Gambling Addiction - Need Help, A Chat - Read This!

[stripeyfox]

25 minutes ago, Ric Flair said:

Two years to the day since my last devastating gamble. I'd lost £11,000 in less than 10 minutes a few days previous and then due to the way online bookmakers work they pestered me to ensure I knew there was £1100 in free bets sitting in my account. Id vowed I'd hit rock bottom and enough was enough but I was too weak to walk away yet and so I pitifully logged back on and cruelly turned that £1100 in to £8500 but in my sick pursuit of having to recoup my recent losses I then blew the lot a long with another few thousand I'd got my hands on. To be honest the money is irrelevant anyway, I'm glad it took everything from me to embark on where I am. 

 

I was however, a broken man after that, thsts what twisted the knife and ensured a bomb went off to mine and my loved ones life. Thankfully I gained enough strength to do something about my gambling and reach out and seek prolonged help. Initially Gamcare helped me put some blockers in place and suggested G.A which i'm forever thankful for. It's quite astounding how much my life has improved in these two years and it almost feels a lifetime ago. Yet, I'm still as alert as I was back then in the early days of my recovery to the dangers that are out there as a recovering compulsive gambler.

 

I will not let complacency creep in, I have changed as a person but I have witnessed with my own eyes that people like me who have got better are still only 1 slip away from it all falling down again and that's why I don't let up. That's why I have a burning determination to never let those despicable bastards get me again. I only have myself to blame for what happened to me, I don't and never will lay the blame purely at those who are involved in the gambling industry but that won't stop me using my hatred of them for my own personal development and to do everything humanely possible to give my family the life they deserve.

 

There's no celebration of the 2 year milestone, just more motivation to keep on the right path one day at a time. 🔥

I know you're not fishing for congratulations but well done on turning it around mate, and especially well done for the continued support you offer people on here in regard to gambling

 

 

[Ric Flair]

1 hour ago, stripeyfox said:

I know you're not fishing for congratulations but well done on turning it around mate, and especially well done for the continued support you offer people on here in regard to gambling

 

 

Cheers mate

[Collymore]

This is sickening. Sounds very much the same sort of preditory behaviour that@Ric Flair  experienced.

 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8359275/amp/Online-casino-plied-Chris-Bruney-25-400-boost-hours-took-life.html

[Ric Flair]

32 minutes ago, Collymore said:

This is sickening. Sounds very much the same sort of preditory behaviour that@Ric Flair  experienced.

 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8359275/amp/Online-casino-plied-Chris-Bruney-25-400-boost-hours-took-life.html

Absolutely hideous

[Col city fan]

On 26/05/2020 at 15:15, Ric Flair said:

Two years to the day since my last devastating gamble. I'd lost £11,000 in less than 10 minutes a few days previous and then due to the way online bookmakers work they pestered me to ensure I knew there was £1100 in free bets sitting in my account. Id vowed I'd hit rock bottom and enough was enough but I was too weak to walk away yet and so I pitifully logged back on and cruelly turned that £1100 in to £8500 but in my sick pursuit of having to recoup my recent losses I then blew the lot a long with another few thousand I'd got my hands on. To be honest the money is irrelevant anyway, I'm glad it took everything from me to embark on where I am. 

 

I was however, a broken man after that, thsts what twisted the knife and ensured a bomb went off to mine and my loved ones life. Thankfully I gained enough strength to do something about my gambling and reach out and seek prolonged help. Initially Gamcare helped me put some blockers in place and suggested G.A which i'm forever thankful for. It's quite astounding how much my life has improved in these two years and it almost feels a lifetime ago. Yet, I'm still as alert as I was back then in the early days of my recovery to the dangers that are out there as a recovering compulsive gambler.

 

I will not let complacency creep in, I have changed as a person but I have witnessed with my own eyes that people like me who have got better are still only 1 slip away from it all falling down again and that's why I don't let up. That's why I have a burning determination to never let those despicable bastards get me again. I only have myself to blame for what happened to me, I don't and never will lay the blame purely at those who are involved in the gambling industry but that won't stop me using my hatred of them for my own personal development and to do everything humanely possible to give my family the life they deserve.

