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i am 20, and i have just told my mum
#1
i am 20, started with fruit machines, led to online and roulette machines
i have dabbled in all types of gambling, i have lost hundreds of pounds etc.
i recently lost several hundred on online gambling, started by putting in a hundered, i then wanted it back when i lost it and it went on and on to several thousand where i knew i needed to stop.
i admitted it to my mum and my sister, my sister agreed to lend me some money to pay over the next few months.
i was ok for a week but i ended up getting drunk and losing money on a fruit machine, i re assesed and my finances were still ok, again a few spouts on roulette machines left me with wins and losses.
but with the wins comes money u can stand to lose but when u lose u then want it all back,
so it comes to a day when i was off ill from work, i went to town to put a cheque in and ended up thinking ok, i can afford to lose this in a shop. so i managed to win a little bit, but i kept going and this after an hour or 2 left me at spending my entire wages, with money due to come a day or so later i didnt know what i was going to do.
i looked for loans etc and i was going out of my head with worry and shame
so it came to telling my mum again, i knew she would be disappointed and i am with myself, even that day she had asked, have u been gambling etc, or u knew that is what she was getting at.
so i text her that night saying that i needed help, and that i had done it again.
she came to my room and i broke down and confessed what had happened,

so i am writing this 2 days after i told my mum it had happened again, she has bailed me out of my money issues, paying immediate stuff that needs to be payed which leaves me owing around several hundred or so over the next month or 2.

i know people say you shouldnt bail out, but in this case obv she is going to get it back from me but also i have given her my bank card, we have snapped all my other cards. i can now only get money by asking my mum to give it to me from my bank account, she knows my internet banking details so she knows the extent to my problems. so from now on if i want money i have to justify what it is for and that is all the money i am getting.
in a way although obviously i would rather have the money i lost, i am glad it happened because it has forced me into the situation i am now in. i may be skint for the next few months but i know i can now overcome this problem. my mum will have control of my money for as long as it takes whether it be a year or whatever.

if any of you guys find yourself in the same situation where u have hit rock bottom i really suggest doing the same, if like me u cant admit it face to face, write an initial text then i as hard as it is send the text because u know at that point u will have to face your problems and u will have someone there to help whether like me its your mum, or a sister or brother etc, i could have done this with numerous friends

if anyone around my age wants to talk then please message me or post a comment.
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#2
Hey,
At 20 years old that is a very mature post, however and I like the word however. You sound to me like you are on the start of what being a compulsive gambler can do to you. I would suggest asking your mother to take you to a GA meeting, you may not feel you need this but you will listen to other stroies understand them completely and it will give you a bigger sense of what it is you face.

Because this is a "life illness" although you may feel at this moment a little in denial that a problem really exsists.

Just my thoughts..


Good luck and thanks for posting.
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#3
Hello welnny,

"Meetings are the most important factor to a gamblers recovery"

This fact is so important that it appears on the "home" page of the Gamblers Anonymous (GA) website. Sadly, many browsers ignore it and look for an easier method. You will not be able to surf to a site where a magician appears, steps out of your monitor and "cures" you - you may spend many (fruitless) hours searching, but it will not happen.

"Meetings are the most important factor to a gamblers recovery"

Your nearest meeting can be found by clicking on the "meetings" tab on the "home" page. Another page will come up which contains the paragraph "Meetings are the key to a succesfull recovery from compulsive gambling. This is the single most important thing that you must do if you are serious about stopping gambling. To find a meeting near you please see the meetings panel to the right of the page." Eight regions appear on the right, click on the one which best describes your location. A drop down list appears with the names of the towns/cities where meetings, in that region, are located. Clicking on a town/city name brings up details of when and where the meeting is, clicking on the blue writing will generate a map of where the meeting is.

Then..............................you have to go.

You do not say where in the world you are - there are meetings worldwide, if you are prepared to put yourself out a bit and travel to attend. You use "pounds" to gamble and the gambling media you have been losing on sound like those found in the United Kingdom on the High Street in any town. Thus I have tailored the 'finding a meeting' click by click above for someone residing in the UK.

Remember, "Meetings are the most important factor to a gamblers recovery".

In my personal experience this was 100% true. I was unable to stop gambling, no matter what I tried, until I attended GA meetings. I still attend today and it is still the same (for me). I make no excuse for repeating myself in my reply above. Please read it again and follow the click to click guide to locate your nearest meeting - and then go. Other people who attend will be there for the same reason - you will have 'problem gambling' in common. "Gamblers Anonymous is a fellowship of men and women who have joined together to do something about their own gambling problem and to help other compulsive gamblers to do the same."

Yours in GA unity

'Poster' David
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#4
Hi my name is Joshua, I'm 20yrs old and I know that I am a compulsive gambler..

I started gambling from a very young age.. My dad used to be a bookmaker.. My parents got divorced a log time ago, as my mother left my dad due to the gambling. She couldn't stand living with a gambler.. They now live in different cities..

I remember taking my first bet in my dads company.. It was a losing one.. Thereafter, I had another bet a few months later, again in my dads' company.. Unfortunately, this was a winning bet.. Little did I know, that this bet, would create a living hell for me, and create mountains of apparenlty insolvable problems.. It was after this bet, that I was hooked..

I continued gambling for a few more years, till when I was about 15, and my mother caught me.. I was greeted with a hard slap to the back of my head.. All hell broke loose.. I had to sleep at an aunts place that night.. Anyways this trend continued, for a few more years.. My gambling addiction took complete controll of my life.. It turned me into a monster..! I began to lie more frequenlty, and resorted to theft from freinds and family, in order to finance my next bet.. I started missing school about 3 times a week in my final year, just so I could be @ the bookies from morning to night..

it was about 15 months ago, where I was brought to the lowest point in my enitire life.. I considered suiced.. Thats basically when I confessed everyting to my mother.. I told her about everything I had been doing.. She was in shock- That I was gambling for the last 3 yrs behind her back..

Anyways, I got referred to some counsellor for a few sessions, and I then had another slip.. I then joined Gamblers Anonymous, where I remained gambling free for just over a year (which I celebrated about 2 months ago)

However, I had another slip, while visitng my father.. I really felt like I was a complete failure.. Like I had let everone down.. My mother found out.. She didn't want me back in her life.. I had broken the trust again.. She was going to send my clothes and my belongings to where I was staying.. Other family members tried to reason with her.. After a few days, she agreed to give me one more chance..

I have been given a final chance at life.. I dont want to go back to gambling.. I pray each day, that God gives me the power to stay gambling free.. As of today I am 1 month and 14 days gambling free.. Its not the quantity of ones' recover, but rather the quality.. I really hope I dont go back to the gambling way of life, but I'm also constatntly living in fear, that I will have another slip.. I still cant work out why, I had a slip after 1 year..

But I know that I have to be in gamblers anonymous, today, tomorrow and forever.. And I just hope that god grants me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, COURAGE to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference...
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