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...
I'm feeling that little itch to "just go" "one more time". The voice is getting a little more persistent and it feels like it is building, not calming down. It's not to the point where I'm afraid of losing control but I can see that point coming. AND I'm going to take some action and not sit around and wait for it to become overwhelming.
I'm going to start exercising this week.... gonna sweat it out! And I'm going to tell everyone in my inner circle what is going on in my head. And I'm going to delve back into some recovery materials that are gathering dust on my night stand.
Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated :)
I'm going to start exercising this week.... gonna sweat it out! And I'm going to tell everyone in my inner circle what is going on in my head. And I'm going to delve back into some recovery materials that are gathering dust on my night stand.
Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated :)
" Your story is my story except that I carried it even further. I went from where you left off and kept gambling more money than I had. I just gave up fighting it. I decided that I would gamble until I could gamble no more... meaning I was in jail or dead. Well, neither of those things happened, having my bank account levied from a lawsuit that I ignored was enough - I guess I should be thankful for that.
Like you said, it was not about the money. For me, I just needed relief from the urge to go. I needed that voice to shut up and let me get on with my day. At that time, the only solution I could see was to go.
I'm sure we all have different stories about how we are trying to stop and fighting those urges. The first thing I did was make an appointment to see a therapist that specialized in addiction. The second thing I did was see this as a serious problem that needed my full attention and all of the energy that I could muster to fight it. This is a list of the other things I am doing:
1. Write a journal
- this helps me to be aware of my feelings.
2. Read my old journal entries
- this is especially helpful when I'm feeling like going. I read through old journal entries and rediscover how sick I am and how far I've come.
3. Meditate
- i am so stressed out by everything my gambling has created that even 10 minutes of not thinking is immensely calming.
4. Be aware of my feelings / stop being numb to them
- this basically just means that I will notice what I am feeling. I don't have to do anything about it.
5. Keep a happy journal
- I struggle with feeling happy. I have a journal that I just make an effort to write a favorite quote in - with pretty colored markers or I print out and paste a favorite picture of one of my kids and write about the time that it was taken.
6. Read recovery books
- the more I know the more powerful I feel
7. Therapy
- at this point in my life, my therapist is really the only person I am accountable to. I have promised myself that I won't lie to the person I am paying money to to help me get better. Having that accountability is priceless, my gambling is no longer a secret.
8. Seek support from others in the same boat
- Yay I'm here and I may go to GA.
9. Add road blocks and continue to add more and more road blocks
- I have many roadblocks I've implemented to stop me from gambling at my favorite places. I called my casino host and told her I was done with gambling forever. I asked her to remove me from any and all communications. I cut up my debits cards and changed banks to one that is 30 minutes away. If I want cash, I have to write a check at the teller. I have told many people that I am a gambling addict and that I am stopping gambling. The first month, I planned out every single dang day so that I would not have any free time. I called up family and friends and asked them to help me and made appointments with them. It was exhausting because I'm not very social and kind of lazy. I still try to think up new road blocks because eventually the urge finds a way to circumvent the old ones!
10. To be determined :) - I am a work in progress and I've decided that I am going to have to work at this thing every day and come up with new ideas.
-Girl you know you can do it. Stop that stinkin" thinkin" in its tracks. Love ya ~atticus
..... and I shall keep on keeping on!