I am new to posting to this site but have been reading for weeks. I stopped gambling on 12/7/14; so not too long ago. Since I have stopped, I have realized I had to put roadblocks in place to ensure I would not gamble. I have banned myself from the casino. Since you have already done that, why don't you do it to the out of state casino too? I also had to have my husband open another account and direct deposit his check into it to limit the amount of money I had access to. I found that when I had too much time or access to money, I just lost control. I hope somehow you can find a little peace this holiday season.

Jenrumor you have to have hope that it is possible to stop gambling. and it is. read posts from others who have struggled to stop, and how we learned daily habits that help keep us out of the casinos. Like asilf said, banning is great, and it demonstrates our willingness to stay away from the casino. a lot of us have gone into recovery, then relapsed, then back into recovery.

so please don't think your struggle is any different. I know I have wondered what is wrong with me! but I'm learning it is the power of this addiction, not the individula. (if that makes sense)

keep posting, keep reading, see if you can find a local GA where you are, think about self-banning, and limiting your access to money, and most of all: please don't continue to beat yourself up., sometimes the worse we feel about our gambling, the more we gamble because we feel like a loser anyway. so, for me to start feeling like a winner: I had to stay away from the casino: one day at a time! every day that I don't go: I feel like a winner! because when I was going all the time: even if I won big: I was still a loser because I would lose it all back.......

again, keep posting and reading and posting. there is hope! there is life after gambling.....

response to your question, yes, there is much more to life than gambling.

find a support grp.. reconnect with good friends

Find everything that you are willing to do that will curtail your gambling and anything that is not gambling and do it. When you don't have money, practice doing things that are not gambling. Surround yourself with non-gamblers, take up a hobby, volunteer, go for a hike, take photos, find a support group, ANYTHING as long as it is something besides gambling. There is nothing wrong with you except a sickness called addiction. We all have been there - and it does not go away - but while I am only 47 days since my last bet, I feel so much better now. I am not sneaking around, hiding, and spending every dime at a video slot machine. I am invested and working at becoming a better person. I invest in good friends that have stuck by me regardless of my shameful behavior. I walk or exercise 3-5 days every week, I eat nutritionally, I post in three different groups here, I go to 2 groups per week, I see a counselor every other week, I find something to be grateful for every day. I work at being a non-gambling person every day. I think about all the loving thoughts anyone has ever had for me and realize that I have always been loved. Start your peaceful Christmas Day with gratitude that you still have a loving family, friends and a home. Many of us had to lose all that in order to get sick and tired enough of gambling to quit. Yes - there is a great deal of life without gambling, and it is different and wonderful and bad and beautiful and ugly every day. For all the pain in life, it is not nearly as painful as what I put myself through while gambling.

how is it going now Jenrumor? there has been some great advice given on your post. let us know how you are doing?