 

There's no celebration of the 2 year milestone, just more motivation to keep on the right path one day at a time. 🔥

Jesus mate, how do you blow 11 big ones in less than 10 mins....

😳

[filbertway]

2 hours ago, Col city fan said:

Jesus mate, how do you blow 11 big ones in less than 10 mins....

😳

You can 10 grand on one hand of blackjack or roulette. It's absolutely mental. Even if you hit a big win, you'll throw it all back in eventually in an attempt to win big again.

 

[Fathead1981]

As an addicted/compulsive gambler of many years this situation has actually been a massive help and have now gone over 2 months without any betting. In my dark days of only a few months ago i was placing over 100 bets a day and like Rik said i blew 35k in a matter of hrs online. I signed upto Gamcare so can't bet online but found i was still visiting the local bookies near work a good 2-4hrs every day losing 100's a day. Since the lockdown the closure of bookies has meant i have not placed a bet and as time has gone on the urge is reducing but im only too aware of the bigger tests to come once they re-open however i honestly feel so much better in myself not having the constant strain of what the scores are or how my horse did that i now deep down know what i have to do which is never gamble again as previously i kept kidding myself i could control it. Id love to say i have more money in my pocket but i dont but it has helped eat away at my gambling debts and our garden has never looked so good! Keep fighting everyone who has these struggles as life can be so much better without the gloom that hangs over you due to gambling

[howlinmadmurfdoc]

On 29/05/2020 at 11:40, Fathead1981 said:

As an addicted/compulsive gambler of many years this situation has actually been a massive help and have now gone over 2 months without any betting. In my dark days of only a few months ago i was placing over 100 bets a day and like Rik said i blew 35k in a matter of hrs online. I signed upto Gamcare so can't bet online but found i was still visiting the local bookies near work a good 2-4hrs every day losing 100's a day. Since the lockdown the closure of bookies has meant i have not placed a bet and as time has gone on the urge is reducing but im only too aware of the bigger tests to come once they re-open however i honestly feel so much better in myself not having the constant strain of what the scores are or how my horse did that i now deep down know what i have to do which is never gamble again as previously i kept kidding myself i could control it. Id love to say i have more money in my pocket but i dont but it has helped eat away at my gambling debts and our garden has never looked so good! Keep fighting everyone who has these struggles as life can be so much better without the gloom that hangs over you due to gambling

Good for you mate. I passed a year without betting at the weekend, after never managing more than a week before.

i highly recommend when the meetings start back up again to get along to your local GA meeting. I don’t think I’d have done it without them.

[Ric Flair]

On ‎29‎/‎05‎/‎2020 at 11:40, Fathead1981 said:

As an addicted/compulsive gambler of many years this situation has actually been a massive help and have now gone over 2 months without any betting. In my dark days of only a few months ago i was placing over 100 bets a day and like Rik said i blew 35k in a matter of hrs online. I signed upto Gamcare so can't bet online but found i was still visiting the local bookies near work a good 2-4hrs every day losing 100's a day. Since the lockdown the closure of bookies has meant i have not placed a bet and as time has gone on the urge is reducing but im only too aware of the bigger tests to come once they re-open however i honestly feel so much better in myself not having the constant strain of what the scores are or how my horse did that i now deep down know what i have to do which is never gamble again as previously i kept kidding myself i could control it. Id love to say i have more money in my pocket but i dont but it has helped eat away at my gambling debts and our garden has never looked so good! Keep fighting everyone who has these struggles as life can be so much better without the gloom that hangs over you due to gambling

Thanks for sharing this, massive respect to you for trying to do something about it. There is also an avenue for you to look at in regard to excluding from bookies, it's not quite as good as GAMSTOP in blocking all access as you have to give them the locations and names of bookies that you most frequently would be at risk of visiting. However, even if this just puts a further barrier in place to your old habits then it's a huge help and if you can pre-empt any journeys to places you ordinarily don't go to and if it's likely you'll do the same journeys etc again then you can add those to the places to exclude from. I will find a link to this shortly.

