I MUST stop Gambling

Hi I am a 21 year old gambling addict and have been gambling on and off for about 4 years, as I write this I am currently sitting on £5,000 of debt I cant believe I have got myself into this situation and it pains me to think that I have got to work my ass off (with overtime) and get nothing in return for the next year or so just so the debt gets smaller.
I am in so much stress right now as my job is only temp and is likely to end at end of January, not told any of my family about this as I am ashamed, I feel I can get through this so I have excluded my online accounts and feel this thread might help with me staying away from gambling and paying back my debts, I will hopefully use this thread like a diary until all debt is cleared and will keep updates

Hi MrGreen

Welcome to the forum.

I know what's like to be in debt. You are still very young, plan well for your future. As long as you stop gambling, then your future will be bright.

Work on your debts, concentrate on the more important things in life. Come here often. We are here for each other.

All the best.

Welcome Mr.Green !

If you haven't done so , please read the Strategies thread . There is a wealth of useful advice from the posters there . Everybody has a different way of fighting the gambling urges . Try everything and keep what works for you .

The first few GF ( Gamble Free ) months are hard work . If you make the decision and the commitment to fight through urge to gamble , they will begin to weaken and lose their grip on you .

Every day that you don't gamble will give you more strength to stay away from it for good . Many of us here can attest to that . You are not alone and you are not powerless . You can do this .

Post here often . We'll help you any way we can .

Great job in self-excluding! If you don't have easy access to gambling it makes it much easier in the beginning. It worked for me for about two months before I got the feeling that I needed to do more so I started going to GA meetings which helped a lot.

I would recommend you doing the same, go to GA and talk about your problem. It makes it real and allows you to hear from others with the same problem. You'll soon realize that there are a ton of people out there like you and you'll see that a gambling problem is nothing to be ashamed of. When I started going to GA I thought it would be full of degenerates and losers, but it's really just a bunch of normal people who have a problem. I realized that being a gambler doesn't make you a bad person and that being a gambler who is working toward recovery is actually admirable. So many people just give into the addiction and never do anything about it, those who do deserve credit.

Welcome to this forum, MrGreen! Excellent job in self excluding yourself. Joining this forum and self exclusion are critical steps in your recovery. While it is easy to just stop gambling, the struggle to remain gambling free is tough. I would recommend to find ways to make yourself busy: look for a small job to supplement your income and to pay your debt faster, read travel blogs/self book, work out, and volunteer for a cause. Hope that you will remain strong along the way on your GF journey. For sure, you will be tested with countless gambling urges. Fortunately, these urges will lessen in magnitude and frequency as time passes by so keep that in mind. All the best!

Glad you are working to stop yourself from gambling Mr. Green. Your future will not be bright
if you continue gambling, and I think you've realized that. Take the steps necessary to quit.
I know you're ashamed to tell your family, but do tell someone, like a friend, pastor or counsellor, who will check on your progress.

Evil grows in the dark, and secrecy may be part of that darkness.

As much as it sucks you're better off living with the crap feeling for as long as it takes because it WILL GO AWAY. If you don't, the feeling will last much longer and IT WILL BE WORSE.

Sometimes we have to take the bad in life and see it out otherwise it will be FAR WORSE.

Gambling will ruin your life man. Don't let it, your life WILL be good AGAIN. Go through the hard stuff to get to the good.

logged in thinking maybe I would have one message, was surprised to get so many thank you!

I find it sad to think that in the last 4 years or so I have gambled & lost more than 50% of each paycheck. the thought of all that extra money I would have if I put it into savings (25k+) would have been a great start to my adult life..

I have tried quitting gambling countless times and always do good in the first month or so, then as I start building money up again I reward myself and say to myself "great job on not gambling all my money away, maybe deposit just £50 and lose it and walk away, no harm in that and after all I deserve it" problem is when I lose that £50 I think what a waste! then be in a bad mood then think if I win it back I will be happy not moody, I guess you can imagine the outcome after re-depositing.

its strange because I am very careful with my money (honestly i am tight) like I will walk 3+ miles instead of getting a taxi, never eat out, never buy myself new clothes etc.. yet I will just go and randomly blow everything at the casino..
I have always had a dream of being wealthy but what I am doing is sending me in the opposite direction.

I feel its the feeling of winning that draws me in, buying things and think to myself I have not worked for that and feel like a champ!

I gamble when I am alone and bored perhaps im looking for some stimulation (adrenaline) to feel more alive.

When I am at the casino I get myself into a trance and its like I am not even thinking about the amount of money I am gambling, all I care about is winning it back or going completely broke.


What hurts just as bad as the money situation is the mood swings I get, my mood is dependent on the outcome of the card I am dealt.. I am a kind nice person but have had moments where I have become an a**hole to my loved ones, it makes me think imagine if that happens when I am older with a wife and kids I would end up broke and alone, very scary thought of my future...

I have now cleared my debt and actually have 2k in savings, beat the gambling addiction, workout at least 3 times a week and in the best shape of my life, have formed many great relationships and my life is now in an upward spiral. Even managed to quit smoking cigs Since the post how about that?!

I am now 23 years old (took longer to recover then expected) I feel this experience has taught me many important life lessons and made me into a better stronger man.

I dealt anyone is reading this anymore but wanted to let anyone who does for them to know, I DID IT.

Mr.Green: It does my heart good to see stories like yours. There are so many young people who come onto this forum, feeling desperate and hopeless. Yours is the kind of testimony we definitely need more of. It shows that a person can do what he puts his mind to. It seems you have really changed your life for the better by light years, and can use your past as a constant reminder of what not to do, and I hope you never gamble ever again. Beware of triggers and lackadaisical thinking. Thanks for your great progress report.