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...
Hi, I'm TY. I've been gambling off and on for 10 years and I'm 34. I've tried to quit multiple times and it always seems that I end up back at the casino. The overpowering urge to gamble takes over mostly after work. It's almost as if I can't even stop myself anymore. I can even make it 30 days without gambling. I've definitely reached an all-time low right now. I've even thought about suicide to end this overpowering urge that I feel I can't even fight anymore. I see a therapist once a week and I was going to meetings and they were helping until my dad ended up in the hospital with cancer... I guess it was a way out for me or just an excuse to go back and Gamble. One of the men at the meetings that I go to kind of really laid into me after I had gambled and not been in recovery for even 30 days. That was another reason I went and gambled again because I couldn't take the criticism. I haven't been back to a meeting since, nor have I yet to use the phone list. I could really use some insight. My bank account is negative, and gambling has affected me in so many negative ways but I still go back. I signed myself out of the casino 2 years ago and I still go. I wouldn't even be able to win thousands of dollars and keep it. When I do go to gamble and I win money I end up giving it back and gambling it away and leaving with nothing but a sick stomach. I would do anything at this point to stop and I don't know where to start.
i feel sincerely, that its a mental illness and that just white knuckling it doesnt work
so what does, well you have too force yourself to stop for 90 days, which is why GA recommends 90 meetings IN A ROW, so it is a constant reminder to stop the madness
i wish you the best, they really are your only hope, im not sure why everyone is so reluctant, go get some help, you will no shock anyone w/your stories, we have all done the exact same or worse
stick around
I'm still working on 90 days, today is 69. And this isn't my first attempt at ending the madness in my life. This time around I'm focusing on my true desire to quit gambling, I want this so badly. I need this, too.
Please don't let anything get in your way when it comes to your recovery. You can do this, along with the rest of us. Never give up, there is hope.
Welcome to our group.
He spoke very highly of meditation as a very effective practice that can assist people greatly in both stopping or reducing the impulse.
I quit for 17 months in 2015. Relapsed.
Quit for 2 months. Relapsed again.
I'm about 2 months clean at this point, and I'll tell you this: Quitting is like anything else that's worth doing, it takes time.
You have to learn to be a good parent for yourself. Set boundaries and be disciplined. If you cross that line, there is a consequence, but you have to toe the line between being too harsh/shaming yourself and being too lax/letting yourself get away with it completely.
You have to learn to be curious about yourself. I've tried so many hobbies in the past two years. Some worked, like journaling, meditating, running, non-gambling video games, and going to my favorite bookstore. Some didn't, like casino-based video games, painting, rock climbing, yoga, and going out with friends more. You have to stay open-minded about what you will enjoy substituting gambling with. It will take time.
It takes compassion. It takes loving yourself enough to know you're done with this endless cycle.
I can't even remember what it is I like to do. I know it didn't involve a casino. This seems so endless...like a bottomless pit. I know people say it's great and I believe them. It just seems SOO HARD to get there. I just hate being in the spot that I'm at. 34 years old and not a pot to piss in, it really stinks. I feel like sometimes I'm never gonna get better.
Meanwhile, there are some other things you can do to help yourself quit. Aside from the obvious of self-bans and controls over money, you can write a "goodbye to gambling letter", putting all the reasons you want to quit in writing. You can begin to create a relapse prevention plan: naming all your triggers and what you plan to do other than gamble the next time you encounter that trigger. (i.e.: When my mother says something that hurts my feelings and I feel like gambling, I will go in the bathroom and say an affirmation to myself instead.) You can use your "goodbye to gambling" letter, as something to reread when you have a thought or urge to gamble.
It is hard to get past the first 90-120 days, it's get slightly easier each day after that, one day at a time. I gambled for over 4 decades, attempted to quit multiple times. It was not until I got to my "rock bottom" all time low, that I was finally able to fully commit to quitting. I am close to 2 years 6 months since my last bet.
Hang in there, you are alone.
so say to yourself where do i want to be, what kind of person do i want to become, be selfish and get your life back on track, its bottom, the only way is UP, its baby steps, you can do it, if you were on the call wed, sue b, is very vocal about her plight, she gambled til she was homeless/lived on/off the streets and stayed in the library most of the time thats when she was saved by GA....and she is free i think over 10 years, and she is ok, but still comes for her "medicine" you are sick....GO GET YOUR MEDICINE ....best to you