 

The organisation is called: self-exclusion and you need to call up and they'll do it for you - 0800 294 2060

 

As @howlinmadmurfdoc has valuably suggested, G.A is an absolute sanctuary for people like me. I cannot express how much that place has done for helping to change and to maintain a lifelong recovery plan. You commit to that and i'm telling you, it makes relapsing so much more unlikely than by trying to do it by willpower and a few blockers alone. It is awe inspiring and it's not just getting help with gambling it helps with every ounce of dealing with what life throws at you which as we all know, often leads to gambling from being unable to cope or trying to escape life's problems.

 

Well done on tackling this though mate, keep it up.

[davieG]

Gambling loophole 'must be shut down'

By Dan WhitworthMoney Box reporter

• 8 hours ago

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S

"It's like a last-ditch attempt to get the last bit of money out of a gambler. I was just disgusted."

Dave, not his real name, has fought gambling addiction nearly his entire life and now has £50,000 of gambling debt spread over up to six credit cards.

He's talking about when he recently saw an advert about a way that lets people gamble using credit on their mobile phone.

Just six weeks after a ban on using credit cards came into effect, politicians and charities say the regulator - the Gambling Commission - must take urgent action to shut down this "loophole".

The Commission told the BBC's Money Box programme it's watching closely for any unintended consequences of the ban and will consider further intervention if necessary.

Meanwhile, a trade group that represents gambling firms said it was working to ensure its members followed the rules.

Gambling with credit

The whole idea of bringing the credit card ban in was simple - to stop people gambling with money they didn't have.

It's something campaigners had long pushed for and have welcomed now it's been finally introduced.

But charities including StepChange and Gambling with Lives, as well as politicians, say a "loophole" allows people to get around that ban.

Dozens of online casinos allow users to choose a pay-by-phone option. Not only is this effectively credit if you have a contract and pay your phone bill monthly, which campaigners say goes against the "spirit" of the ban, but there is also, of course, nothing to stop people paying that bill with a credit card.

• Lockdown 'a disaster' for problem gamblers
• Betting firms must check customers after one hour

There is a limit on how much people can spend on their phone in this way, completely unrelated to gambling, which stands at £40 per day and no more than £240 per month.

'No safe place'

But for Dave that's not good enough.

"It's like there's no safe place, it's like they [the gambling industry] are always on your back," he says.

"There are people who've been in recovery, who are currently struggling, and this will just lead them back into that cycle.

"It's also dangerous for people who've never really considered gambling who might think: 'It's only £10 or £20 on your phone, what harm can it do?' It could be a new, fresh avenue to getting into this life addiction."

Dr Henrietta Bowden Jones, a spokeswoman for the Royal College of Psychiatrists and director of the National Problem Gambling Clinic, agrees with Dave.

She says she's particularly worried about the impact this type of gambling might have on problem gamblers and under-18s: "This is the first time I have heard of the ability to gamble using mobile phone [bills].

"The whole point of banning credit card use for gambling was to ensure consumer safety in relation to avoiding spending more than one could afford, but this seems to me to be a loophole through which gambling could still occur and cause financial harm."

The Betting and Gaming Council, which represents around 90% of the UK's betting market, said in a statement it "accepted and welcomed the introduction of the ban on gambling with credit cards".

"All of our members agreed to the guidelines set out by the Gambling Commission, and we will work with the regulator to ensure that they are adhered to."

For more on this story listen to Radio 4 Money Box.

[Ric Flair]

4 hours ago, davieG said:

Gambling loophole 'must be shut down'

By Dan WhitworthMoney Box reporter

• 8 hours ago

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• Share this with Messenger
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•  
• Share

 

S

"It's like a last-ditch attempt to get the last bit of money out of a gambler. I was just disgusted."

Dave, not his real name, has fought gambling addiction nearly his entire life and now has £50,000 of gambling debt spread over up to six credit cards.

He's talking about when he recently saw an advert about a way that lets people gamble using credit on their mobile phone.

Just six weeks after a ban on using credit cards came into effect, politicians and charities say the regulator - the Gambling Commission - must take urgent action to shut down this "loophole".

The Commission told the BBC's Money Box programme it's watching closely for any unintended consequences of the ban and will consider further intervention if necessary.

