Welcome to the Gambling Addiction & Recovery board. Day one is the most important, it is the day we decide to change direction and attitude.
Here are some things you can do right away that help:
1. Usually the first thing compulsive gamblers are advised to do is put some barriers between ourselves and our money. Can you make it harder to borrow for your self? Some give the business of handling the money over to their spouse. Some have a trusted friend hold their bank cards, credit cards and checkbook. I have used a professional payee in the past as well as a friend. It is just something to give you time to think about what you are doing.

2. Self banning at casinos works for those who gamble at casinos. Perhaps you can ask the bars that you play in to 86 you for a few months.

3. Think of some things you can do to relieve and give some release that are not gambling. (Hot shower, exercise, photography, artwork, gardening - whatever will work for you.) Write them down and make a commitment to do something different next time you have an urge to gamble.

4. Attend GA and or get into treatment specifically for gambling addiction. (There is a phone GA meeting on Wednesday nights that the phone number is usually posted here on DS - you can search the postings for a previous notice that will have the ph # and PIN to get into the meeting.) Many health insurance companies cover treatment and many states (I don't know about Canada) have subsidized treatment for compulsive gamblers.

5. Educate yourself about this addiction. Read some previous posts, take a look at some of the videos on YouTube about gambling addiction.

6. There is a guided imagery hypnosis session on YouTube that helped me to battle the anxiety in the early days of my abstinence. Here is a link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8t7yPZrw4g

7. Journaling is very helpful for sorting out feelings and exploring your values.

8. Write out all the things that you are grateful for or keep a gratitude diary and know that if you continue to gamble you are risking all of them.

9. You best bet for real support is really through a face to face GA group or therapy centered support group. Online support just can't provide what a face to face in the flesh GA sponsor or support group can do.

10. Prayer (Any denomination, getting right with your Higher Power makes a difference.)

Most of us that have some abstinence built up, had to use many tools every day and still do. If you are motivated and willing to do whatever it takes to stop, you will get there.

Welcome to the Group!
I am a week gamble free. The withdrawls stink big time! I am praying, asking a God that I understand for help. I am attending a 12 step program meetings on a regular basis ( for another addiction ) no GA meetings in my area. I am coming here and reading the message boards several times a day.
I am keeping myself busy ... trying to occupy my mind ... Im trying to change.
Ive lost a lot of money ... I'll never get it back, never. I can accept that fact. What I really want back is my - self .. my self respect and esteem ... I want my relationships with family and husband back.
I want to feel better ... Im sick of being sick.

Please stick around here ... t here are a lot of good Folks with a lot of helpful experience and hope to share.

Im in my mid 40's as well, Ive worked my ass off, just to see half gone, but the good news, i have 1/2 left, AND I HAVE knowledge of this disease, that most people out there banging away at the keys are still in the early stages and denial dont have a clue what awaits them

im am BAFFLED at this predicament i have created

i gambled, i regret, i suffer, i recover, i do it again

they stretch from 6 mths clean to 2 weeks to once a month, i still have some healthy portion of my brain that fights this shit day in and day out, the days i dont have my daughter are HUGE triggers for me, the minute she gets picked up my mind starts in on me, some times i make it some times i dont

although knowledge is power, it isnt everything, i wait and talk to god and ask him for strength and i mean every hour, all day, at church while at the casino i talk to him, i talk on the way home, i talk when i go to sleep and wake, and yet i still gravitate back sometimes... but its getting slower at the get go now - its not a mad dash - its a slower process to get me there where my mind gets taken over and i go on AUTO pilot and then i know theres no turning back, its hard, and i would rather have other things to do, and i do them with appreciation for my life that i created, its just every once in a while its taunts me, it gets easier, but its not going to be easy - one day at a time is such a powerful thing for us addicts, its the way it has to be to get through it

Welcome to the board. You are not alone. You can learn lots on here from all the great people. 1 day at a time. Wish you the best.

The best thing a compulsive gambler serious on trying to stay clean, is to... create yourself a no access to money. It's also the hardest thing to do because money is our means to feed our addiction. Give up access to your money and little by little the urges will became lighter and lighter.

Hi, I just joined this group.
I read your story and it sounds alot like mine.
I actually was just at the slots last night and spent over $1000.00
I feel so horrible after I leave the casino broke.
Yet I always go back...
I know that I cant gamble anymore.
It's destroying me.
Signing up for this group was my first step.
I just wanted you to know that your not alone and I wish you luck in overcoming this.

Welcome. You are not alone. I agree with everything Qwit4Good wrote. There's a lot of good tips there.

