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...
Good Afternoon Folks
Took me awhile to figure out how to get back into the site.
I am not computer wise.But am back and I am going to start
posting the GA Reflection for the Day again and hope to catch
up with my old recovery friends and to meet some new people.
If you are interested I visit a new site called Gamtalk that is run
out of Montreal Canada and it has 24/7 chat room and on Friday
at 3pm est we have a group Topic Session.Today's topic is Step 9.
God Bless
Ken L GRCG
March 22 Reflection for the Day
Once in a great while, I find myself thinking perhaps things werent quite so bad as they seemed to be. At such moments, I force myself to realize that my illness is talking to me, trying to tempt me into denying that I am, in fact, afflicted with an illness. One of the key action steps of the Gamblers Anonymous Program is that we give our illness to God, as we understand Him, accepting our powerlessness in the face of His greater Power.
Do I believe that the grace of God can do for me what I could never do for myself?
Today I Pray
May I know that much of our lives depends on faith. For we cannot know the limits of space and time or explain the mysteries of life and death. But when we see God working through us and through others who have found new life in the GA Program it is all the evidence we need to know that God exists.
Today I will Remember
The Big Wheel runs by faith.
Took me awhile to figure out how to get back into the site.
I am not computer wise.But am back and I am going to start
posting the GA Reflection for the Day again and hope to catch
up with my old recovery friends and to meet some new people.
If you are interested I visit a new site called Gamtalk that is run
out of Montreal Canada and it has 24/7 chat room and on Friday
at 3pm est we have a group Topic Session.Today's topic is Step 9.
God Bless
Ken L GRCG
March 22 Reflection for the Day
Once in a great while, I find myself thinking perhaps things werent quite so bad as they seemed to be. At such moments, I force myself to realize that my illness is talking to me, trying to tempt me into denying that I am, in fact, afflicted with an illness. One of the key action steps of the Gamblers Anonymous Program is that we give our illness to God, as we understand Him, accepting our powerlessness in the face of His greater Power.
Do I believe that the grace of God can do for me what I could never do for myself?
Today I Pray
May I know that much of our lives depends on faith. For we cannot know the limits of space and time or explain the mysteries of life and death. But when we see God working through us and through others who have found new life in the GA Program it is all the evidence we need to know that God exists.
Today I will Remember
The Big Wheel runs by faith.
My gambling compulsion is three-fold in that it affects me physically, mentally and spiritually. As a compulsive gambler, I was totally out of touch, not only with myself, but with reality. Day after miserable day, like a caged animal on a treadmill I repeated my self-destructive pattern of living.
Have I begun to break away from my old ideas? Just for today can I adjust myself to what is, rather than try to adjust everything to my own desires?
Today I Pray
I pray that I may not be caught up again in the downward, destructive spiral that removed me from myself and from the realities of the world around me. I pray that I may adjust to people and situations as they are, instead of always trying, unsuccessfully and with endless frustration, to bend them to my own desires.
Today I Will Remember
I can change only myself.
For a good part of my life, I saw things mostly in negative terms. Everything was serious, heavy, or just plain awful. Perhaps now I can truly change my attitude, searching out the winners in the Gamblers Anonymous Program who have learned how to live comfortably in the real world without gambling.
If things get rough today, can I take a quiet moment and say to myself, as the philosopher Homer once said, Bear patiently, my heart for you have suffered heavier things?
Today I Pray
May the peace of God that passes all human understanding fill the place within me that once harbored my despair. May an appreciation for living even for lifes trials cancel out my old negative attitudes. During heart-heavy moments, help to remind me that my heart was once much heavier still.
Today I Will Remember
I am a winner in the best sense of the word.
Today is my lucky day. How often in the past we said that, when it was an empty prophesy. Today, those words are real; I am being given a second chance. In my gambling days, I sacrificed every today for a dream of some distant tomorrow. Of all that I lost, I grieve most for all those todays. - I cannot bring them back. But today this day I have. I will not sacrifice it or waste it.
Do I truly believe that today is mine, that today I can choose to be happy, to grow, and to learn to live, instead of counting on some pie-in-the-sky day in the far-off future?
