welcome....and congrats on the first step, we have meetings by phone on wednesdays, 9 pm est. I will post details next week

you couldnt have picked a better week - Christmas can be a devastating time for us gamblers, absence, and if we are there, "we are thinking of gambling" or going there and not showing up for family, plus no money

its a continual nightmare, POST or read and read and read, glad you are here, we need you

Congratulations on day one! Day one is the most important day, as it is the day you decide to do something different. It is the beginning of a journey that will finally help you discover who you really are and that you deserve a life worth living.

Every single day you decide not to gamble is another day you move in the right direction. You are a new person now. Don't hold onto the regret from the past.

Day 1 again. Oh how I hate myself. So depressing when I sit and think of all the money and time wasted. Not to mention the stressful impact on my family. I appreciate the responses from everyone. Let's try this again

You will need to find a way to reframe what you are doing (quitting) that is positive. If you just concentrate on the the bad behavior you are giving up - it is depressing. Not to mention that just withdrawal from dopamine is depressing as well. A gratitude diary really helped me get over the negative and focus on the positive. Write down one thing per day you are grateful for, reread it or write another when you have a thought to gamble. Write out some positive affirmations like: I am recovering from gambling, I am proud of my recovery and I know I will get healthier. or The universe surrounds, enfolds and protects me as I move through life. or All things come to me for the greater good of all. My point is that there are many things that are depressing in this recovery process but you must fight the depression and the tendency to give up that comes with it. The opposite of depression is not happiness it is engagement, engagement with yourself, your loved ones and your community. Becoming an authentic human being that expresses feelings in healthy ways is tough but it is what recovery is about and it is worth it, keep on doing day one if you must, you will get past it if you keep adding tools. (self ban, barriers on money, journaling, affirmations, gratitude diary, artwork, prayer), add another until you find the right combination.
Hugs and prayers.

it happens, its part of the process, but you're back, so thats good - dust it off and try again, you will slowly start to see that you can do this= do your road blocks, block the money access, cant gamble w/o money, the urges go away if you sit and allow it to pass, its only a feeling.

were you on the call last night?

I fully relate to yu pointing what the gambling turned yu into as i rrfrain from gambling there is an uhh nfolding within revealing how i became so good at lying conning and using everyone to fund my addiction to gambling and thats sopainful to.me but still i have hope for healimg. Thsnks for sharing and best of luck with yir revovery

This is day one for me too!! I'm not sure how these support group thing works. But I believe I have a gambling problem and today I choose to stop, now I have to figure out how to tell my husband how much I messed up our finances and hand them over to him to do from this day forward. Scary thing to do and not really sure how.. help???

It helps to start your own thread/post when you are looking for help and not just commenting on the original person's post. But we start by diving in, knowing in our hearts that honesty is a cornerstone to recovery. Knowing that regardless of the reaction it is the right thing to do. Finding a face to face support group helps and some states have programs that offer free gambling addiction counseling to the whole family. You can find out what resources are available in your state by calling the National Council on Problem Gambling at 1- 800-522-4700.
You have come to accept you have a problem and have decided to do something different, this is the one step that must be done before anything else can happen and sadly, most of us compulsive gamblers resisted it for far too long.

I have started my own posts and am hoping that it helps. I wrote down the phone number for the call Wednesday night and I will call. Thank you for helping me