well, lets be real, its an addiction and it doesnt go away that easy, trust me we've tried everything, tonite is the call in GA meeting, start w/that, you can listen or talk, relapse is 100% part of this process, we all just don't quit one day and its done, its hard work, you have to stop/your brain is saturated it needs to rest and not go....but we know its a hard road, but it can be done, so make a step...any step towards recovery

The first step is admitting you have a problem and telling your family or someone the extent of it. Secretiveness is what keeps the addiction alive, once you start being honest and stop lying and sneaking around you will feel better about yourself. Re read the posts on here there is a lot of good advice about quitting and staying quit You can do it just have faith!

After you have admitted your problem the next step is to stem the bleeding. Put some kind of barriers between you and your money. Perhaps you hand over money management to your spouse, and/or ban yourself from gambling establishments, give up the debit card, let a friend, spouse or a safe deposit box hold your debit/credit cards and checks, some folks have their bank lower the amount that can be withdrawn on a daily basis, (not every bank will do this). Some in my support group would get down to just a single debit card and have someone else set the PIN number and not tell them what it is. Then the card is only good for purchases and not cash. Some folks have paid professional payees to manage their money for a while. I am almost two years without gambling but I still will only carry up to $19 in cash with me, as $20 bills are a trigger for me. GA is a good start, but you can begin recovering before you get to a meeting by being honest with those around you, educating yourself about this addiction, find other things to fill your time with, make a commitment to spend quality time with your children and spouse on a daily basis. Write out what you want in life - write out what really matters to you, what do you care about? What are your priorities? You are risking everything you value and everything that matters to you every time you gamble. Write out a 'good-bye' to gambling and share it with your family, then re-read it every time you have an urge. Rekindle your hobbies or make some new ones, you are not the sum total of your past behaviors, your mistakes do not make you less than human, they make you human. You can recover from this but it takes more work than just wanting to quit, it takes action. You can do this!

Coming here and sharing what you have done is the first step. Addiction, and the shame behind it, thrive in the darkness. When you start to let others know your vulnerability, you're making that crucial first step. Start to chip away at the shame, and you start chip away at the grip the addiction has on you.

Qwit, those are excellent pieces of advice. It works if you work it