My Gamble Free Diary

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(@missp)
Posts: 71
Topic starter
 

16 whole days of not gambling!!! 

So many mixed emotions.. 

Happy that I’ve got to this stage.. 

Sad because I ever got to this stage.. 

Devastated because yesterday my husband couldn’t go out to an event that’s been planned for months because he had no money..  The man earns over £50k a year and he had no money.. Because his wife gambled it all away.. 

Angry because I had no right to put this kind of financial pressure on my family. 

I have no desire to gamble.. It crossed my mind about 7/8 days ago but purely because we’re so financially damaged and a slight thought passed through my brain ‘I could try to win some money to see us through to payday’ 

Other voice kicked in ‘No you can’t, it’s not guaranteed that you’ll win and gambling is what got you into this position in the first place.. plus your hubby will definitely leave you if you relapse for a third time’

I didn’t gamble and since then I’ve had no thought of it either.

Aside from the financial aspects, the last few months, I had started to hate the person I was becoming and how it was taking over my life.. Still wasn’t strong enough to stop though... 

I’m sure the thought of it may flitter through my mind at some point in the future but I won’t succumb... there’s too much at stake. 

Online roulette or my family, I’ll choose the latter every single time. 

Payday is in 5 days and for the first time in over a year, we will actually have some spare money because I haven’t gambled it all away. 

I’m soooo looking forward to getting our lives back on track. 

This site has been amazing. I just wished I would have looked for it sooner..

Thank you for reading...

Stay Strong ? 

 
Posted : 8th September 2019 12:00 am
(@matt692)
Posts: 243
 

Well done missp - do you have the barriers in place for pay day / online blocking software, self exclusion- I find that when I have the surplus cash my mind wanders, I need the barriers so I can’t! 

Hope all remains gf

matt692

 
Posted : 8th September 2019 6:48 am
(@missp)
Posts: 71
Topic starter
 

Hi Matt692,

Yes I have Gamblock and Gamstop in place.. I can’t even get onto the National Lottery website!!

My husband has forgiven me twice and given me a last chance.. I know that if I ever do it again it will be the end of my marriage and that would mean the break up of our family unit so I’ll never gamble online again. 

Thanks. Good luck on your journey 

 
Posted : 8th September 2019 7:42 am
holycrosser
(@holycrosser)
Posts: 859
 

A great incentive, remember this thought and never gamble again. 

Good luck

 
Posted : 9th September 2019 3:35 am
(@missp)
Posts: 71
Topic starter
 

Day 19! I actually have to count it on my fingers now as I don’t remember how many days it is off the top of my head... Dunno if that’s good/bad or indifferent.

More and more I find myself struggling to understand why I let things get so bad.. Last year after I’d been gambling for approx 2-3 weeks, I tallied up my incomings/outgoings and I’d deposited just short of £xxx, I’d drawn out £xxx so I was only £xx down but I remember the absolute shock I felt as I had no idea I’d actually deposited that amount in total. I remember at that point I thought oh well, I’m only £20 down in total so I can afford to put another £20-30 on and then if I lose that I’ll stop. Needless to say, I didn’t..

Then in June (betting approx 8 weeks) I worked out I was approx £2.5k down. I remember the absolute horror. I felt sick to my stomach.

I just don’t understand why I kept doing it.. I really don’t remember if I thought to myself I’ll stop or I’ll try to win it back.. 

I feel so angry at myself for carrying on and not just quitting at that point. 

I am really happy that I have finally stopped but I just hate myself for doing it in the first place. 

Such a total waste. 

This post was modified 5 years ago by Forum admin
 
Posted : 10th September 2019 9:37 pm
(@missp)
Posts: 71
Topic starter
 

26 Days! Still financially strapped.. I’ve done so much damage. 

I keep thinking back to all the times I didn’t cash out and trying to calculate how much I could have recovered .. Maybe 10-12K... ?? Then I stop myself and think I have to accept what’s gone is gone and the only way I can recover that is through hard work. 

It’s really getting me down that it’ll take years and years to recover what I lost in approx 16 months. 

