I've lost $6K at the age of 17

Hi mate you should never think you sound crazy, everyone on this site I’m sure has done something they aren’t proud off in the past, including myself I’m only on my early stages of recovery too and I feel what really helps me is talking to people I highly recommend the chat function on this website to make a start on it. You should never feel guilty about anything you done the it’s an addiction and when it stops becoming about the money it can be scary. That was my hint to end when it stopped becoming about the money. I definitely recommend the chat it’s always a start to talk to someone there are ways out of it and there is help out there. I plan to hit a week gamble free and then I am going to start writing a dairy people are different and it will whatever will suit you best. One day at a time or I like to even go as slow as an hour at a time. The hardest thing is admitting it which you have done. You aren’t alone pal hope to chat to you soon hope this helps 

Hows it going mate? It sounds as if you're the exact same as me. Ive went through alot off substances myself and smoke cigarettes nearly everyday but if i dont have any cigarettes or substances it doesnt bother me in the slighest and i dont crave them. With gambling i literally couldnt stop and the urges to gamble were uncontrollable. Like me you're probably more prone to a mental addiction such as gambling as opposed to a physical addiction such as alcohol. Due to gambling being a mental addiction, its your mind that you will have to focus on. Somehow you will have to undo all the brainwashing that gambling has done to you and you will have to rewire your whole thought process about gambling. Its a lot easier said than done but what helped me was reading Allen Carr easy way to stop gambling. It helped me look at it all from a different perspective and now havent had a gamble in 98 days.

I can relate to your story because you're young. Fair enough im 27 now but i was gambling from age 11, had developed a gambling addiction by 13 and only decided to stop when i was 26. Its not worth it in the end. Dont do it until you're 26 like mee. It only gets harder to quit the more you do it and the older you get and i can honestly say you get to the end off the road with absolutely nothing to show for gambling except alot off negative impacts.

It sounds harsh but the road you have ahead off you will be a very long one and most likely you wont stop gambling until the penny finally drops and you're able to change your mindset on gambling. My best advice for you would be to try and quit now and accept that you'll never be able to recover your losses. If you keep gambling i can guarantee that you will only keep on adding to your losses and that desire to win back your losses will only intensify. You're far better drawing a line right now before things get worse. It honestly never gets better, things only get worse and harder but then again that took me 15 years off gambling to figure out.

I wish you all the best for the future mate and hope that you dont carry on doing it for the next 9 years or more off your life, like i did. You're still young! Dont let it destroy your life as the only certain bet is that it will destroy your life if you continue it on. If you want any questions answered i will be more than happy to help. Good luck mate

Thanks man, just got my monthly money and trying to get hold of it for the first time in many months, hour at a time, as doctor ordered. Appreciate it!

Hey man, thanks for the reply. I totally understand you, you have really really good points. Don't know how but I missed that point with it being a mental addiction and know I have some thoughts about it from a slightly different angle. You had it rough buddy - starting at 11 is beyond brutal and being in this literally mind-frying state for 13 years is even worse. But I think I'm off to a pretty good start here. You probably felt something at the back of your mind when you reconsidered your life choices after big loses or when you just couldn't play and were left with your thoughts about this subject, so, I think I found what subconscious tried to tell all this times: no matter how much you lose or how much you win - this isn't about money, it's about the thrill you get and how you avoid other depressive or sensitive things in your life. Addiction is never the cause all by itself but a consequence of something other that's happening. Even though rethinking it from this angle will be difficult for me, and I'm most certain for everyone, at least I know the direction I'm heading to and it's fixing other parts of my life while continuing to abstain myself from gambling.