Trying for Clean Time

I have been clean for one day. Let's see how long this lasts. I must find a strategy to use for when I get compuslive thoughts that give me the urge to gamble. I am posting this because this is one of my few outlets for gambling addiction expression and there is still hope to beat this addiction. Almost half of my lifetime debt was accumulated in the past year. It's been bumpy and I've been having urges but I didn't go today and hopefully I can find things to counter my urges that come up.

Have you self excluded?

Build a strong support system. Do you attend GA?

One day at a time BLLMB .

Sometimes it's one hour at a time , 5 minutes at a time .

The bottom line is that the longer you stay away from gambling , the stronger you become against the urges . I second Wally and Gran on their suggestions of GA and self exclusion .

Not excluding yourself from the places where you gamble is like leaving one foot in the door - a door that you are desperately trying to close and lock . Fighting off the urges is so much easier when you have put roadblocks in place that actually prevent you from gambling . Having no access to cash is at the top of that list , followed closely by banning yourself from any gambling venues , in real life or online .

You can do this man .... It's not quick , nor is it easy . It's a battle . A battle for your life . Check out our Strategies thread for ideas , find a GA meeting and go there and post here every hour if you need to and if it helps to get you through the rough times .

It does get easier . The first few months are the hardest but you will see changes in the first couple of weeks . All of us here want to see you make it out of the Hell that you've been trapped in - but you've got your fight your way out . That's the bottom line .

We're rooting for you .

How about replying to messages here and continuing to follow up?

An update on me? I relapsed. I'm almost embarrassed to post here about relapsing now because as much as I know about the negatives of gambling I still relapse and fall into the compulsions. Even though I have read the good advice here and know the negatives of gambling, I can't seem to stop the compulsions that cause me to relapse. Thoughts of strategies, winning extra money, helping the poor ones in my circle, etc, cause me to relapse. That's my update.

Hi badluck
Please never feel embarrassed about posting here. I can assure you every one of us wants you to beat this addiction, but, you have to want to beat it too.
Ask yourself this how many people have you heard of that became rich through gambling? All posters here can testify that certainly not a gambling addict.
So if you can convince yourself that you will never get rich but only poorer and poorer, can you use that mind set to take your first step and self exclude?

Have you thought about speaking about this to someone close ? Your partner or a parent ?
It is the biggest step i have made in all my efforts to quit.
Day 6 for me and no urges.

We've all been there BadLuck ...there is hope and there is a way out .

You need to make a plan . You need to commit to GA meetings and you need to self exclude . These things are crucial . Wishing , hoping and praying that the addiction will just disappear because you want it to will not happen . Ever .

Overcoming the compulsions is hard work . It's unpleasant , uncomfortable and it feels like it will never end in the beginning . Every hour of every day will be a battle . And this addiction fights back . All of the thoughts you have that gambling is a good idea or a way to make money are just LIES that are designed to keep you feeding the addiction .

Tell yourself that every time you think of a reason to gamble . Say it out loud until you accept it as a fact : It's A LIE .

You can do this . Even if you have to pick yourself up and fight again a hundred times . You deserve a better life than the one you're trapped in now . You're not a bad person . You're a good person with a bad disease . Just like me .

Take back your life .

BadLuck -- I was only able to quit when i realized the total futility of gambling. If you still are having thoughts that your gambling will "save" you or anyone in your family, that is not a rational thought. If you won a large sum, you would almost certainly continue to gamble.

You are addicted to the act of gambling, to the physiological changes to your body that occur when you gamble. We delude ourselves when we think of gambling as being about money. Of course, money has meaning in our society, and that is why we are attracted to gambling, to gain something of value, and feel "safe," "taken-care of," "important" or whatever. But the reality is that even rich people gamble away fortunes. Ultimately gambling is about a high, not the actual money. Money is just the means to a high.