Today I Pray
I pray that the colors of this day may not be blurred by muted vagaries of the future or dulled by storm-gray remnants from the past. I pray that my Higher Power will help me choose my actions and concerns out of the wealth of busyness that each day offers.
Today I Will Remember
I will not lose for today, if I choose for today.
Gamblers Anonymous, wrote Dr. Robert L. Custer in the foreword to the Gamblers Anonymous Blue Book, is a Program of the Twelve Steps that provides a framework of hope, structure, and friendship for those who have chosen the road to a successful adaptation to a life without gambling. He adds, This road can be smooth or rocky, but, in any case, it is never a painless journey As a recovering compulsive gambler, I can face any discomforts today, knowing that the pain of recovery will never be as acute and desperate as the pain of my gambling days.
Am I prepared to see each new day in the GA Program as a time for learning, growing, and making healthy choices?
Today I Pray
May I make prudent use of the power of choice that God has given me, to plan wisely, one day at a time, without becoming a slave to apprehension, regret, or anxiety. I pray that Gods will be done through the exercising of my own will, which He, in His goodness, has given me.
Today I Will Remember
God wills my will to be.
Just wanted to bring you up to speed as to why there has been no
Reflection of the day for the past few days.
I have been dealing with heart and lung issues since Monday evening.
Things look like they are coming together but everyone once in awhile
there is a curve and we stop and move on in another direction. Sounds
a lot like recovery to me. Looking back on some of the things I did to stay
in the gambling game really amazes me and reminds me of the powerful hold our addiction has on us.The power to cause us to risk Family Health Home and all other things we love and value in our lives. So just like I started recovery from my gambling addiction ODAAT I am starting another type of recovery ODAAT.Not sure how long I am back online for but I am here this morning so going to catch up on the Daily Reflections.Hope you all have a great day and a great week as well.
God Bless
Ken L YBIR
JANUARY 7 Reflection for the Day
Im beginning to see just how unnatural my old life actually was, and that it became increasingly so as my illness progressed. The longer Im in the Gamblers Anonymous Program, the more comfortable this new way of life seems. At first, it was impossible for me to extend my hand to a newcomer; such an act was wholly unnatural for me. But it is becoming increasingly easier for me to reach out to another person. Sharing my experience, strength, and hope is becoming a natural part of daily living.
Have I learned that I cant keep what Ive gotten unless I give it away? Will I take the time to share today?
Today I Pray
May I share my love, my joy, my happiness, my time, my hospitality, my knowledge of things on earth, and my faith in a Higher Power. Even though I may not see the results of my acts of sharing, may I take joy in the acts themselves. May sharing, according to Gods plan, become as natural to me as speaking or breathing.
Today I Will Remember
Be never sparing in caring and sharing.
January 8 Reflection for the Day
Today is the day for which I asked and for which I have been given strength. That in itself is a miracle. The fact that I am alive is the great miracle from which all other miracles will flow, providing I continue to do the things that have brought me this far in my new life.
Am I grateful that I have been given this day?
Today I Pray
May Gods goodness and mercy follow me all the days of my life. May I never cease to wonder at the greatest miracle in my life that I am alive, here, on this green earth, and growing healthier with the life-preserving tools I have been given. Since God has chosen to give me life and to preserve my life, even through the dangers of my gambling addiction, may I always continue to listen for His plan for me. May I always believe in miracles.
Today I Will Remember
My life is a miracle.
JANUARY 9 Reflection for the Day
In the past, and sometimes even now, I automatically have said, Why me? when Im trying to learn that my first problem is to accept my present circumstances as they are, myself as I am, and the people around me as they are. Just as I finally accepted my powerlessness over gambling, so must I accept my powerlessness over people, places and things.
Am I learning to accept life on lifes terms?
Today I Pray
May I learn to control my urge to control, my compulsion to manage, neaten, organize, and label the lives of others. May I learn to accept situations and people as they are instead of as I would like them to be. Thus, may I do away with the ongoing frustrations that a controlling person, by nature, faces continually. May I be entirely ready to have this defect of character removed.
Today I Will Remember
Control for the controller (me).
JANUARY 10 Reflection for the Day
Since I came to Gamblers Anonymous, Ive become increasingly aware of the Serenity Prayer. I see it on literature covers, the walls of meeting rooms, and in the homes of new-found friends. God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.
