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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I just don't get it yet

assisi147
assisi147

Hi everyone!..as always its been a while since I post here(about 8 months)..during this time I've been going through a lot of ups and downs and...especially as I mentioned on my last post I filed for chapter 7 bankruptcy this year because of this terrible addiction that led me to horrible and disastrous financial situation...Thanks God with the help of my professional lawyer my bankrupcy was successful and I'm now debt free..during this time I was also seeing a gambling therapist and I self excluded myself from my preferred casino...BUT HERE IT COMES THE SIDE OF ME THAT I'M REALLY WORRIED AND SCARED NOW...instead of learning my lessons and listen to my therapis to my lawyer and all the people who love me( including you guys) in the last 3 months I've decided to visit a new Casino in my area and thinking in my SICK MIND....oh no!.. this time would be different...I promise to myself...NO MORE HEAVY GAMBLING...I'LL JUST WALK  IN HAVE SOME GOOD TIME WITH FRIENDS... GET SOME FREE COFFEE AND DRINKS...GAMBLE ONLY 40$...THE MOST 60$ AND I'LL GO HOME HAPPY....... What a BIG FAT LIE!!!....Instead. ...and of course all of you friends can imagine...the results of these last 3 months are:  3.000$ IN GAMBLING LOST.  MORE PAIN.   MORE LIES TO MYSELF TO THE PEOPLE THAT I LOVE AND....SILLY TO MENTIONED IT... TO MY CELLPHONE COMPANY AND INSURANCE COMPANY TRYING TO EXPLAINED THEM THE REASONS I NEED SOME EXTRA TIME TO PAY THE BILLS. Sorry friends for my long post but I need it to get it out of my chest ..with the hope that I WILL GET IT RIGHT...AND REALIZE THAT GAMBLING AND CASINOS NEED TO BE OUT OF LIFE PERIOD. THANKS AND I LOVE YOU ALL.