Meanwhile, a trade group that represents gambling firms said it was working to ensure its members followed the rules.

Gambling with credit

The whole idea of bringing the credit card ban in was simple - to stop people gambling with money they didn't have.

It's something campaigners had long pushed for and have welcomed now it's been finally introduced.

But charities including StepChange and Gambling with Lives, as well as politicians, say a "loophole" allows people to get around that ban.

Dozens of online casinos allow users to choose a pay-by-phone option. Not only is this effectively credit if you have a contract and pay your phone bill monthly, which campaigners say goes against the "spirit" of the ban, but there is also, of course, nothing to stop people paying that bill with a credit card.

• Lockdown 'a disaster' for problem gamblers
• Betting firms must check customers after one hour

There is a limit on how much people can spend on their phone in this way, completely unrelated to gambling, which stands at £40 per day and no more than £240 per month.

'No safe place'

But for Dave that's not good enough.

"It's like there's no safe place, it's like they [the gambling industry] are always on your back," he says.

"There are people who've been in recovery, who are currently struggling, and this will just lead them back into that cycle.

"It's also dangerous for people who've never really considered gambling who might think: 'It's only £10 or £20 on your phone, what harm can it do?' It could be a new, fresh avenue to getting into this life addiction."

Dr Henrietta Bowden Jones, a spokeswoman for the Royal College of Psychiatrists and director of the National Problem Gambling Clinic, agrees with Dave.

She says she's particularly worried about the impact this type of gambling might have on problem gamblers and under-18s: "This is the first time I have heard of the ability to gamble using mobile phone [bills].

"The whole point of banning credit card use for gambling was to ensure consumer safety in relation to avoiding spending more than one could afford, but this seems to me to be a loophole through which gambling could still occur and cause financial harm."

The Betting and Gaming Council, which represents around 90% of the UK's betting market, said in a statement it "accepted and welcomed the introduction of the ban on gambling with credit cards".

"All of our members agreed to the guidelines set out by the Gambling Commission, and we will work with the regulator to ensure that they are adhered to."

For more on this story listen to Radio 4 Money Box.

They really are the pits. Not long ago a study reported that on average 80% of gambling organisations revenue is taken from just 3-4% of a particular category of gamblers, which they claim are " VIP " gamblers but in most cases are compulsive gamblers. It is shocking. When you see the profits and dividends the likes of the owner of Bet 365 are paying themselves each year (£360m+) and it's mostly made up of praying on the addicted and out of control then it's a disgrace. They will try every trick in the book until the gravy train is stopped.

[Guest]

Probably been posted before but a list of banks that allow you to block gambling transactions https://gamban.com/blog/block-gambling-transactions

[davieG]

Gambling watchdog 'toothless' in helping vulnerable, MPs say

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-53219412

[Col city fan]

On 29/06/2020 at 15:26, davieG said:

Gambling watchdog 'toothless' in helping vulnerable, MPs say

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-53219412

Is anyone surprised?

This country is getting next to nothing right at the moment

[davieG]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/53261364

 

Gambling in football: Betting sponsorship on shirts should be banned - Lords report
By Alistair Magowan

BBC Sport

10 clubs in the Premier League are currently sponsored by gambling firms

 

Premier League clubs should not be allowed to have betting firms on their shirts, a House of Lords Select Committee report has recommended.

The cross-party committee, set up to look at the impact of the United Kingdom's gambling industry, also says such sponsors on Championship club shirts should be phased out by 2023, and that other sports should end shirt betting sponsorship in three years.

 

This season, half of Premier League clubs and 17 of 24 Championship clubs are sponsored by bookmakers.

The recommendations are part of a 192-page report warning more needs to be done to prevent gambling-related harm, with the Gambling Act 2005 currently under review by ministers.

Campaigners believe betting has been normalised within football and can lead to addiction.

The committee's recommendations also state: "There should be no gambling advertising in or near any sports grounds or sports venues, including sports programmes."

But the report says restrictions on shirt sponsorship and other advertising "should not take effect for clubs below the Premier League before 2023. A similar flexibility should be allowed in the case of other sports".