Off to bed - Night all

 
Posted : 17th September 2019 9:32 pm
Aum
 Aum
(@aum)
Posts: 3947
 

Thank you for visiting my diary MissP. I appreciate your support and encouragement.

Nearly a month since you last gambled which is excellent. You can't change what's done but you can influence the future a great deal.

I admire your determination plus you have courage and a genuine desire to stop gambling.

You are doing all you can to repair your life so please treat yourself with kindness, support and understanding. You never asked to be a compulsive gambler, the addiction just caught you unawares.

I do believe that one of the hardest things in stopping gambling is accepting that the monies we have lost are gone forever and we will never get it back. The addiction will keep telling us that we can get it back by gambling although we know that is crazy thinking. Add guilt and remorse to the mix and we can become very vulnerable.

I wish you every success on your journey of recovery.

Redeemer x 

 

 
Posted : 17th September 2019 11:41 pm
(@missp)
Posts: 71
Topic starter
 

Hi Redeemer - Thanks for reading and thank you for your kind words. 

I blame no one but myself for our situation.. I just feel angry a lot, at myself for my actions and at the gambling establishments that allow you to deposit thousands on credit cards (some weren’t even mine.. they were my husbands!) 

I know I have to let it go, it’s just difficult when you’re still very much in the aftermath. 

Miss P  

 

 
Posted : 18th September 2019 6:25 am
(@missp)
Posts: 71
Topic starter
 

30 days! 

 
Posted : 21st September 2019 10:44 pm
holycrosser
(@holycrosser)
Posts: 859
 

Well done.

You have the knowledge that if you do this again the marriage is/could be over.This will help you massively, with online blocks etc you now have the chance to turn ya back on the old you.

Take this chance

 
Posted : 22nd September 2019 2:55 am
(@missp)
Posts: 71
Topic starter
 

Holycrosser - Thank you.

Yes it would definitely be over. Money is a real issue at the minute and occasionally I have a fleeting thought of what if I could just win a few hundred to make this month more easier but then (thankfully) sense kicks in almost instantaneously..  I have let my husband down so badly, I don’t want to do that again.. Plus I actually thought yesterday, if I ever gambled again, I’d be back to Day 1 again and I don’t want to do that. I’m happy that I’ve got to 31 days, I’m never going back to Day 1! 

Good luck on your journey (nearly 200 days for you ?) and thanks for taking the time to read my ongoing journey! 

Miss P 

 

 
Posted : 22nd September 2019 10:36 am
(@missp)
Posts: 71
Topic starter
 

36 days!! No urges whatsoever.. Just sadness and soo much anger at myself.. I struggle to comprehend why I did this in the first place, why I didn’t stop sooner, why I didn’t think of the long term implications.. The damage that I have done in a 16 month period will take years to repair.. Such a f*****g waste of money. I’m just so relieved that I’m not gambling anymore.. It is undoubtedly the worst thing I have ever done and I hate that it’s a part of my life forever. 

Just seem to be full of remorse lately.. I guess that will continue until I start to make amends for the financial damage. Working on that one ?

 
Posted : 27th September 2019 11:27 am
(@missp)
Posts: 71
Topic starter
 

39 days! Still early days but I just know I won’t gamble again.. Too much to lose. 

 
Posted : 30th September 2019 8:59 pm
spendspendspend
(@spendspendspend)
Posts: 75
 

Well Done you I'm only on day 17 gf but I feel the same I think what have I done it for I think for the first time my brain as the chance to think and reality at what I have done as hit home because I have had time to think in the last 17 days 

 
Posted : 30th September 2019 9:09 pm
(@missp)
Posts: 71
Topic starter
 

Just realised that I haven’t really been visiting this site as frequently as I used to.

It’s only popped into my head to log in because I’ll get a notification if something gets posted on one of my few subscriptions.

In the beginning this site was my solace, a welcome relief and a place where I could openly express myself without being judged and I didn’t feel alone.

I will always be grateful for it. It made things a little bit easier during a very dark period. 

I don’t want to say I’ll never need to come back but for now (thankfully) I don’t feel the need to visit. 

If anyone’s reading this, good luck on your continued gamble free journey’s.

Stay strong! 

Peace Out ✌️ 

 
Posted : 30th September 2019 9:23 pm
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