Do I understand the Serenity Prayer? Do I believe in its power and repeat it often? Is it becoming easier for me to accept the things I cannot change?
Today I Pray
God grant that the words of the Serenity Prayer never become mechanical for me or lose their meaning in the lulling rhythms of repetition. I pray that these words will continue to take on new depths of significance as I fit lifes realities to them. I trust that I may find the solutions I need in this prayer, which, in its simplicity, encompasses all of lifes situations.
Today I Will Remember
Share the prayer.
The experiences of thousands upon thousands of people have proved that acceptance and faith are capable of producing freedom from gambling. When we apply the same principles of acceptance and faith to our emotional problems, however, we discover that only relative results are possible. Obviously, for example, nobody can ever become completely free from fear, anger, or pride. None of us will ever achieve perfect love, harmony, or serenity. Well have to settle for very gradual progress, punctuated occasionally by heavy setbacks.
Have I begun to abandon my old attitude of all or nothing?
Today I Pray
May God grant me the patience to apply those same principles of faith and acceptance that are keys to my recovery to the whole of my emotional being. May I learn to recognise the festering of my own human anger, my hurt, my frustration, my sadness. With the help of my Higher Power, may I find appropriate ways to deal with these feelings without doing harm to myself or others.
Today I Will Remember
Feelings are real I will acknowledge them.
Just a quick update on my health issues.When I came into the hospital last Monday night my breathing was short and my heart beat was in the high 150's.They did a Cardio Version on Wednesday and things improved back to a normal heart beat and I was starting to feel much much better.Last night my heart beat went back up into the 150's and breathing is short again.They are working on another plan with some new meds and tomorrow going to have an ECHO to see the condition of my heart.I am going to ask my Daughter Megan to post up dates on my face book page but and if I receive emails I will answer them.So please continue to keep me and my family in your thoughts and prayers.
God Bless
Ken L YBIR
JANUARY 12 Reflection for the Day
When I sit quietly and compare my life today with the way it used to be, the difference is almost beyond belief. But things aren't always rosy; some days are a lot better than others. I tend to accept the bad days more easily on an intellectual level than I do emotionally, or at gut-level. There are no pat answers, but part of the solution surely lies in a constant effort to practice all of the Twelve Steps.
Do I accept the fact that my Higher Power will never give me more than I can handle - one day at a time?
Today I Pray
That I may receive strength in the knowledge that God never gives us more than we can bear, that I can always, somehow, endure present pain, whereas the trials of a lifetime, condensed into one disastrous moment, would surely overcome me. Thanks be to God for giving us only those tribulations that are in proportion to our strength, never destroying us in our frailty. May I remember that fortitude grows out of suffering.
Looks like I will be adding a few new healthy life styles choices to my life. Actually when I started recovery I had a plan to deal with my gambling addiction but never really focused on health Doctor's ect cause in my mind my gambling hadn't really effected my health. Today I know that wasn't true.So as you start your recovery journey please include Doctor and life style changes for the positive.
God Bless
Ken L
January 13 Reflection of the Day
The Gamblers Anonymous Program and my friends in the Fellowship have provided me with a whole new set of tools for living. If I use all of these tools regularly and well, theyll also help rid me of such negative feelings as guilt, anxiety, rebellion, and pride.
When Im feeling depressed, do I use the tools that have proved effective? Or do I grit my teeth and suffer in painful silence?
Today I Pray
I praise my wonder-working Higher Power for giving me the tools for recovery, once I admitted I was powerless over gambling and gave myself over to the will of God as I understand Him. I give thanks for the Twelve Steps, and for the fellowship of the group, which can help me see myself honestly. I gave thanks for those words and phrases which become, as we understand them more completely, banners in our celebration of life free from gambling.
Today I will Remember.
Pass on the passwords to recovery.
January 14 Reflection of the Day
I admitted that I couldnt win the gambling battle on my own. So I finally begun to accept the critically important fact that dependence on a Higher Power could help me achieve what had always seemed impossible. I stopped running. I stopped fighting. For the first time, I began accepting. And for the first time, I began to be really free.
