Sucked back in but deciding to stop again.

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Lifeisstrange
(@lifeisstrange)
Posts: 17
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I got sucked back in after a long break. I'm ending with profit intact thankfully for the latest period, but the anxiety it was causing me was intensifying the more I did it. 

It's surprising how it creeps back up on you and ends up completely controlling your life. 

Sat in front of a computer watching prices change in real time and getting really angry at taking 5/2 when you could have had 11/4. It's insane! I decided to step away again today, because it was getting a complete grip on my emotions. 

The horses are like a drug to me. After 20 years of on and off gambling I should know better than backing heavy £200 win stakes and adopting high risk tactics, but it's a powerful thing. I love horse form but it becomes really obsessive for me.

I have allot of respect for the people on the forum who open their hearts and share their experiences. Everybody punishes themselves, but they shouldn't, because we all have emotional vulnerabilities and gambling becomes an extension of that.

When I feel wound up and stressed about other things in my life, I sometimes turn to gambling because it takes my mind off things and gives me a focus, but it can spiral so easily.

Over the course of my life I've gambled hundreds of thousands of pounds and studied just as many races. Most gambling companies have limited me due to periods of success. 

It doesn't matter how knowledgeable you become though on the form, there are still a number of factors that can't be calculated. Fitness, Connections intentions, trouble in running, changing ground conditions, non tryers, bad luck and the inevitable and undeniably suspicious dramatic improvers. It's still a game of chance and intuition. 

It's hard for me to walk away because horse racing is engrained upon me. I'll probably come back to it at some point, but I'd like to achieve a point where I can have an interest in the racing and bet a few quid without it impacting upon my emotions and leading to large staking.

It's tough though because temptation is a human frailty, and excitement and temptation are closely intertwined....

 

 
Posted : 5th March 2022 10:36 pm

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