Gambling Addiction & Recovery Support Group
Compulsive gambling is an urge or addiction to gamble despite harmful negative consequences or a desire to stop. A preferred term among many professionals is problem gambling, as few people described by the term experience true compulsions in the clinical sense of the word. Problem gambling often is defined by whether harm is experienced by the gambler or others rather...
!The casinos are a business, like any other business. They are there to make money. 85 people have to lose for 15 to win. I know a lot who think they are supposed to win every time they play and have been cheated when they dont.
I will be the first to admit I go too often, stay too long and invest more than I should, but I am hurting no one but me when I get hurt. I do not believe I am addicted. I do not take off work to go play and if I run out of money I do not cruise around looking for someone to loan me some money so I can keep playing I have postponed paying a bill, so I could play.
I call myself a Player, not a gambler. I began playing about three years ago seeking a smoker friendly social and entertaining venue to escape the mounting unfair and disappointing events occurring in my life. I wanted to run away from home. I do not drink alcohol.
Most times I do win a little bit when I begin playing, but play it back because I just dont want to quit and go home.
One sure way to keep me out of there is if they made it nonsmoking I tell those who complain about my cigarette smoke to just not come there if it bothers them.
I will be the first to admit I go too often, stay too long and invest more than I should, but I am hurting no one but me when I get hurt. I do not believe I am addicted. I do not take off work to go play and if I run out of money I do not cruise around looking for someone to loan me some money so I can keep playing I have postponed paying a bill, so I could play.
I call myself a Player, not a gambler. I began playing about three years ago seeking a smoker friendly social and entertaining venue to escape the mounting unfair and disappointing events occurring in my life. I wanted to run away from home. I do not drink alcohol.
Most times I do win a little bit when I begin playing, but play it back because I just dont want to quit and go home.
One sure way to keep me out of there is if they made it nonsmoking I tell those who complain about my cigarette smoke to just not come there if it bothers them.
You will learn a lot too. The stories they tell are heart breaking, but the hope is also heard
Part of my "problem" is I live alone and there is no one here to talk to about anything. Now there is..
So glad I am 17 days clean and holding. I am a non-smoker and it disgusts me that I was craving the smoke. Looking forward to a healthier lifestyle.
When my shift "a coworker asked If I was going to "go play" and I said "NO"
I rushed straight home to see what was happening here while I was at work.
I typed "when my shift ended today....." but part of my sentence just went away.
Our addiction is real and it is evil, it zaps the life out of us. We don't even know we are walking around with a blank expression, but we are. There is a whole world out there. We have to go start living it!
He wants to focus on prayer for me healing.
Today I learned there is a second paragraph to The Serenity Prayer and wanted to share it with all of you:
God grant me the serenity
To accept the things I cannot change;
Courage to change the things I can;
And wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
As it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
If I surrender to His Will;
So that I may be reasonably happy in this life
And supremely happy with Him
Forever and ever in the next.
I have wished a thousand times I had never won that first hand pay jackpot, but in less than 2 years I won 4 over $4K each. I rarely bet more than $1, but it has been a year since the last one. I cannot imagine losing the sums some of you are talking about, but I was overdrawing my checking account and maxing out my credit card every month, then when I decided to go home all those things I was running away from were still there and I was worse off $ than before.
I tried setting goals, like play for an hour and dont invest more than $20 but some stumbling block would appear and Id stay longer and spend more; but I am getting better since joining this site. (There but for the Grace of God.)
To all of you who are desperate to quit you will never get all that money back. Every one of those jackpots I won I was not playing for a jackpot, I was just playing and they came in less than 6 spins of starting a game.
You cannot just quit. You have to replace that time with something. I have begun crocheting potholders and making up my own designs. I dont know what I will do with them all, it is just something to do to fill time; a pastime not really a hobby, but at the end of this month I will have a positive balance in my checking account and that will be encouraging
In short, I thought I could quit at any time, until I tried.
I hope that you are in control and not addicted at this point. The best test is to try to quit, to see how long you can go without it, and to see if you have any withdrawal symptoms. I could not go for more than 3-7 days at best without anxiety, sleeplessness, fatigue, and crabbiness. After a few months of trying to quit on my own, I finally realized I needed to self-ban, see a therapist, and join a group like this one.
But if you're not ready for a withdrawal test, then I wish you all of the best, and I hope you are right when you say you are in control and not addicted. If you ever decide that you are, we are all obviously here for you :)
I too wish I had never hit that first jackpot... I think how I used to go after I saved changed for a few months or so.. That was when the casino was an hour away.... Then I remember one came 45 minutes away and it was still enjoyable... We would laugh, eat, talk and have fun... My first was on a $5 machine with just a few dollars in my pocket I won 3.5k.... Within 3-5 days I was down $4.5 k.... And then I kept going back more and more almost hitting a jackpot every time.., but not gaining anything because the amount I put in....
I since then we have 2 more casinos and rather than once a week it became everyday... I was spending everything I had..... Praying that I when and when I did, I was never satified because I would put it back.. Now I am praying that I stop gambling...
This morning I was up at 6am and I checked my account and I had a few dollars there, I jumped out of bed and thought to run down and
and play.... But I got a cup of coffee, started doing house work and took my kids to the store and spent the money on them rather than put it in the machine.
If I had not found this site I know for a fact I would have been there...I don't have a handle on anything, I am just taking one day at s time.....
One of the ways to decide if you are a compulsive or problem gambler is to answer the 20 Questions from Gamblers Anonymous. You can find them here: http://www.gamblersanonymous.org/ga/content/20-questions. I don't know if you can click on the link but you can do an internet search on the 20 questions from GA and they will come up. Compulsive gamblers will answer yes to at least 7 of those questions but only you can decide if you are a compulsive gambler.
Sometimes, it takes awhile to recognize and accept that one is a compulsive gambler. I have said that many times over the past 13 years but I still have to recognize and accept it over and over.
I live in a town where there are casinos on every corner, from my home and my work I can be at a casino in 5 minutes and in action within 10 minutes. My work is 10 minutes from my home, and I pass by 5 casinos while driving to work.
I hope you are doing well.