Fighting this addiction is a constant battle. Develop a strategy and use everything available to quit: GA, reading books and forums like these, counselling, identifying triggers, restricting access to money, putting blocks in place, and keeping busy.

I wish you the best!

Guys,

Thanks for all your comments. I will start writing down all the things I am happy for and come up with a list of things I can do whenever the urge hits.

Qwit4Good: Good suggestions - thanks.
Happycamp, itsjustme, sarena2015: I am unemployed - looks for a job - working at home during the day by writing and doing some consulting. If you ever need to write me - do it. I'm here.

I will check back here every morning to keep me going one day at a time.

Thanks.

Hey there numberone,

What sticks out the most in your post is you said you spend the day alone and need a release. Boredom is my trigger. I must have been a hyperactive child, because I am one as an adult. I have even taken to sleeping all day long on my day off so that I don't get in the car and drive to a casino. Today, is all lined out with activities. Thanksgiving craft, cleaning, putting pictures in computer to create discs. I have to plan my day off or I will be bored and do something I will regret. I too could spend 1000 at a time. UGGGG......
Here is a video that will teach you what is going on in your brain and why it needs to be stimulated. It is not that you are a weak person and you will see that people posting on here are not stupid. Far from it. We have a disease.
One day at a time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTZYK4A3taY

Hi MarieH2

Thanks a bunch. I am definitely trying to keep myself busy. I think my problem is finding enough to do every single day. I'm unemployed, looking for work and trying to find enough work on theside to keep me busy.

The video link you included was awesome. Thanks :-)

Welcome...your story sounds a lot like mine. You have come to a good place here. It really helped me years ago and I'm back because I know it can help!

I had to come clean by announcing to my husband what I was doing...I used the "I need the time to myself...it's my release" for years and it didn't get me anywhere, just caused the problem situation that I'm in now. If you have someone close you can voice your addiction to, it might help relieve some stress help you confront this horrible disease.
We can overcome this by making each day a happy day by staying away from that ugly monster!

Totally hear where your coming from - I myself had an episode last night. So I guess you could say today is day one!!! So tired of constantly juggling money. Bills are paid, but the constant balancing act is getting a little old for me. I'm taking the following steps:
(1) limiting my access to funds. Access to funds can be dangerous:
(2) getting some new hobbies (reading, artwork, comics etc). Need something to pass the time and fight the urges;
(3) making a commitment to come here everyday - I think the community can be very helpful;
(4) creating a budget which I basically just take my allowance out and that's it. Debit cards are the devil!!!
(5) limiting interactions with people whom in the past I used to gamble with - and instead spending time with family and friends who aren't into gambling.
I don't know the answer.... But I'm willing to admit I've made some bad choices and want to change things. Good luck to us both!!!

Hazel219

I used the same excuses time and again. I just needed to have my own time. However, that time could have easily been spent doing something far more productive. I chose to waste that money and now I am paying for it dearly. Unfortunately, I can't voice this to anyone close. My wife already knows as does my family. I can't rely on anyone but myself. I got myself into this and now it's up to me to get myself out.

Maverick80: It's a daily struggle for sure. However, if you cut up your debit cards or hand them over to someone, then you can never feel the urge without having to ask for them back - and that guilt may be enough to get you to stop. I had my wife hold my bank cards for me for a while - but it can be quite stressful for that person so be careful.

I will continue to come back here because I find writing about this makes a real difference for me.

Take care guys and if you want to become friends, just send me a request.

All of the tips above were amazing. Having a payee, self-banning, and being a part of this forum were really the tips that got me off of gambling on June 24, 2015.

I will also add that figuring out WHY you gamble is huge. Most people gamble because they crave action/want to fight boredom, want to escape/have too much stress, or a combination of the two. Finding benign substitutes are helpful.

For me, it was both. When I crave action, I download new challenging treadmill workouts and go to the gym and bang it out. If I'm tired but want the action, I found a local pinball arcade where I go for a few hours and might spend $30 the entire night trying to get a top score. It's fun, challenging, and action-oriented.

When I feel overwhelmed, I go for a walk. I read. I come here. I call a friend. I journal. I take baths. I go shopping (but remember, I have a payee, so I'm on a budget). I do whatever it takes not to gamble.

Feel free to write to me anytime.

"I guess I would like to hear from someone who's been there - is there right now and struggling - and what, if anything, works."

I will be honest. These forums, having an online watcher or partner will not help you. In the end, it is up to you, YOU, to kill it.

What helped me? 2 years GF?

God.

I read (and continue to read) his word everyday. Go to church, and talk to your pastor about it. He can help you. If you really want to quit...


God