58gambling wrote:Well, with 2 months to go, you have plenty of time to prepare yourself mentally.
It might be a good idea to let your friend(s) know that you cannot gamble.
Your entire remaining life will always have temptations and lures. The key is how you respond to them and not use excuses to go back to gambling. If you were really serious about quitting, maybe you wouldn't even go to the Vegas party; but only you can answer that one.
I have two friends in my group who are very trustworthy and have offered to hold my money during the trip so I do not gamble it. Part of me thinks you are right about not going, but it's difficult to do that to a lifelong friend. IDK
-- Tue Jan 23, 2018 9:53 pm --
NewSunRising wrote:I think you can do it but I don't think it will be easy . I also think it's going to trigger you for a period of time . Prepare yourself for a renewed attack from the urges .
By March , you'll be about 3 months into recovery , am I correct ? That's pretty early days but 58Gambling is right - you need to be upfront with your friends and in no uncertain terms . To me , it sounds like a drinking / gambling trip . Neither of those things will benefit you right now and indeed , the first one fuels the second .
In the case of relapse , what happens in Vegas will not stay in Vegas . It will follow you back home , bigger , stronger and harder to kill . Imagine letting a starved wolf loose at a banquet . The addiction will react in the same way as soon as you unlock the cage and let it out , even if your intention is that " It's just a one-time thing because it's a special occasion " .
Trust me , it won't work out like that .
You are right. I did have a relapse on January 2nd so if I go to Vegas we would leave on March 26 and I'd be a little under 3 months. I was very upset at myself for gambling on January 2nd, I caught myself shortly after getting there and didn't do any financial damage, but it really upsets me that I even went there.
The biggest thing has been leaving myself with limited money on hand. I've been putting every extra cent to debt. I paid 600 dollars on another credit card today. I'm buying my food as soon as I get paid and that's working well. Just trying to get through each day.