I have had enough of gambling

Hi SomethingNew, welcome to the forum & finding the strength to tell your story 🙂

Self exclusion is one way of helping you stop gambling but you may find that even after doing so the sadness hangs around like a bad smell 🙁 Basic advice is to get your loved ones on board because addiction thrives on secrecy but one step @ a time, you don’t have to tell everyone @ once. Do you have someone particularly close that you can confide in or anyone that could manage your money for you, or @ least whilst you get your self exclusion sorted? This is a tough battle to face alone & I’ve seen very little evidence that it is even possible so support is vital from anywhere you can get it. Have you spoken to any of the GamCare advisors yet? It may feel solely like a financial problem @ the moment but it isn’t & counselling (GamCare provide this free of charge)/GA could really help you get this under control & find your mojo again.

Coming here is a big step but it is a great start & hopefully you will find this place a safe haven to come & discuss your thoughts & fears - ODAAT

best wishes SomethingNew x

Hello SomethingNew,

Like you have an addiction to online slots as well as betting machines in book makers. I chase the features. Over the years I have found myself hopping from place to place as I win or lose.

I have been here for 4 days and decided I needed to change, and change fast.

I’d suggest looking at a bank account that allows you to disable the card functions, so you can card disable gambling or atm or whatever you feel is right for you. starling bank does that as standard.

I think you’ve made a step in the right direction admitting you have a problem. Like you I’ve known I’ve had one but never really given it much effort to quit. I find talking on here useful and has helped me over the past few days. It’s only early days for me (day 3 - well day 4 now) however it’s giving me a sense of focus to drive forward.

Set yourself a small target of going a week without gambling. If you stumble and fall off the horse don’t worry. Everyone here will help you get back on it and try again.

One thing I do know from my own experience is it’s not a nice feeling having a zero balance so early in the month and having to struggle day in and day our to make it through the month, so I feel your pain.

Gamcare is essential

Talking about your problem is a must

Setting goals, no matter how small they are set you something to focus on

CJ.

Hey there 🙂

You’ve taken the biggest step already .... admitting you have a problem! We’re all here for the same thing and yes, we’ve all fallen off the wagon (I have anyway) but, brush yourself off and start again, keep faith and read the stories on here for inspiration. Read my story as it’s very similar, I’ve another 19 years on you though but I started in my 30’s. Good luck and stay GF... Kaz xx

Hey there 🙂

You’ve taken the biggest step already .... admitting you have a problem! We’re all here for the same thing and yes, we’ve all fallen off the wagon (I have anyway) but, brush yourself off and start again, keep faith and read the stories on here for inspiration. Read my story as it’s very similar, I’ve another 19 years on you though but I started in my 30’s. Good luck and stay GF... Kaz xx

Hi everyone

Thank you all for replying and giving your advice, i am going to look into all the options you have all provided, i have told a few people that i plan on quitting gambling but that is all im brave enough to share for now, most people know i like to put a bet on they just don't know how badly i have let it become.

Thankfully today my 2nd attempt at registering with GAMSTOP was successful which is a big relief for me, i am only 2 days gf and maybe i should be proud of that but i know it is only because i have no funds left to gamble away.

i know i have a tough journey ahead and i am going to look into making some goals to acheive, especially at the weekend as that is when my problem was at its worst because i had no work and nothing to occupy my time with.

I have been reading alot of stories on here and i am going to continue doing so and hopefully find some courage to open up to someone at least.

Good luck to everyone on your own journey.

Hi SomethingNew,

2 days is better than none so you are doing well. Keep going and you’ll get there.

CJ.

Hi CJ.

Thank you, You are right, we all have to start somewhere and 2 days of gambling could and would have done alot of damage.

Oh definitely.

We just have to keep swimming so to speak. You are doing extremely well so keep going.

So after being 70 days gamble free, I messed up again.

I was able to sign up online using a different email address and managed to blow £900 of my own money and £2000 of money I won and then blew all that when I sunk into that little bubble where nothing else exists.

I don’t know why I did it because I had been so much happier the past 2 months not having to worry about borrowing money to get by, or being able to treat myself to a few things that I have been unable to do for so long because of gambling, and to let myself fall back into that feeling of stress and worry for absolute nothing makes me so angry with myself even as I kept on depositing another £10 I kept saying it would be the last.

Thankfully I was able win back £600 and I cashed this out instantly and closed down the account but I am so annoyed at myself for allowing it to happen in the first place.

So tomorrow I am back to day 1 gamble free again and hopefully this time I don’t mess up because I can’t handle the feelings that come with it anymore.

Posted by: SomethingNew

Hi I would just like to introduce myself to the forum, I am a 30 year old women and I have an addiction to online gambling and once again I have blown all my salary on online slots, I have known for a good few months now that I have a problem but have been unable to take any steps to stop, after doing the exact same thing last month I tried to self-exclude myself using gam stop self-exclusion and there was a problem and I can now only do it manually and that involved taking a photo of myself with my ID which I was nervous about doing so I self-excluded myself individually from the sites that I had liked to use but I just signed up to another site and I knew I should have stopped and I was aware my money was running lower and I just couldn’t stop.

My only saving grace was that I had paid all my priority bills first.

I have been gambling for years and at first I enjoyed putting in some money on payday, if I lost I lost and if I won I cashed out, I’m not sure how I got to the point where that wasn’t enough. I have won big and that buzz that comes with a huge win only deflates a few hours later where I have gambled it all away plus spent more trying to win it back.

I need help to stop and I realise this now, I am a very private person and I do not open up to people easily at all so I can’t even imagine telling my family so coming here feels like a big step.

I am fed up of feeling this anxiety, depression every month when I get myself into this situation, and I just want to feel happy again and enjoy life, I want to sort out my debt and stop wasting my money.

I have requested GAMSTOP send me another form to complete and I am going to go through with the self-exclusion, for my own benefit I need this done before I next get paid because I don’t want to feel like this again.

Thanks for reading.

Hey.

I'm not going to lie, but this is probably going to be the hardest thing that you ever do in Life. I hope you stop. Not slow down or have limits because I'll tell you now-that doesn't work. I just lost again and I want to be dead. I have a decent Life and I choice to mess it up. It's an illness that I choose to have. That's all it comes down to. Obviously money is an amazing thing and everyone wants more but it'll never happen through gambling. Only depression, sickness, anxiety come through gambling. Not money. 

Hey, 

Yes i agree it is very hard, i have self excluded but was able to find another way.

yes stopping is what i want and i was much happier the past 70 days where i didnt gamble, i hope you can also stop,i know how horrible it feels when you have got yourself into a bad situation and it isnt nice at all, and you are 100% right, all that comes from gambling is depression, sickness, anxiety , i am sick of having those feelings now.

Good luck in your own recovery.

Have you self excluded via GamStop? Or just individual sites? If not, get signed up to GamStop. It goes a long way into cutting out any kind of online gambling out of your life. 

Yes I did that the first time but one site let me sign up with a different email and address but once I withdrew my winnings I got an email saying that my card was used in an account where self exclusion was in place, so the account has now been closed , someone has mention gambling software for my phone so im going to try that, that is where I gamble no where else so will also be a huge help I think.