Do I realize that it doesnt matter what kind of shoes Im wearing when Im running away?
Today I Pray
May I know the freedom that comes with surrender to a Higher Power that most important kind of surrender that means neither giving in nor giving up but giving over my will to the will of God. like a weary fugitive from spiritual order, may I stop hiding, dodging, running. May I find peace in surrender, in the knowledge that God wills that I be whole and healthy and He will show me the way.
Today I will Remember.
First surrender, then serenity.
Thanks for posting the daily reflections here. I'm so sorry you are in the hospital and I hope you are feeling better. My husband has many health problems including his heart too. I agree that a big part of recovery from gambling addiction should be focusing on good health. Gamblers do tend to ignore their own health issues. Take care and get well soon!
Hugs, Cher
I must never forget who and what I am and where I come from. I have to remember the nature of my illness and what it was like before I came to Gamblers Anonymous. Ill try to keep the memory green, yet not spend time dwelling morbidly on the past. I wont be afraid to enjoy what is beautiful, and to believe that as I give to others, so others will give to me.
Can I ever afford to forget what it used to be like, even for one minute?
Today I Pray
May I never forget the painful days of my gambling addiction. May I never forget that the same misery awaits me if I should slip back into the old patterns. At the same time, may such backward glances serve only to bolster my own present strength and the strength of others like me. Please, God, do not let me dredge up these recollections in order to outdo my fellow members with my war stories. Like others who are compulsive gamblers, I must be wary of my desire to be center stage in the spotlight.
Today I Will Remember
I do more when I dont outdo.
All best wishes on a speedy recovery, I know you're a fighter, so hang tough!
Jay
Hoping to be released from the hospital this afternoon.
Like my recovery from compulsive gambling my journey
to improve and maintain my health starts today and it is only me who can do the work if I want to have a better
way of living and thinking.Hope you have a great day.
God Bless
Ken L YBIR
JANUARY 16 Reflection for the Day
When we first came to Gamblers Anonymous, whether for ourselves or under pressure from others, some of us were all but sickened by the concept of surrender. To admit defeat flew in the face of our lifelong beliefs. Some of us thought of the immortal rallying cries of Churchill at Dunkirk, or of FDR following the attack on Pearl Harbor. And so we secretly vowed, at first, that the very idea of surrender was unthinkable.
Have I truly come to believe that only through utter defeat am I able to take the first step toward liberation and strength? Or do I still harbor reservations about the principle of letting go and letting God?
Today I Pray
May I really believe that the complete surrender of my whole being to a Higher Power is the way to serenity. For I can be whole only in Him who has the power to make me whole. May I do away with any feelings of wanting to hold out and never admit defeat. May I unlearn the old adage which tells me that I must never give up and realize that such pridefulness could keep me from recovery.
Today I Will Remember
From wholly His to whole.
JANUARY 17 Reflection for the Day
I have been told over and over that I must constantly work to give up my old ideas. Thats easy for you to say, Ive sometimes thought. All my life, I have been programmed, computer-style; specific inputs brought forth predictable responses. My mind still tends to react as a computer reacts, but I am learning to destroy the old tapes and literally reprogram myself.
Am I fully willing to abandon my old ideas? Am I being fearless and thorough on a daily basis?
Today I Pray
Help me to take inventory each day of my stock of new, healthy thoughts, throwing out the old ones as I happen upon them without regret or nostalgia. For I have outgrown those old ideas, which are as scuffed and run-over as an old pair of shoes. Now, in the light, I can see that they are filled with holes.
Today I Will Remember
The Program reprograms.
JANUARY 18 Reflection for the Day
If we are determined to stop gambling, there must be no reservations whatsoever, nor any lurking notion that our obsession will someday reverse itself. Our regeneration comes through the splendid paradox of the Twelve Steps: strength arises from complete defeat, and the loss of ones old life is a condition for finding a new one.
Am I convinced that in powerlessness, power comes? Am I certain that, by releasing my life and will, I am released?
Today I Pray
May I know power through powerlessness, victory through surrender, triumph through defeat. May I learn to relinquish any trace of secret pride that I can do it by myself. Let my will be absorbed and steered by the omnipotent will of God.
Today I Will Remember
Let go and let God.