yes2recovery
yes2recovery
For sure, this disease will never stop trying to find a way in! Once we cross the line into compulsive gambling, there is just no going back to controlled gambling ever again. It's a hard lesson to learn, and I feel like I have to be on guard every minute. It's exhausting, but worth it if I can keep the demon at bay one day at a time. Can you self-exclude from the new place ASAP? Give someone else your money to hold for you? Drastic times call for drastic measures, so please do whatever you need to do to make a new start and keep yourself safe. Today I will not gamble,
deliaberg88
deliaberg88
This addiction is so damaging to our lives , I am working again, part time jobs,
it is important for me to stay busy, and join groups, yoga, meditation, groups that are mindfulness.
At my last group , we made a STOP sign I stuck to the back of my phone,
It is an alert , to stop, think about what I really want to do.
It gives me the time to calm down, be aware of my need to be mindful, my actions need to be positive and love myself,
you can do it, I will not gamble today.
itsjustmeagain
itsjustmeagain
we are sick, never temp yourself, get to a GA meeting, get a sponser, learn and keep listening....best to you
Qwit4Good
Qwit4Good
What seems to be the downfall that brings relapse is the thought or idea that we can be social gamblers again. Once we cross a certain line there is no going back. (A cucumber can still be a pickle but a pickle will never be a cucumber again.) We cannot go back anymore than we can wish ourselves to be 20 yrs younger. We need to remember the pain...in order to decide not to go there again, my next bet is also the door to my personal hell. (I am not opening that door today.) I had to change my false belief that I could get ahead by gambling. I also had to decide that I deserved a better life. You can do this, you have probably had enough hell.
assisi147
assisi147
thank you so much to all of you for the great support and advices... yeah I will try to post more often ..especially when the urge of gambling takes over. But my other problem is that unfortunately most of my friends and coworkers love to gamble and very often invited me for a dinner or a night stay in one those hell hole...But I already had a good talk to most of them...because I don't want to go back to that miserable and stressful lifestyle.. if they want to stick with that misery I told them the two magic words that they probably want to hear....GOOD LUCK....I don't believe in that anymore ...its a false illusion. For me ..now that I'm debt free its a second chance to get my life back on track and start doing the things and activities that I real used to enjoy it....TODAY I WILL NOT GAMBLE
Qwit4Good
Qwit4Good
WTG assisi! That's the attitude! Once I was no longer secretive about my gambling problems, the weight of the shame began to lift. Filling my calendar really made my abstinence easier, especially early on. Lots of GA meetings, therapy 2x week, going to a volunteer job, making play dates with friends for scrabble, museum haunting, hiking, or bicycling. Lastly we feel better about the world and ourselves if we work at giving ourselves meticulous self-care.
Robin-Mc
Robin-Mc
Today I will not gamble, gratefully. I’ve had unsuccessful quits before, and for me it seems to be a feeling of no one will know that has sent me back out there secretly gambling again. I can even remember telling myself that I don’t count when it comes to no one will know. That’s so pitiful. I don’t count because I don’t matter? Stupid addiction! I count and I matter. I’m learning to treat myself better because of that.
Today I will not gamble
Getting_Out
Getting_Out
I certainly know that feeling about all your friends/coworkers and relatives going out to eat. I was in the same boat !!! My cousin called me all the time to gamble and eat ....then another friend started calling me. Last time she called ...told her no. They soon got the hint and stopped calling me. Don't get me wrong.....I still go the odd time with my cousin but soon as we eat ...i'm out the door. Now I'm not telling you to do that ...because some people can't do it and you have to be pretty sick of losing money which I am. It took me a few times before it worked for me.....but now it does. First of all ....I don't have the money to gamble and 2nd ...I leave everything pertaining to money at home other than the price of my meal and tip. I really like going with my brother and his wife because with them ....they don't gamble and then leave. When I think now what I can do with 20.00 .....I get sick about the money I wasted ....but I try not to look back .....and go forward. I've been watching some videos on Youtube about living on a budget and its sure helping. I picked up so many tips. I used to watch the gambling at first .. but now have no desire to do it. If any of your friends can't go to somewhere other than casinos ....then don't bother going. Good luck
healing57
healing57
Going to a casino for any reason does not seem like a good idea for any reason when you are a compulsive gamble. It just increases the temptation. Giving all of my money to someone is the only way I have stayed gamble free for 2 months. I relapsed after 19 months. I too thought I would be ok and gamble a little. By giving away my money means credit cards, debit cards, checks and my friend pays my bills and gives me money for food and gas. It is desperate but what I was doing was worse. Writing thousands of dollars in bad checks at the casino and incurring double that in fees and fines both with the banks and casino. Gambling is a losing battle for me and I can't do it even a little bit. Today I will not gamble.
assisi147
assisi147
thanks again to each one of you....every day is a learning process...these last 3 days I've been trying to visualizing and understand what was the course of my actions and thoughts that led me inside the casino...and I realize that it was a lock of self determination to really fight my addiction...and also that insidious thought..."THIS TIME IT WILL BE DIFFERENT".....I must to accept the fact that when I sit in front of a slot machine and start feeding it with my hard working money the word DIFFERENT just disappear from my vocabulary and I will be in that TRANCE STATUS OF MIND....that have already cause me years of pain and sleepless nights...and of course a bankrupcy..... it wiil be my free choice...Casinos will NEVER force me to walk in and gamble...BUT from my experience I KNOW that if I voluntarily open their doors and step inside that fantasy world....I WILL LOOSE MY SANITY AND SELF RESPECT....and the gambling industry don't really care....I was gambling for 2 days straight some weekends..loosing thousands of dollars...had a look of desperation on my face...and my casino host or a supervisor never ask me...HEY SIR! ARE YOU ALL RIGHT? I THINK YOU SHOULD STOP GOING TO THE ATM FOR TONIGHT.....NEVER!!..They only approached me to asked if I want more cigarettes...food..or a drink.