It added: "These restrictions should not apply to horseracing or greyhound racing."

 

The report said removing betting sponsorship entirely would "not unduly harm Premier League clubs but it would very probably have a serious effect on smaller clubs.

"We therefore think they should be given time, perhaps three years, to adapt to the new situation. They would not be allowed in that time to enter into new sponsorship contracts with gambling companies, but any existing contracts could continue until they terminate, and clubs would have time to seek alternative sources of sponsorship."

 

The English Football League (EFL) says the gambling sector contributes £40m a season to the league and its clubs and with the financial problems of the coronavirus pandemic, this "significant" contribution is "as important now as it has ever been".

It also says working to prevent gambling problems with the betting companies is of "greater benefit" than a ban.

In a response to the Lords' report, the EFL said in a statement: "The association between football and the gambling sector is long-standing and the League firmly believes a collaborative, evidence-based approach to preventing gambling harms that is also sympathetic to the economic needs of sport will be of much greater benefit than the blunt instrument of blanket bans."

 

The Lords report also mentioned how a 'whistle-to-whistle' ban on gambling advertising from five minutes before to five minutes after a match "is of very limited use when viewers, including children, can throughout the match see a plethora of gambling advertising on shirts and on the perimeter - and when they are in any case likely to be watching outside that whistle-to-whistle time".

 

Chair of the committee, Lord Grade said: "Most people who gamble, enjoy it safely.

"However, gambling related-harm has made the lives of two million people miserable. It leads to hundreds of people each year taking their own lives, leaving families and friends devastated."

James Grimes, a former gambler who runs charity The Big Step which is tackling football's relationship with gambling, said: "We welcome the recommendation to remove gambling sponsorship and advertising in the Premier League immediately.

"We've been calling on government and football to reduce gambling exposure to children, in order to prevent young people going through the same thing that I did.

"Gambling advertising in football is at saturation point and it's normalised harmful products and practices to young people. No child should be exposed to adult products as prevalently as it is with gambling in football.

"Premier League football has a responsibility to prevent gambling exposure to its young fans, which make up a quarter of its audience."

BBC Sport has also contacted the Premier League for comment.

[chrishlcfc]

I’m really really struggling to kick the habit. After doing so well at the start of the year going 60 days without gambling, ever since Cheltenham I started again and it’s just spiralled out of control again since. Gone back to daily gambling and literally every single bit of income I get just goes straight to gambling. 
 

It gets me so down when I do it is as well. Everything I try, I just can’t seem to stop. I use gamstop which is good to a point but then I find a way round that. I use gamban but I found a loophole in that. I self exclude from all the local bookies in my area and in town. I ask to be exclude from all bookies but there isn’t a way it can be done, so every time I add to the list I just find another bookies that isn’t on the list. I put a block from gambling on my debit card but I found a way round that somehow as well. I suppose in my sick head I just think that’s another part of the fun.  

I feel more needs to be done by the gambling regulation in that respect because as hard as the companies that try and help you, there should be a way that you can be excluded from every single betting shop in the country. Surely in this day and age they should be able to set up a system that permanently bans people who want to be excluded from all shops. And also it’s to simple with the online steps I’ve took to just swerve around them.

 

Anyway that’s just another excuse. The real problem for me is I’m so despairing desperate to stop but in my mind I can’t. I got to the big step with gamcare of asking for help. That is absolutely what I need. I started telephone sessions. I attended 2, they were quite good. Just told the advisor all the problems I was having, but It didn’t stop me. You can only get help if you really want to stop. I really want to stop but somewhere in my head still won’t let me. After the 2 sessions I was arranged a zoom session, that was 2 months ago. I didn’t attend that session and haven’t attended another session since.

 

So the end point is the help is out there but you have to really want to stop and that is what I can’t do. I’m so disheartened and downbeat about it all. I feel so close I to wanting stop, I want to if it kills me but the addiction gets the better of me.

