I’m hoping to stop.

I have gambled since the day it was legal when I turned 18 (uk). I’m now 32 and it’s just got progressively worse. I haven’t got to the point of it taking over where I gamble before my bills have been paid, however I have borrowed on credit cards etc to gamble. I gave recently become debt free after spending years owing money on several credit cards and several loans.

My only debt is now my mortgage.

However I have now notice myself gambling a hell of a lot more, since I have more money. I usually gamble anything extra I have and leave my self with nothing now, and it’s becoming more and more frequent.

I’m desperately trying to stop however it doesn’t seem to happen.

I’m hoping to use this as a diary, to check in and post that I am gamble free each day, and use it as a reminder of why I want to stop.

I just hope this is enough.

I’m already a member of GameStop so don’t have access to online gambling, however I do have access to a casino which is in the town next to me

I’ve gambled today, so tomorrow will be day 1.

Day 1 and no gambling yet.

I remember I was around your age when I first posted here - that was over 10 years ago. If I had stopped then, I would have saved myself much pain, misery and regret. It took for me to lose much more than I ever thought possible for me to eventually put the brakes on.

Don't let it get to that point for your - as you already stated, it's progressive. It gets worse over time because you continually become desensitized to the increasing losses, which causes you to gamble more. This in turn means you find yourself in increasingly distressed situations while you have to cope with those mounting losses. The regret compounds as well, because as the years go by you start to become aware of truly how much you have lost (and how much of a difference this could have made in your life), while also realizing the time wasted on a completely pointless endeavor which was always guaranteed to clean you out 100% of the time in the long run.

It's impossible to imagine how this much this disease can ruin your life - don't wait to find out, seek the help you need now to stop. The diary is a great start, but it's nigh-on impossible to beat this on your own, so make sure you get some professional help. Each bet you take, no matter how small or innocent it feels at the time, is doing untold damage to you in the future.

Welcome to the forum Whatapain,

I am glad that you realize that your gambling has started to increase and that you want to put a stop to it. With the casino, you can speak to them and get yourself self-excluded. I did this with every Casino in my area and I dare not enter, since I don't want to be charged with trespassing.

I am pretty sure there are GA (Gamblers Anonymous) meetings in the UK and they can provide great support if you feel that you are really struggling. It seems like you aren't there yet, so I highly recommend the self-exclusion to all the casinos around you.