Gambling Addiction & Recovery Support Group

Jo.. I believe there are a lot of Ga meetings since the vlts have arrived out in Manitoba.
I prayed too.....; but I lacked 'reaching out.
Stepping outside after Praying is the 'answer I found.. as 'waiting for Devine intervention was futile for me.. My HIGHER POWER wanted me to connect with 'humans.''I ''finally Reached out..
I hope you can 'go beyond Prayer in believing 'HE gives you courage the instant prayers are sincere and ''What 'we Need 'not what we want.
Be Well Sandra gams5

I'm new here, too....all stressed out and struggling with this addiction. I want to reach out to other cg's but never know what to say. Blind leading the blind? I know the anxieties and self-loathing all too well and ache for the person I used to be.

I guess the most important thing I've learned throughout this process is that life is precious and each one of us is worth fighting for. We are more than our disease. We are worthy of redemption. Keep on keeping on.

I agree with Haddanuff in the sense that active gamblers can sometimes be like blind leading the blind.....offering excuses to each other, etc. etc.......but you will find that there are many here who have opened their eyes to see their prayers for recovery answered.

This was done through focusing on not gambling one day at a time, and reaching out to others here. Many people find GA to be a lifesaver.

If you want to stop gambling, all you have to do is not gamble for today. You don't have to think about stopping forever, just one day. I've been coming here every day for the last 18 months and now I have 18 months gamble free. My life has been transformed!

There are people here who have much more gamble free time than I do....so you need to KNOW it is possible to recover.

By reading and commenting on the journals of others, and by writing your own...one can learn so much, get so much support, and develop the tools to transform a life of shame and fear to a life of increased joy and redemption.

Welcome to this site....wishing you courage, hope, and strength in your recovery.

Gambling is everywhere! People bet on everything! If you want to gamble, you're going to. I use to gamble, I don't anymore. I live in Las Vegas, and have for many years. Think about the alcoholic, there's no escaping liquor, it's here to stay. You can buy it at a liquor store, a grocery store, a bar, a swanky restaurant, a dive...why? Because it's legal, and it's everywhere. So, when I think about alcoholics, it puts the temptation factor, in a better focus, for me. We had a president who was an alcoholic, he was in recovery. I'm a compulsive gambler. I'm in recovery. I've discovered I have courage, I didn't know I had! One day at a time courage, and I love it. Once I got the fact, that I cannot gamble like a normal person, wrapped around my brain, and my heart, the urge to gamble seemed to dissipate. Why my heart, you might wonder? Why did the fact have to be inserted into my heart, wrapped around my heart? I can only tell you how it was for me, and how it is now. In my heart I now understand, that it's okay if I can't gamble like a normal person, it's okay if I don't gamble anymore. It's what works for me, it's my life, and I'm learning to be kinder to myself, how wonderful it has helped me to be kinder to others in the process. But the most important part about the fact, the understanding that I cannot gamble like a normal gambler, is being nicer to me. I matter to me. In the beginning, recovery was all about being genuinely kinder to myself. I was becoming my own best friend! I like treating myself better. It's okay that I can't gamble like a normal person, I'm not alone. There are others just like me, they can't gamble, normally, either. And that's okay. The understanding that gambling hurts me, has become a reality to me. That it's alright, I don't have to gamble anymore. I'm not sure if you can understand where I'm coming from? I hated myself when I lied to my loved ones. I hated myself. Period. It wasn't easy leading a double life, it was Hell. It was insanity, craziness, all consuming. Without gambling, the lies stopped, the insanity and craziness slowed down, and one day at a time, I began to heal. It's possible. You're not alone, we're not alone. We need each other, and that's okay, too. I embrace the fact, that I cannot gamble like a normal person, that is why I should not gamble. It's just one of those things in life, that I cannot do. Just one thing, that I can live without. It's not because I'm insane, or a bad person, it's because I'm a compulsive gambler, and it hurts me, so I can't gamble anymore. I embrace this knowledge. I can lead a better life if I want to, and I want to...so, just for today, I will not gamble.

Thank you to everyone who has responded so far. I have to agree with Moyer on that I have to accept the fact that I can gamble normally....and that is okay. At the moment I cringe with embarrassment and shame knowing that. I am like a weak person for not being to gamble "responsibly".

I think I have spent the majority of my day posting and reading on three different gambling forums today. Like I said, it is a relief to meet others who are going through the same thing as me.

Keep replying! Thank you.

oops! I meant to say "I cannot gamble normally".

Welcome to the group!
I too, have 3 days of gambling-free so far. I broke the cycle (I used to gamble daily) because I followed what "serenityseeker" suggested:
to take it one day at a time and not thinking that I'll be gambling free forever. I cannot imagine "forever" but I sure do "just for today".
Don't give up.