 

Think my main problem is I still haven’t told my parents. I told them I stopped years and years ago. Even then that was true for a while but in reality I never did stop completely. Now I can’t tell my mum, she isn’t stable enough for news like that. Don’t get me wrong she’s fine but she’s on edge all the time and something like that could definitely tip her over the edge as she despises gambling more than anything in the world and that’s because my dad is also a compulsive gambler, but he really doesn’t want to stop, so he can’t help me either. I don't blame him of course I don’t it’s my life, but I feel that is the reason I became addicted, I was brainwashed with it all so to speak from a pretty young age. All I would do is listen to my dad gamble and I still do I suppose and I just copied it.

 

The only person at the end of it all that can help me is my myself, the help is out there but I’ve just got to get back on the ladder and start again and try and kick this dreadful disease.

 

I will get there at some stage, just don’t know how and when at the moment. But deep down having started before I should realise that it can be done.
 

To anybody else, please don’t get hooked it make your life a misery. 

[Ric Flair]

On ‎19‎/‎07‎/‎2020 at 09:53, chrishlcfc said:

I’m really really struggling to kick the habit. After doing so well at the start of the year going 60 days without gambling, ever since Cheltenham I started again and it’s just spiralled out of control again since. Gone back to daily gambling and literally every single bit of income I get just goes straight to gambling. 
 

It gets me so down when I do it is as well. Everything I try, I just can’t seem to stop. I use gamstop which is good to a point but then I find a way round that. I use gamban but I found a loophole in that. I self exclude from all the local bookies in my area and in town. I ask to be exclude from all bookies but there isn’t a way it can be done, so every time I add to the list I just find another bookies that isn’t on the list. I put a block from gambling on my debit card but I found a way round that somehow as well. I suppose in my sick head I just think that’s another part of the fun.  

I feel more needs to be done by the gambling regulation in that respect because as hard as the companies that try and help you, there should be a way that you can be excluded from every single betting shop in the country. Surely in this day and age they should be able to set up a system that permanently bans people who want to be excluded from all shops. And also it’s to simple with the online steps I’ve took to just swerve around them.

 

Anyway that’s just another excuse. The real problem for me is I’m so despairing desperate to stop but in my mind I can’t. I got to the big step with gamcare of asking for help. That is absolutely what I need. I started telephone sessions. I attended 2, they were quite good. Just told the advisor all the problems I was having, but It didn’t stop me. You can only get help if you really want to stop. I really want to stop but somewhere in my head still won’t let me. After the 2 sessions I was arranged a zoom session, that was 2 months ago. I didn’t attend that session and haven’t attended another session since.

 

So the end point is the help is out there but you have to really want to stop and that is what I can’t do. I’m so disheartened and downbeat about it all. I feel so close I to wanting stop, I want to if it kills me but the addiction gets the better of me.

 

Think my main problem is I still haven’t told my parents. I told them I stopped years and years ago. Even then that was true for a while but in reality I never did stop completely. Now I can’t tell my mum, she isn’t stable enough for news like that. Don’t get me wrong she’s fine but she’s on edge all the time and something like that could definitely tip her over the edge as she despises gambling more than anything in the world and that’s because my dad is also a compulsive gambler, but he really doesn’t want to stop, so he can’t help me either. I don't blame him of course I don’t it’s my life, but I feel that is the reason I became addicted, I was brainwashed with it all so to speak from a pretty young age. All I would do is listen to my dad gamble and I still do I suppose and I just copied it.

 

The only person at the end of it all that can help me is my myself, the help is out there but I’ve just got to get back on the ladder and start again and try and kick this dreadful disease.

 

I will get there at some stage, just don’t know how and when at the moment. But deep down having started before I should realise that it can be done.
 

To anybody else, please don’t get hooked it make your life a misery. 

GAMBLERS ANONYMOUS

 

I have heard stories like this so many times, my story was one of them. I was at the end of my tether, I tried various blockers and obstacles to take the responsibility out of me trying to abstain from gambling. Let's be brutally honest, if we want to have a bet we will have a bet, blockers are great but there's always got to be that desire and ability to not finds ways around it. I have all the known blocks in place but if suddenly I wake up and want to gamble I could quite easily find a way to do that and although that is so soul destroying to be aware of when you're down and out and desperately wanting to find anything that will take this pain away from you it also needs to be the fuel to fight the fire.

