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...
Was doing well... and got a text from a friend to go watch and bet a bit on some sports... let's keep it small, I thought.
Sat/Sun/Mon/Tues kept losing and now back to ground zero.
Hope everyone else is doing well.
Sat/Sun/Mon/Tues kept losing and now back to ground zero.
Hope everyone else is doing well.
Welcome back, the best thing is that you are back. This disease always waits for the chance to trick us into believing keeping it small works, it doesn't. The first bet is the one to avoid.
As has been said here lately, a cucumber can become a pickle, but once it's a pickle, it's a pickle. The first and most crucial step in arresting this disease is owning the fact for yourself that you are, indeed, a compulsive gambler and knowing that as a compulsive gambler, you cannot gamble- on anything, no matter how small or inconsequential. It leads only one place- down. The problem is that the disease is always waiting for that little opening to make a repeat appearance- that's what you need to always be on the look out for. Also, you really need to at the very least, tell your gambling friends that you're no longer a gambler and to not tempt you. Depending on the relationship, you really should cut the ties altogether. With lifelong friends, that sucks and can be really difficult, but if they are true friends they won't ask you to go out with them. If they're just gambling buddies, you don't need to put yourself in that position. Just my 2 cents.
Hang tough and make it work for you- you deserve it.
Jay