Here we go!!

Hello All-

I am 37 years old and have been gambling heavy since I was 18.

Today is a special day. I have made the decision that I am going to quit gambling. While I have "half" tried in the past, I feel like I am truly ready this time.

Simply put, I have had enough! I think the eye opener for me was truly evaluating my financial situation. I have always made a great living. While I don't know the exact statistics, I would say that I make more income than 90% of the people in the U.S., and I know that I make much more than any of my close friends. The small amount that I have to show for it is absolutely disgusting.....literally makes me physically sick. There is no reason that I shouldn't be a millionaire several times over....but my gambling has derailed my life. I am not saying this to brag....I do not think I'm better than anyone else.....I am just explaining what got me to this point.

I have accepted that I truly have a disease......something I have just recently admitted for the first time. None of my friends, family, coworkers, or others know my situation (as luckily, I have always made enough money to hide it relatively well).

I know the road ahead is long and hard....but I'm ready. Wish me luck!

Welcome DoneForGood !

Congratulations on taking back your life ! I was in very much the same situation . In the beginning , I justified my gambling by telling myself I could afford what I was losing . It wasn't until much later that I began to lose money I couldn't afford to and that still didn't stop me because by then I didn't care . I just existed to gamble . I ended up massively in debt after the addiction spiraled out of control .

The hardest thing I've ever had to do was stop gambling but it was the only way to save myself . I do wish you luck but I think you know luck has nothing to do with it .

Keep us updated , we're rooting for you !

Welcome to the Forum,

Sometimes we justify our gambling by saying that 'we can afford it'. However, we all learn that no matter how much you make, we can never afford it. If I was making X amount, I would end up gambling X + 20%. The problem we have is with our control with gambling that makes us addicts. We will keep on chasing until it leads us to ruin.

I am happy that you have decided to break this habit. We are all in this together!

I learned that if you're a gambler, it doesn't matter how much you make or have. History has shown many multi-millionaires who ruined themselves because of this sickness.
I can tell you are enthusiastic about really quitting; that's good but this will be a lifelong battle;
the enemy is ever present, powerful, and relentless. I used to be so resolute too, just after losing another obscene amount of money. However, days go by, and that feeling starts to fade and the other feeling that caused me to go back would appear in its place. Be ready for that.

Our strongest weapons are determination, perseverance, sustained awareness, and not least of all, allies. We need to make ourselves accountable to somebody because part of the enemy's strength is the secrecy that no one can know if you gamble.
It's a long road and I hope you succeed.

Hello All-

Just wanted to provide a quick update. Today I am 17 days clean of gambling! While I know 17 days is not a huge amount of time, it feels really good. That said, for the first time since making the choice to quit, I felt some anxiety this a.m. Not really a feeling that I wanted to gamble, but more so some stress associated with the fact that I couldn’t. Does that make any sense? How do you guys deal with these feelings? Just trying to tool up as I am in this for the long haul!

To those who commented...thank you!!!

Congratulations DFG !

I had a lot of those same symptoms . I thought of it as similar to detoxing or withdrawal . I had gambling dreams , I was irritable and anxious too . My personal view is that my near constant gambling pretty much swamped my brain with abnormal levels of dopamine and adrenaline until those levels became my new normal .

Going without gambling induced the cravings for those big hits of self-manufactured brain chemicals .The thought of never getting that ( artificial ) buzz again was really unsettling . This all slowly passed in the next 2 months of not gambling . Life also felt incredibly dull and boring . After a while , my brain chemical levels returned to normal and I could feel pleasure and happiness at ordinary things .

For me , I just had to ride it out , learn to accept that there were times when I was going to be bored out of my mind and those times would pass . I did start to connect more with people socially . That helped , even if it was only a phone call to a friend . I also started making cautious plans for my future in regards to finances . I started an emergency fund , set up retirement plans and worked out a debt repayment plan .

Hang in there ! Recovery can be uncomfortable in the beginning but every day without gambling brings you one step closer to the kind of person you were before you ever got hooked . That's a worthwhile journey .

Great update! That first month is the hardest month of recovery for most. In my years of gambling, the longest I could abstain was 2 weeks. Those coming on promises to myself on the deathbed of my father and after my wedding. A truly horrible disease.

During these times, especially with COVID, I think we are all getting unusual feelings since our norms have been shifted quite a bit. When you are starting recovery, your brain starts to adjust and can also add to some weird feelings. Just ride them out and remember why you want to stop gambling. Eventually those weeks will turn into months and then years!

66 days gamble free. I have to say, I have been surprised how few and far between gambling urges have been (especially since I have tried to quit on over 20 different occasions). For the first time in a very long time (in all honesty, probably the first time in my adulthood), I can truly foresee a future that does not involve gambling.

Being that online sports gambling just became legalized in my home state of Colorado, the online casino ads run non-stop. A few months ago, this would have been an unbearable situation for me. Today, I look at the advertisements and see nothing but a dangerous, and even comically cheesy, industry full of false promises.

I know that I am not out of the woods. I know a day will come that I am truly challenged. However, in the meantime I am becoming stronger, building my toolbox, and becoming mentally strong. I will be ready.

Great update DFG!

I look at the number of GF days as my badge of honor and I don't want that number to ever go back to 0 after all the work I have put into it. Keep up the good work and you'll be at 100 soon enough.

DoneForGood wrote:I know a day will come that I am truly challenged

Beautifully put. Just because we have been good thus far, doesn't mean we are truly gamble-free. For me, I try to identify the 'high-risk situation" that may lead me to gamble and try to prepare for those. I have identified those to be during the playoffs (I am also a sports gambler), having access to cash that my wife doesn't know about, being alone and high-stressful times. During those times, I try to be mindful and aware of any irrational thoughts that enter my head.

Keep up those great updates!

Great Job Done for Good!