking for ID docs. Obviously these delay tactics are to draw us in and lose it all. Unfortunately like you mentioned, the industry only does its bare minimum generally. Thankfully we have websites such as this one and gamcare.
But its like with everything the main factor is our self-control. Even if an alcoholic gets kicked out (thats mostly for the safety of OTHERS), he can go to any liquor store and spend/buy as much as he wants. I know we play mostly online but a real casino slot machine cannot differentiate between who is feeding the machine money. Bottom line, we gotta take responsibility for our actions and deal with the expected consequences. There are countless things which are “unfair” or “too tempting but destructive” in this life and once we learn to implement self-control over our emotions, we can get back on track.