Chrissy, you are not weak, you are addicted, and the only way I know how to overcome it, is by not gambling, each day I get up, I will not gamble. You are NOT a waste of life, and although I often asked why I was alive, especially after the damage I did, over and over again, I know there is a purpose, I know, I have a purpose. The money is gone, there is nothing you can do to get it back, but, today, is here, and today, you can participate in your recover. Your post made me think of all the times I went out, thinking just this one, and how much worse it got, it never got better. We are all here for you, please hang in there.

Your gambling maybe a waste but you are not a waste for sure. And yes, you can stop. Many people before us did and many people are doing it now and many will in the future.

Stop focusing on the money you lost, I know it's extremely hard but oddly enough money stress will put you back in the game, knowing you will loose more. Take a step back, take a deep breath, and distance yourself from gsambling until your fog clears. Hopefully you will find strength and caurage to submit you are powerless over gambling and start your recovery journey.

You matter today and what you do matter. You cannot undo what's been done but you can start today by doing it differently.

Hang in there, you can stop. We are pulling for you!

Love,
Victoria

Chrissy... I can personally relate to your post. It was only 9 days ago I was in the same situation.... flat broke. Barely had enough gas in my car to make it to work for one day. It happens to all of us. You are NOT weak. You are merely suffering from this terrible addiction called gambling. There is no cure for this disease there is only willingness to want recovery. It takes time. It takes strength, It takes commitment. I know this because I have been a compulsive gambler for the last 16 years. I relapsed about 4 years ago but it only became compulsive the last 9 months. I am weak too. But there is hope because during my recovery I was very happy and my life thrived. That is my goal again and it could be yours too. Know that you are not alone. Know that you are alive because you have a purpose here on earth. I love this poem by Jacquitta A. McManus... We are not defined by our mistakes, but how we react to them and the life journey we create despite of them.... I am here for you xoxoxo Chargergirl

Your alive because I needed you today to share your experience with me, send me a friend request (thank you) and show support!! I can't but we can! hang in there!

Chrissy, we know what you are going through...we have all been where you are. No ones life is a waste....how we chose to life it can be a waste. You are a recovering compulsive gambler, we all are and we all always will be. We live one day at a time, putting one foot in front of the other, staying on the straight and narrow to put our lives back together. We are here for each other, for support and encouragement so welcome aboard the recovery train!

we all have felt the say way at some point: I called myself a loser because I was losing at gambling. and this is not to minimize what you're feeling right now: this is just to say we understand.

the good news is it is possible to stop: but we have to stop one day at a time. that means actually saying: I won't gamble today. we have to make sure we limit our access to money. self-exclude if necessary. go to GA meetings. post on this site everyday until you feel stronger, then keep on to help someone else.

you are not a waste of life, but gambling will waste our lives! we are still worthy human beings with a gambling addiction. once I started thinking I was worthy of recovery, I started fighting to recover.

I'm not FIXED yet. after a couple of months of not gambling, I still have to say: I will not gamble today! because the thoughts pop up. so there is no quick fix or no instant cure. it will take hard work, determination, and a willingness to take advice and try something different.

love youself enough to give it a try. okay? you are worth it! thanks for your honest post. I look forward to hearing from you again....

I will echo everyone's comments and I was where you were not too long ago, but until you take action, you are going to dig yourself deeper in. I am new here, but what better place to share my financial ruin. LOL! Sometimes, it is just better to get things out in the open and look at what I've done so that I don't make the same mistakes over and over again. In the year and a half that I have been in Nevada, I have lost probably close to $75-80,000 and that is due to cashing out an IRA account, spending my savings account and racking up well over $20,000 in credit card debt from cash advance and refinancing some credit card debt against my new truck that would have not had a note on it, but not does. Since starting GA, I have managed to reestablish some savings, get the credit balance down to $5500 on a 0% card and I am not going to worry with reestablishing the IRA right now. Once credit card debt is paid, my plan is to start paying down on truck loan I had to take out to finance gambling debt. So making a plan will help you stick to your goal if you want to quit. In the 6 months I kept trying over and over and over and over to quit, I would use the excuse of "if I just could hit one more jackpot, I will quit for good." But we all know that doesn't happen. So I cut off my access to cash by being accountable to my husband. This worked for a while until I was desperate and then I started using my 5 credit cards to take out cash advances - this got out of hand and I had to admit this to my husband. So I called each card and had them change the cash advance line to -0-. You can do this with no questions asked. I tested it at the ATM - you can't get any money at all. One credit card left it at $200 just in case I had some sort of emergency. But all the other cards had anywhere from $2500-3000 cash advance lines, so I cancelled all of them. Just a side note, don't cancel the card completely - it will hurt your credit. You can cut them up and not use them, but cancelling a credit line kills your credit (I used to be a loan review officer for a bank). So just zero out the cash advance line and this takes away another source of money. After I did this, I started receiving balance transfer checks, so I called the two cards that were sending them and asked that they didn't send those and just gave the online option to do that by "card only." And the card company agreed. Doing these things will be painful, but it is a necessity - kind of like an internal control for yourself. After you do this, make yourself a debt management/payment plan and just chip away at it a little at a time. It goes faster than you think. Big hugs and hope things get better for you! :-)

Chrissy-
I can't offer too much beyond what everyone else has said, but Naynee offered up some great advice on managing your way to a better financial life. As far as how you're feeling right now, we've all been there, but it can and does get better if you take a stand and stop gambling- just for a day, an hour, a minute at a time. Use all the tools that you have at your disposal, frequently checking in here, GA if you can, counseling and finding someone that you can confide in at home so you have a.) an emergency stand by person to talk you out of going gambling and b.) someone to help manage your finances.
Hang in there, I know it seems like you can't see anywhere to go but down, but that's completely untrue- there is hope.
Jay

Chrissy, you are not weak and a waste of life. Compulsive Gambling is a very powerful addiction.
In fact I really believe we are strong people with a will to live productively. The admitting and acceptance or our disease and the desire to live One Day At A Time (ODAAT) Gamble free are the first steps to that life.
The fact you are hear and sharing your storyare proof you want that life.
Go for it.
We cannot as compulsive gamblers beat this disease by gambling. We beat it by remaining gambling free and therfore giving us the opportunity to help someone else also to beat it.
Best of luck,
John