Many people self ban and it is helpful to them. I did not, as even though there are a handful of Native American owned casinos in my State, I did 95% of my gambling at State owned poker/slot machines located in every bar, restaurant, deli on every corner. There are hundreds of places for me to gamble within a three mile radius. I had to get a mind set about it, perhaps as an alcoholic might, that I just couldn't do it. Other people may be able to gamble normally, but it is not me.

Regardless of whether people self ban or not, if they are no longer gambling they have too much time on their hands. I filled many of the initial hours with 2 GA meetings per week, one meeting with my counselor per week, one face to face support group meeting, an education group about gambling addiction once per week.

Additionally, I had to revive hobbies and fill the time but I also had to become mindful of my own thoughts so that I could intervene if I started to think that gambling and that helped me to be aware of picking up a new addiction while trying to quit one. (I did not want to gain a food or shopping addiction in place of my gambling.) Also these are the things that are not just "time fillers" but the things we love. The things that satisfy our curiosity, our desire for variety, our social needs, our desire to do for others, our desire to feel needed, our spiritual needs, the things that lift us up, the things that are part of meticulous self-care, The things that make life worth living.

I volunteered at my local Habitat for Humanity ReStore, I still play dates with friends, I revived several hobbies (Photography, rock hounding, Scrabble, hiking, Cribbage, dancing, gardening) and started a few new ones,(Drawing, painting, Birding). I spend time each day now, meditating, reading an affirmation, talking to someone I care about, I look for a way to laugh every day, I journal, writing in a gratitude diary, communing with my higher power, doing something creative, and striving for performing meticulous self care by sleeping enough, eating right, exercising, using lotion, making it to regular health care provider visits, drinking lots of water, using sun block, performing other hygiene activities and keeping a clutter free environment. Additionally I try to be open to new experiences, new places to go, new things to learn, I use my local library for research, books, audio books, community events, and movies. I am approaching 19 months of abstinence.

I self banned 28 days ago and I try to do things recovery related if possible on the days I would have been gambling. GA meetings, AA meeting Celebrate Recovery meetings are great lookit up on line. I slept a lot at first but now I go to meetings, go to the movies, go out to dinner, draw, paint, color, and journal on this website. You can keep it private but you can go back and look at how you felt after quitting if you want to gamble again. Support , meetings and people in recovery is a big thing when you are quitting

Great job on banning yourself. I am only 13 days clean this time round but here are some things I have been doing lately. First of all, I am really working the steps. I am going to GA meetings, also, this site has a once a week call in conference call once per week and I have been calling into that. Also, I am doing a lot of reading. I am spending time with my family. I also have been coming to this website. My frame of mind is that if I am not working hard to recovery then I am working to gamble.

I have told my story on here as to what brought me to banning myself. Short version, On Feb 12th I told my husband that I was still gambling. This was after I had to tell him months early that I was going to stop and we had to borrow 20K to pay off gambling dept. Enough equity in the house to do this. I thought that was my breaking point. Nope, Back up a few day before the 12th. He caught me at a casino, he happen to drive by. When I got home he asked how much I lost, I threw money at him. I told him he could have it. It as not about the money anymore it was about how my brain loved being fed. I knew I was deep. So on Feb 12 I asked him to go with me on Feb 14 to ban myself from all the casions. We made a day of it. I told him that it was my gift to him for Valentines Day. He cried. Our day was a happy one, I was getting my life back and he was getting his wife back. Over and over I had read people advising to ban, but I saw it as "taking my fun away." Banning myself has giving me back my life. I actually don't think of those machines anymore. I pick up my camera again and shoot a lot of pictures. I joined a gym and work out. I watch movies, While gambling I didn't watch any movies. I looked at them. I live again!

I tried a lot of different hobbies. Some I enjoyed, and some I didn't. I think it's important to go into exploring new hobbies with a "curious" mindset, like you're looking for a substitute, rather than looking at it like you're going to automatically find something that is just as good or time-consuming as gambling once was for you. I looked at it that way when I started out, and I was disappointed a lot with new hobbies. That said, once I adopted a "curious" mindset and tried a lot of different things, I found things that worked for me.

For me, running has been a life-saver. I'm now training for a marathon and it's life-changing. Other than that, reading, meditating, doing affirmations, doing visualizations, going to bookstores, traveling, going to spas with the money I saved from gambling, working harder, and shopping for running clothes and gear (and new clothes when I lost 30 pounds!) all were great.

Things that didn't work out so well for me included signing up for an in-person support group (I am introverted and felt awkward), watching movies, yoga, dance classes, arcade games, guided meditation, rock climbing, and joining religious groups.

Hope this helps!