 

Overcoming this hideous disease has to be done in many facets but first and foremost it has to come from you and you only. People around you and people in the industry can and will help but they will compliment your recovery rather than orchestrate it. You simply have to change as a person and although it is unbelievably difficult to do, it is possible however hard that might be to believe when you are at rock bottom. In order to change you need to be completely honest and be accountable for your actions. You need to work day in, day out at your recovery and have more passion and obsession at abstaining from gambling as you did from gambling itself. The hours you've lost gambling and not being " present " when in the company of your friends, family and loved ones will be replaced with an even furious determination to change and improve.

 

To do this, I cannot express to you how much Gamblers Anonymous will help you in this regard. They will help you learn how to change and in time that will help you to maintain all the things you need to do in order to not gamble. The blockers and various safety nets will continue to be there for your own good but rather than find ways around them you will continue to protect your body armour by not looking for ways to find a weakness in it. You will learn to stop lying, to take responsibility and to grow up. You will learn to live in the moment and not live a fantasy world solely based on gambling as a mechanism to achieve it. Life can initially get very boring without gambling as you realise your whole adult life was spent setting goals and dreams based around winning infinite amounts of money to provide happiness and success but you will quickly learn that that is all bullshit and when you close that door thousands of others open where you find real fulfilment and achievement in real things, things you never ever felt when chasing the dragon. That feeling is worth more and more powerful than the reckless abandon and adrenaline rush of gambling, however different they feel. All of this can be achieved, I've witnessed it and i'm not even talking about myself as I am still taking things only one day at a time but there are stories out there of people like you and me who were in ruins mentally from years of devastation that simply couldn't change and there they are 10, 20, 30, 40+ years down the line changed people, happy and content people free from gambling. You learn how to improve yourself not just from a gambling perspective but from all manner of life problems, which is priceless. I'm actually glad i'm a compulsive gambler because what I have access to as a resource for improving in all of what life throws at me is precious, something the majority of people will never realise they don't have the opportunity to do and therefore make life harder for themselves. I'm not saying every non-compulsive gambler or non-addict needs to start pitching up at support groups but they are invaluable in how they help equip people with the ability to improve and deal with the shit life throws at you.

 

You can do this, never give up on trying to be a better person and to overcome this evil disease. Get to a meeting, just promise yourself you'll go to one and see whether it's for you or not. If you've been before and fell away from it, try again.

 

Keep fighting mate.

[chrishlcfc]

4 hours ago, Ric Flair said:

GAMBLERS ANONYMOUS

 

I have heard stories like this so many times, my story was one of them. I was at the end of my tether, I tried various blockers and obstacles to take the responsibility out of me trying to abstain from gambling. Let's be brutally honest, if we want to have a bet we will have a bet, blockers are great but there's always got to be that desire and ability to not finds ways around it. I have all the known blocks in place but if suddenly I wake up and want to gamble I could quite easily find a way to do that and although that is so soul destroying to be aware of when you're down and out and desperately wanting to find anything that will take this pain away from you it also needs to be the fuel to fight the fire.

 

Overcoming this hideous disease has to be done in many facets but first and foremost it has to come from you and you only. People around you and people in the industry can and will help but they will compliment your recovery rather than orchestrate it. You simply have to change as a person and although it is unbelievably difficult to do, it is possible however hard that might be to believe when you are at rock bottom. In order to change you need to be completely honest and be accountable for your actions. You need to work day in, day out at your recovery and have more passion and obsession at abstaining from gambling as you did from gambling itself. The hours you've lost gambling and not being " present " when in the company of your friends, family and loved ones will be replaced with an even furious determination to change and improve.

