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...

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Cristiangel 04/27/2017

Day one again. When will this cycle end... hopefully today. My problem is that I cannot win. I can only lose since I put all of my winnings and more back into the slot machines. When I win, I can't even hold onto my winnings for more than a week. It goes right back. So I am on this high at the time I win, but then I play more, lose it all and then I feel low- very low. My moods are from very high to very low. It is when I am at my very low that I say I am done with slot machines. As the days go by, I get bored and start playing away. Then I win again. The cycle is repeated. This has been going on for the last 5 years. I have lost approximately $300,000. I want to end this cycle but it is hard for me to deal with working for $20 an hour when I've been tricked into believing that I've been making large amounts of money so quickly. How will I ever be a normal person again?

skip88 04/27/2017

Cristi, so sorry you are hurting again but no compulsive gambler Ever wins. Not in the long run, no way. When you finally realize you are "winning" every day you stay away it will click. You can do this if you really want your life back, it's so worth it, God Bless

Robin-Mc 04/27/2017

How to be a normal person again? Step one is to stop gambling long enough to give yourself a chance to get back to normal life, I know that sounds impossible, but it's not. That is why we talk so much about "one day at a time" here. The urge to gamble is a strong one for a complusive gambler. Our minds can convince us of almost anything, especially that thought of gambling like a normal person, despite the fact we know we can not, deep down inside we know we'll only end up worse off then if we hadn't given in to our urge. I've been in and out of recovery for a long time now. The desire to quit gambling is also a strong feeling, I'm letting it engulf me. I want survival more than I want to gamble. So I keep writing about my feelings here. You can do the same, we are all here for the same reason. Today I will not gamble.

joycatcher 04/27/2017

Sounds so much like me.

The cycle, the addiction is SO powerful.

Get 90 days. May seem like a VERY tall order, but you've got to muster some clean time in order to get some traction for clarity. Get to meetings. Watch online videos or google about brains w/ gambling addiction. Immerse yourself in recovery "stuff" even if you don't get it or FEEL like it.
You've GOT to get some clean time in order to breath and LOOSEN the grip that addiction has on you.

I liken it to trying to run after a heroin addict all over town. They're shooting up and running and I'm trying to catch them and get them to rehab. Because I KNOW that there is no way they want to quit, the drug (for us gambling) is all we want and I need to get that junkie some time away (REHAB) in order to break the cycle and give a little perspective.

YOUR Brain WILL CHANGE. it will reset so that this is not ALL YOU WANT.

It has to get a break in order to do this. Consider yourself in ICU. you've got to get a break.
GO TO MEETINGS
WRITE
READ
RESEARCH on this
WALK
COOK
Find other HOBBIES
Volunteer -- help a needy child
GET TO MEETINGS
POST
EXCLUDE online and brick and mortar casinos
CUT UP CREDIT CARDS
LET SOMEONE ELSE HANDLE YOUR $
Expose your problem to others for accountability
GET To another Meeting

You will care, if not now, when EVERYTHING is gone-- OR when you start to get clarity --

ALL the best to you

Cristiangel 04/29/2017

Thank u Joycatcher for your help and encouragement!

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