Time to accept my problem

Hi all,

I'm new to the forum. Today I have finally accepted that I have a problem. I have been gambling on and off for at least 11 years now and throughout those years i always had a break and my gambling was never really that bad just every weekend with the football and the odd horse with what i could afford to lose.
This then though grew in amounts as the years went on but I thought I was in control as I would always stop and walk on a bad day then have a break. Then when I had my head straight and everything going well I would get back into it and the cycle start again. I would be winning but then the losses started and I would chase as we all do. I shut down accounts stopped going to shops and again have a break but I always come back to it and these last 2 days have broken me and I have to stop now. I have probably lost £2k when 2 close wins would have turned that £2k into over £4k but my luck went bad and let down as usual always when I feel like a break through. I have to admit that no one can win at this game except the bookies. My self discipline has let me down and I think now it's time to move on shut everything down for good and move on. I'm letting myself down and my family. Luckily my wife doesnt know about the losses.

Welcome to the forum Baldyb220 ,

You are not alone in this fight . If you haven't already , feel free to check out our Strategies thread at the top of the page . For those of us with a gambling addiction , the concept of "taking a break" rarely works . I think of my addiction as an actual entity - feeding it made it grow stronger . Starving it made it become desperate . For me , taking a break had the same effect as denying food to a ravenous beast for days at a time , then setting loose in the kitchen .

Shutting it off from the "supply" forever sent it into survival mode . It fought like a demon to get me to gamble again . The urges were relentless and it used every trick in the book to convince me that I should " try my luck again " . The more I denied the screaming voice in my brain , the more desperate it became . It was exhausting . The addiction sought to wear me down until I gave in and fed it .

After a month of this constant battle , the voice began to weaken and after two months , it lost its power to compel me . I gained clarity and an understanding of how powerful this addiction really is . I accepted that it will always try to find a way back in , to regain the control it once had over me . I must never let my guard down .

You can do this . It is a long , hard battle in the beginning but you have the strength within you to deny the urges and retake control of your life . We will help you any way we can .