 

To do this, I cannot express to you how much Gamblers Anonymous will help you in this regard. They will help you learn how to change and in time that will help you to maintain all the things you need to do in order to not gamble. The blockers and various safety nets will continue to be there for your own good but rather than find ways around them you will continue to protect your body armour by not looking for ways to find a weakness in it. You will learn to stop lying, to take responsibility and to grow up. You will learn to live in the moment and not live a fantasy world solely based on gambling as a mechanism to achieve it. Life can initially get very boring without gambling as you realise your whole adult life was spent setting goals and dreams based around winning infinite amounts of money to provide happiness and success but you will quickly learn that that is all bullshit and when you close that door thousands of others open where you find real fulfilment and achievement in real things, things you never ever felt when chasing the dragon. That feeling is worth more and more powerful than the reckless abandon and adrenaline rush of gambling, however different they feel. All of this can be achieved, I've witnessed it and i'm not even talking about myself as I am still taking things only one day at a time but there are stories out there of people like you and me who were in ruins mentally from years of devastation that simply couldn't change and there they are 10, 20, 30, 40+ years down the line changed people, happy and content people free from gambling. You learn how to improve yourself not just from a gambling perspective but from all manner of life problems, which is priceless. I'm actually glad i'm a compulsive gambler because what I have access to as a resource for improving in all of what life throws at me is precious, something the majority of people will never realise they don't have the opportunity to do and therefore make life harder for themselves. I'm not saying every non-compulsive gambler or non-addict needs to start pitching up at support groups but they are invaluable in how they help equip people with the ability to improve and deal with the shit life throws at you.

 

You can do this, never give up on trying to be a better person and to overcome this evil disease. Get to a meeting, just promise yourself you'll go to one and see whether it's for you or not. If you've been before and fell away from it, try again.

 

Keep fighting mate.

I looked into Gamblers Anonymous and I’m definitely going to go to a session but when I spoke to them a few weeks ago they were closed due to COVID. They were doing online sessions but not looking for excuses, I’d just rather go to a face to face meeting . I think it would just help me to speak in person much more.
 

Hopefully once lockdown is over they can start up again and I can get in for a session because I do think it will help to talk openly about it.

 

Massively appreciate the response again, cheers.

[Ric Flair]

16 hours ago, chrishlcfc said:

I looked into Gamblers Anonymous and I’m definitely going to go to a session but when I spoke to them a few weeks ago they were closed due to COVID. They were doing online sessions but not looking for excuses, I’d just rather go to a face to face meeting . I think it would just help me to speak in person much more.
 

Hopefully once lockdown is over they can start up again and I can get in for a session because I do think it will help to talk openly about it.

 

Massively appreciate the response again, cheers.

I think most G.A's are re-opening face to face meetings, the one I go to opened up a couple of weeks ago.

[chrishlcfc]

1 hour ago, Ric Flair said:

I think most G.A's are re-opening face to face meetings, the one I go to opened up a couple of weeks ago.

Just had a look, the one in Leicester is right in the current lockdown zone. Hopefully once the lockdown is over it can re open soon and I can get down there. 

[Ric Flair]

20 minutes ago, chrishlcfc said:

Just had a look, the one in Leicester is right in the current lockdown zone. Hopefully once the lockdown is over it can re open soon and I can get down there. 

Oh shit yeah, forgot about lockdown in the city centre!! 

[howlinmadmurfdoc]

On 21/07/2020 at 12:11, Ric Flair said:

Oh shit yeah, forgot about lockdown in the city centre!! 

The last I heard the Leicester group had been told by the venue that they can’t go back until at least September. I don’t think that’s changed yet either. 

[Ric Flair]

29 minutes ago, howlinmadmurfdoc said:

The last I heard the Leicester group had been told by the venue that they can’t go back until at least September. I don’t think that’s changed yet either. 

That is really disappointing to hear.

[chrishlcfc]

1 hour ago, howlinmadmurfdoc said:

The last I heard the Leicester group had been told by the venue that they can’t go back until at least September. I don’t think that’s changed yet either. 

ahh that’s frustrating. Will have to speak to gamcare again then. 

[foxfanazer]

Got a lump sum compensation payout coming to me within the next week and it's worrying me that I'll blow it gambling. I've tried to put things in place to stop myself like signing up to as many online sites as I can and self excluding but I just know if I want a bet I'll find a way. Quite sad that I have to pre empt my own future actions

 

 I'm loads better than I used to be but it creeps up on me every now and again. Got a baby on the way though so I'd be distraught if I threw this money down the drain

Edited 27 July 2020 by foxfanazer