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...
Well I am back my old friends. It’s been a long time. Sad to say the last six months have been downward spiral to hell again. I lied to myself that after so much time GF I could gamble again socially. But that definitely was not the case. Last night I gambled my rent away. Each time as I pulled money out of my purse I knew the outcome. I knew I was chasing a loss that I could never get back. I made my last bet on 12/28/18 @ 11:55pm. As I read back my post it is identical to the one I wrote in March 2016. I am sickened today by my actions and ashamed that I have let this addiction become the forefront of my life again. I became complacent and stopped doing maintenance for my addiction. As a compulsive gambler I cannot gamble ever!! Today is day 1 GF. xoxo Chargergirl
Here are some other things that can help:
Find ways to slow your mind down, it is Saturday so they are not coming to shut the lights off or evict you until at least Monday. Just deal with one thing at a time doing the next right thing.
Dust off your plan and find pieces of it that can help you now. Reread your goodbye to gambling if you wrote one. (If you didn't it will give you something to do.)
Work on antidotes to your triggers, meditate, google "guided imagery to help stop gambling" there are a few out there - listen to them they help for relaxation and for building commitment.
Frankly, my gambling became such a nightmare that I do not want to ever risk being there again. I had many day 1's over the last 15 years that I gambled.
I also must say that the last 5 years that I gambled were miserable. There was not a single day that I was relatively happy. I would be excited on paydays at the prospect of unrestrained gambling but certainly not happy. I would be excited for a few days on the high of a win but never had any lasting happiness from my gambling winnings.
I have had more fun, more travel, more sight seeing, more visiting with people I love and learned more in the past four GF years than in previous two decades of gambling.
You can get through this...... You are a compulsive gambler you will never be a social gambler again. (A cucumber can become a pickle but it can never go back to being a cucumber again.) I am cheering you on and visualizing your recovery.