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...
Hello,
I am a compulsive gambler. I have been betting in some form since about 14 years old. Thing is....It didn't hurt much then when I had no responsibilities. Now as an adult I am gambling myself into a world of hurt. I've burned just about every bridge possible. I've ruined my credit, and I am in jeopardy of losing my car, job, and who knows what else. It's like no matter how wrong I know it is, I cannot kick this addiction. I amd ruining my life, and I don't know how much more I can take. I'm too embarrassed to tell my parents/siblings. I am trying not to slip into a deep depression, but it's hard not to when you dig a hole so deep you see no way of getting out. I've tried GA, and one on one counseling but that didn't stop me. I've prayed and preayed, yet I can't seem to control myself. I work so hard just to throw my money away at the casino. I can't enjoy life like this and I need help!
I am a compulsive gambler. I have been betting in some form since about 14 years old. Thing is....It didn't hurt much then when I had no responsibilities. Now as an adult I am gambling myself into a world of hurt. I've burned just about every bridge possible. I've ruined my credit, and I am in jeopardy of losing my car, job, and who knows what else. It's like no matter how wrong I know it is, I cannot kick this addiction. I amd ruining my life, and I don't know how much more I can take. I'm too embarrassed to tell my parents/siblings. I am trying not to slip into a deep depression, but it's hard not to when you dig a hole so deep you see no way of getting out. I've tried GA, and one on one counseling but that didn't stop me. I've prayed and preayed, yet I can't seem to control myself. I work so hard just to throw my money away at the casino. I can't enjoy life like this and I need help!
you can physical stop yourself from going, we all can, but our minds make it possible to rationalize the mess we are about to create
so what to do? barriers, in the beginning is what you need to stop, if you know YOU cant stop it, make it stop you, ban yourself, remove yourself..depression will come w/the terrible territory unfortunately, but i can tell you that will slowly subside as well
tell someone close, make sure you have no access to money and slowly take it minute by minute, stay here read the stories, post, you will soon find yourself giving the newbies advice
The first two times in treatment, I did not really want to quit gambling, I wanted to counselor to use the "magic wand" method to make me a social gambler again.
My counselor helped me to change some of my beliefs such as:
I can get ahead by gambling. (I know I can't - a win just makes it worse for me.)
Gambling is fun and relaxing. (Not for me.)
I am 145 days gamble free today but I started with just one day, and was willing to accept that I was powerless over gambling and my life had become unmanageable. I lost my job, my car, my self worth, and facing losing some freedom due to illegal acts committed to finance my gambling addiction.
Suicide rate is very high among compulsive gamblers, please take care of yourself and know if is possible to recover. Nothing is ever so bad that you can't get through it.
Take some time to read about tools people have used and employ everything you can. You need to get 90-120 days of abstinence for the chemicals in your brain that gambling throws out of whack to begin to normalize. (((hugs)))
i'll get the details for you
#611704
eastern time is 9 pm
you can talk or just listen
In my case it was never about winning money or a yearning for excitement. I was using gambling as a way to mask other problems I had in my life. I was depressed, I suffered from low self esteem and I wasn't happy with the person I was. Gambling became my form of self medication. I never abused alcohol or drugs. For me it was gambling that helped mask the real issues in my life.
Once I stopped gambling long enough to take an honest look at who I was I found the strength to take the necessary steps to change what was at the heart of my addiction. It was the issues I had with my self image. I quickly realized analyzing why I had those issues wasn't worth my time. Everyone has problems from their past that affect how they feel about themselves. I decided it was time to move on from those things and get to work on becoming the person I wanted to be. Now that I am focused on those goals slipping back into old habits at the casino has become less and less appealing.
In the first few weeks I took some steps to make it difficult for me to gamble. I called my bank and lowered the daily ATM withdrawal limit on my card to $200. I disabled all cash advance features on my credit cards. I destroyed all my players cards. Anything I get in the mail from a casino goes right in the garbage. You can even take the extra step of requesting they no longer send you any offers in the mail. I unsubscribed from all casino emails. I deleted any casino or gambling themed apps from my phone and tablet. I destroyed everything in my home that reminded me of gambling such as casino themed Zippo lighters, artwork I had, etc. I was no longer a gambler and didn't want anything around to normalize my addiction. Like a previous reply stated you always have the option to put yourself on the exclusion list. Just keep in mind if you do go back at that point you risk arrest for trespassing. Since I had never committed a crime to fund my gambling I didn't want to make myself a criminal if I did relapse and go back so that wasn't an option for me. But it is another tool you can use and one I would recommend if you are using illegal means to finance your gambling.
Just remember regardless of the financial damage you have done to yourself by gambling, gambling will never be the solution to your problem. The "just one big win" fantasy will never come to fruition. Even if it did it will only delay the inevitable. You won't stop when you win. You'll just postpone winding up in the exact place you are in today. The only solution is to stop going. It will take hard work but all the problems you have today can be fixed. You just have to eliminate the cause of all your problems, your gambling addiction, first in order to have the clarity to address the other issues.