Excellent thoughts Howie.
Thank you!

I have had gambling in my life for a little over 15 years too. :( I love that you say you have about twice that time or more to live enjoyably...never thought of it that way, so thank you. I have been dwelling in the negative, of how much time I've wasted of my life...Thank you for bringing some positive thoughts to my day. :)

How-I love your spirit and "the cup is Half Full" perspective. The essence of who we were may have been cloudy, muddy, ugly...the essence of who we will become...it's wide open, waiting for us!

Even in my late fifties, I'm still trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up- God willing, I'm looking to do some exciting things over the next 30 years!

I was listening to a comedienne talk about his anti-bucket list...a list of things he has no desire to do. He says "Well, I have another name for that list...and it rhymes with bucket". Gambling will be on MY anti-bucket list...occupying the #1 spot on that list!

Good days ahead for all, Tagg!

So true and I love the "anti bucket list"...what a great way to put those things in perspective.

Funny, hubby, (unemployed) daughter and I were just sitting in the kitchen bugging her a little with her job search endeavors. She's on the fence about what direction she should go in now and her dad said, so what do you want to be when you grow up. She laughs and says, hell if I know...mom doesn't even know what she wants to be when she grows up...lol. I denied it but in reality, a touch of truth. We're always open to change...never get too old to pursue our dreams as long as they are realistic goals in our lives and not a pipe dream of winning a jackpot that will never happen!

Thats funny. Alot of us don't know what to be when we grow up....Haha. I'm 37 and I'm still trying to figure it out. I want to be an actuary eventually. I always worry because the things I am most knowledgable in deal with financial stuff. Yet, when I'm gambling I do good to balance my own checkbook. It's not from lack of ability, but lack of focus and a cloudy mind. Anyway. Thanks Howie. You put a smile on my face today.

howie,i totally agree with the 15 year gambling itch shall we say.i also gambled for app 15 years then i think i just grew tired of it as i did when i was a child and addicted to pinball games perhaps.you could always be a writer when you grow up[hehe].you have great insight and a wonderful way of wording things.your on my best seller list anyways.looking forward to more of your thoughts...kath

Thank you Howie, I am still here reading and knowing that my thoughts do create my world and if today was better than yesterday, tomorrow and each day is a new beginning. Positive.

I watched "A genuinely upbeat movie with big questions and hopeful answers", Title: "What the Bleep do we (k)now". About science, spirituality, and quantum physics. It is amazing how the power my thoughts can change my life. It has been 7 days. Thank you for your stories, grateful to be here. A little heavy here,
have a great evening!!

I never really thought about it that way, but yeah if it was cancer or MS or something life-threatening, and we could walk away, we sure would. But when I am gambling, I just tell myself "it's just money." But I could be using that money to better my life and the lives of those I love instead of pissing it away.

Hi Folks,

It's good to see some activity on the board and some new people posting. Hope everyone is working through each day with grit and determination.

Seems like there's definitely a unanimous battle cry that our lives, with gambling in it, have all taken turns for the worse, financially, emotionally, spiritually and otherwise. We have turned into someone who we never dreamed of becoming... that reflection in the mirror is not a pretty sight to see! So, that's why it's so important to dig down deep in your soul and say "Change starts with ME!" Yes, we can be pissed off at the casinos, the owners, the Donald, etc for all the temptations they dangle in front of us.

Those will never go away (accept the things I cannot change). But the choice is ours to make on whether we're going to pay our light bill or the casino's (the courage to change the things I can).

The wisdom to know the difference...ah, therein lies the question?
It's been said "The most powerful weapon on earth is the human soul on fire". I'm feeling the heat - change starts with me!

May you all have a blessed night of restful sleep and tranquility.

Tagg20

Amen...Tagg! :)

I have really enjoyed reading this thread! You all have some very insightfull and positive things to say. I have been a CG for I'd say about 3 years. I didn't realize until spring of 2011. In January of 2011 I found I couldn't pay my mortgage. In January 2012 I checked myself into treatment. I blew 1/2 of my salary at the Casino in 2011 and I am now losing my home. What really opened up my eyes was the winn / loss statement. I ordered it over the phone and the casino mailed it to my house. The mail came and the envelope wasn't sealed. My husband read it before I got home that day. It said I won over $200,000. but....It also said I lost over 222,000. My husband absolutely FREAKED OUT! I can't believe how much devastation I have brought to my life in such a short period of time. It's still like a fog in my head. I'm just happy to be alive and finally on the road to recovery.
I am so very thankful for this site. I really love reading all the topics and everyone's comments. I try to log on here as much as I can and I'm going to keep coming back!. All the ideas about finding things to do other than gambling are very helpful to me! There's a video called pleasure unwoven and it talks about how addiction changes our brains so we have a hard time enjoying the regular things in life. It takes time to recover and we need to re-learn how to enjoy the things we used to love. I'm working on it.... but I realize now it takes time and lots of effort! You are the only people who really understand what I am going through and I am so very gratefull for each and every one of you on this site! Together we can beat this addiction and get our lives back! There is strength in numbers! Thank you so much daily strength members! Cherbear

I am with ya Cherbear. One aspect of this site that I find so helpful is knowing that others have experienced the same devastations financially. I think most of us find this site and reach out for help after we've pretty much lost all our savings, maxed out our cc,s, sometimes taken payday loans...whatever the amount really doesn't matter except for the fact we've lost it all.

Now the good news is we can make a change. We will never get back the money lost but we can rebuild for our future, and having learned that we are cg's, know how to make the right choices from this point forward.

We are not alone and we are among the lucky who have hit bottom and are on the road to a lifelong recovery.