That's funny you say that ! Anytime I got into a argument or something upset me .. The casino is the first place I ran to make it all
Go away... But it made my night worse .. I was still
Mad and now lost money :( lay in bed and listen to hypnosis or meditaion ...

Anything upsetting is exacting what we compulsive gamblers need to learn to deal with in another way. My little inner gambler will any excuse/reason. But ultimately the goal was for gambling to "take me away" like calgon. It is in running away from anything upsetting and anything that makes me have 'feelings' that the roots of all my addictions have sprouted. Finding other ways besides gambling to deal with the sticky situations is the key to recovery. Hopefully it is true and recovery and not just finding a new addiction. Facing the music with what ever is going on in the moment and being able to respond to it in the moment in a way that feels authentic to your real feelings, desires and needs is key to recovery.
So the idea in a relapse prevention plan is to think about situations, places, people that might trigger you and write out what you will do different than gambling the next time it happens/you see that person/whatever.
The first step is even becoming aware of your triggers, each time you identify one and find a strategy to not gamble through it you have achieved a victory.

Update..Well made it thru the night. Settled down after awhile. Feeling better. Didn't go gamble. Yeah

My therapist calls what we are missing "the ability to self-soothe." For years, I self-soothed with gambling, shopping, and eating delicious food at restaurants or junk food at home or in the car. Of these, gambling was by far the worst and the most destructive.

I think it's important that you find healthy ways to self-soothe. We all think that relaxing is one single category, but it is not. There are things you can do to relax AND improve your life, like learning a new skill, taking classes in an area you enjoy, trying out a new language, traveling, working at a job or hobby you love, reading an inspirational or how-to book, or spending quality time with positive people.

And then there are things you can do simply to relax that may not necessarily improve your life, like watching TV, going to see a movie, napping, going for a walk, reading an entertaining book, etc.

The issue is that you and I liked to do things to relax that were not positive, not neutral, but VERY destructive. Gambling will kill you from the inside out. You need to find new ways to self-soothe. It's so hard, but it's so worth it.

You did exactly what I would do and what we're suppose to do ... You came here and shared what was going on in your life as it pertained to your gambling problem. Good job!

I could certainly relate to and understand your anger ... glad you didn't cave and gamble... Good job!

Proud of you that you did not gamble. I understand wanting to run to the casino when our emotions overtake us. I am still fighting

Cudos to you on staying strong!!! I just got a book called "Healing & Recovery" by David Hawkins and WOW... it is awesome!!! There is a chapter on Alcoholism/ addictions that is extremely helpful. He also wrote another book called "Power vs Force" where he gives you a technique that is simple and is very accurate that you can use anytime to tell you whether something is true or false.
I finally got to a point 13 days ago when I could no longer deny that I am a compulsive gambler and I needed all the help I can get. Out of those 13 days I've been to 8 meetings, I will start my CG counseling Monday. I am committed and am doing whatever it takes to keep me from placing that bet just for today. I'm practicing and applying keeping my attention in the present..on whats happening right NOW...not yesterday or tomorrow.. but RIGHT NOW. I hope this helps.

Anger is one of those things that we really only need occasionally. I was most angry when losing at gambling, I would go around with a scowl, preoccupied with how I would cover my losses, snapping at people and generally being a pill. When I first quit gambling, my emotions were all over the chart, mood swings and intense anger, sadness, self-pity, depression, and sometimes out of the blue to me. That is part of the withdrawals from dopamine, I understand.
I hope Tsallen that your posting and reading here has helped.
Happyhatter: so wonderful to see your progress!