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newbie: my journey so far, and the start of my new one - Printable Version

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newbie: my journey so far, and the start of my new one - Discountbabytah - 11-07-2011

Hello everyone. My name is Ashley, and I am a compulsive gambler. I have had a problem with gambling for the past 2 years, but have not gambled for the past 5 or 6 weeks. I found it provided an escape from the problems I was facing at the time, it provided something to look forward when I was on the up but also had its trials and tribulations when the downtimes came. I found when I lost that I had to make up for it right away, and turned to taking out multiple payday loans and maxing out my overdraft. And when I still failed, and had nowhere left to turn and unable to gamble, I was at a dead end. At the end of the first two cycles of doing this, and everyone finding out, my parents bailed me out, which I appreciated greatly, and both times I said I'd get the help I needed to get clean. I did not. And both times, it was not enough to extinguish my need to gamble. I am currently at the end of my third cycle of doing this, and this time I am dealing with the debt side myself, as rightly so, my parents would not bail me out this time. Though they are still supporting me, which has been wonderful. I feel like that is the push I needed to really deal with the debts and the gambling side of it. I had sort of a "rock bottom" moment, where I felt like nothing could get any worse than things were at that moment. The next day, I got in touch with a credit counselling service, and they talked me through what I needed to do to deal with my creditors and helped me put together a plan to deal with my debts. I also went to the doctor to see what was available to deal with the other aspects of my problems, and he pointed me in the GA direction. Even though he said there were no meetings in my immediate area, I could come online and talk to people. So here I am, looking for your thoughts and advice on what I can do to avoid the temptations and what I can do to distract myself from feeling the need to gamble again, because I really can't afford to fall for the addictive charms of gambling again. I would also be interested in commenting on other peoples stories and helping in anyway I can. I am also very interested in the weekly online meeting, as I work nights and the start time looks ideal at 8pm. Anyway, I'm rambling now, hope to hear from you all soon <!-- sSmile --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_e_smile.gif" alt="Smile" title="Smile" /><!-- sSmile -->


Re: newbie: my journey so far, and the start of my new one - nottingham2009 - 12-07-2011

Hi Ashley and welcome to GA,
Ur story is so familular within these forums and ga, the thing i picked up on if ur family are being surportive, maybe u can hand over ur finances to them and let them give u a set amount each week,show them receips of what u brought ect,may seem like ur a child again, but it really isnt,it helps u not to be tempted, and also shows ur family that ur serious about ur recovery and u will benifit more as they will surport u more.Great to see that u got in touch with ur creditors about ur debt, as u know hiding from it, doesnt make it go away. Dunno where u from but have a look at the GA meet list, i travel 30miles to my meet and worth every drop of fuel getting their and back, without GA meets i wouldnt and couldnt do it all on my own.
Pleas keep updating how ur recovery is going always good to hear, be it good news or bad news.

Take care for now, and most importantly enjoy ur recovery, cause logicaly u didnt enjoy the gambleing otherwise u wouldnt be here and after all a sence of humour in troubled times can sumtimes be the perfect medicane.

IM JAY A CG TAKING IT 1 DAY AT A TIME <!-- sSmile --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_e_smile.gif" alt="Smile" title="Smile" /><!-- sSmile -->


Re: newbie: my journey so far, and the start of my new one - dan13 - 14-07-2011

hi daddy cool my name is daniel i today have decided enough is enough, been wasting my money for the last 4 years, finacially im in a mess, and cant continue to live like this. i to could do with some as i am gonna deal with it by myself. hopefully we can both pull our selfs out of the mess we have put our selfs in. hope to hear from u soon. good luck. daniel