Ever relapsed after registering in this forum?

Hello all,

I'm still quite new around here, but I've seen that Gambling is currently affecting a lot more than just one generation or gender. We see woman and man here, young and not so young. Some, like me used to be more online gamblers, others went to casinos. So we have lots of different profiles, but there is something that i was figuring out.
We can definitely tell that some of us (forum users) are very calm, others angry, some depressed, others share they happiness. But i would like to ask something:

After joining this forum, how frequent is it to find a user that as relapsed? I don't see that many and that is very encouraging. I don't have the opportunity to visit GA, so you are so far my only listeners. And I when I feel tempted I come here and read your stories, and the replies to my posts.

Cheers.

Hi Lookforward: I can speak for myself.......yes, I have relapsed after being on this forum....I have seen others who have too..........but the good news is that after my last relapse, I have gone many months without gambling.....I feel like this time is the one that helps me be a life's winner; because even though I have had urges and money to blow, I have resisted many times to go. I hope to keep this resolve to the end of my days.

My first post was August 4, 2012 and my last bet was November 25, 2013. Looking back on my first post I don't even remember the person I was then. From reading my post it seems like I thought I had everything figured out but I really didn't. I remember the summer of 2013 when we went on vacation and then a month after we got back my wife's mother passed away. I definitely know that I was full-on gambling throughout all of that and kept at it pretty hard until I quit. So I definitely relapsed and I probably relapsed multiple times. Self-exclusion and GA got me to where I am today.

Not since joining this forum. But before I joined I spent about 12 months trying to quit. Never got more than 2 weeks under my belt till I was at it again, it was a rollercoaster of rock bottoms each one worse than the last. But looking back I obviously wasn't serious about stopping because I wasn't self excluding and I made sure I had access to money.
Coming here alongside self exclusion gamboc telling my husband and having no access to cards has given me the strength and commitment to remain gamble free.

I didn't relapse after joining the forum , but I relapsed countless times before . I think having a place to come and get support for the times I was bombarded with urges to gamble really helped see me through the rough patches .

Thank you all for your replies!

You have no idea how important your contributes are. So thank you for sharing. I'm trying (and so far successfully) to fight the urges and although I have money available and access to it, I haven't played since I joined this forum. I'm quite new around here, I know, but we all had to start with small steps.
Sharing my problems with this forum, is the way that I found to start to be accountable for my actions. I don't know any of you, but I already feel that I owe you. I don't want to "disappoint" any of you. I also want to be someone, whose experience, can also help others.

I'll take your early difficulties in consideration, and I will try to always have in mind, what I've read countless times around here of how good you feel now, and I also want to experience that.

regards

Welcome to the forum lookforward, you came to the right place for some sharing, good thoughts and accountability with people who have the same issue.

Knowledge is potential power but when there is action behind it, it is true power (someone said that) and I think it work for me because joining this forum and participating is different from just reading it, like I did for about 3 years.

I had many relapses before but did not have any since I join this elite club of brave people who have overcome this crippling addiction more than 2 3/4 months ago. 128 days gamble free and doing really good.

For a little history on this forum, when I joined in 2012, abstinence was not promoted as much. There was a lot of discussion on how to cut down on gambling, or to gamble "responsibly." There were even debates about this at the time. Some folks were heavily promoting the "responsible gaming" thing. Hard to believe, in hindsight. I think the first person to quit, and be devoted to "days gambling-free" was Buster. Then someone put up a pinned post that we should list our days gambling-free. A great idea.

I gambled and was abstinent on and off at times, but finally had enough and said, "I am done," in January, 2015. Basically that is when I finally faced how stupid gambling is and made the decision to stop for good. (Had a tiny, non-consequential relapse in Dec 2015). But Jan 2015 is when my money problems started to be rectified and healed. I have totally erased my debt, and have started saving again. I can't imagine ever gambling again, but we have to keep our guards up.

Wow...
Today is being a really tough day. Sunday... alone...internet calling... money available...
And then i decided to come here and read the latest replies.

I really don't want to go on the same path, and this forum, of "elite club of brave people" as RBC mentioned, is helping me a lot.

A few weeks ago I'm pretty sure, of how this urge I had today would finish... today I fight and I say, I'm in control!

guess I'll reading more threads and wait for these dark thoughts to vanish.
I know we all had things that used to trigger our urges.One of mine was to reach a certain level of savings (which i never reached). I believe that once I reach the 100 day mark, I'll be safe, and this trigger will be switched off for good.

20 day GF.
Thank you for the support!

I'm glad that you have set yourself goals and it's good to come to the forum when you feel like you are struggling . Writing it out can be helpful and healing .

lookforward wrote: I believe that once I reach the 100 day mark, I'll be safe, and this trigger will be switched off for good.

I truly hope this happens for you , but I warn you to never let your guard down . This addiction can rear its ugly head at any time in our recovery and triggers aren't always stress-related .

Complacency is our greatest danger . There will likely come a time when your addiction will attempt to convince you that you are OK now , the "problem" is fixed and you can gamble in control as long as you follow a bunch of self-imposed "rules" - only with X amount of money , only on certain days , etc .

All of these thoughts are lies , a trap that the addiction lays in hopes that you get lured back in and allow it to control your life again . Every relapse makes it stronger .

I live my life now with this knowledge : My gambling addiction will never die . It sleeps and waits for that one moment of weakness , of complacency . I must never forget that .