04-07-2013, 07:23 AM
Everyone has a right to post what they want on here, but you're right, Andy's recent posts have been very negative and to a degree repetitive.
I personally find them helpful. And, I have to say, I commend Andy for being so open. Many GA members are so withdrawn when they first stop because they cannot speak so openly or don't have the ability to, whether in this forum or in a GA meeting.
For sure, I wish Andy would pull his head out of his backside and see the bigger picture, but I also remember the mess I was in when I first stopped gambling. For months I really struggled. The addiction really did have its claws into me. I was not working and had very little money. I am 100% sure that if I had any I would have gambled because on a daily basis I literally yearned for gambling, just to take the pain away for a short while.
Thankfully I didn't, but it was tough. I got through the 'cold turkey' which seemed to never end. I know that many GA members find it very difficult to cope without that escape (the gambling) that they have been accustomed to for so long, which is why I often comment on posts such as these.
I suppose I was not much different when I first came to GA. I had 'selective' hearing and didn't adhere to the majority of the suggestions being made to me. I am sure there were a few members who got frustrated with me and wanted to just shake me because I was stuck in a rut and wasn't taking heed of their advice.
So, you see, I cannot allow my observation of Andy's posts to be any different to how people saw me once. They stuck with me although I was not always saying what they wanted to hear, I did still want to stop gambling and that was good enough for them. We all have the same illness, an illness that constantly tells us we are not ill. The addiction manipulates my thoughts (if I allow it) when I am weak, but today I have control over that because of those other GA members who never gave up on me.
Big Dave (Eastcote/Uxbridge)
I personally find them helpful. And, I have to say, I commend Andy for being so open. Many GA members are so withdrawn when they first stop because they cannot speak so openly or don't have the ability to, whether in this forum or in a GA meeting.
For sure, I wish Andy would pull his head out of his backside and see the bigger picture, but I also remember the mess I was in when I first stopped gambling. For months I really struggled. The addiction really did have its claws into me. I was not working and had very little money. I am 100% sure that if I had any I would have gambled because on a daily basis I literally yearned for gambling, just to take the pain away for a short while.
Thankfully I didn't, but it was tough. I got through the 'cold turkey' which seemed to never end. I know that many GA members find it very difficult to cope without that escape (the gambling) that they have been accustomed to for so long, which is why I often comment on posts such as these.
I suppose I was not much different when I first came to GA. I had 'selective' hearing and didn't adhere to the majority of the suggestions being made to me. I am sure there were a few members who got frustrated with me and wanted to just shake me because I was stuck in a rut and wasn't taking heed of their advice.
So, you see, I cannot allow my observation of Andy's posts to be any different to how people saw me once. They stuck with me although I was not always saying what they wanted to hear, I did still want to stop gambling and that was good enough for them. We all have the same illness, an illness that constantly tells us we are not ill. The addiction manipulates my thoughts (if I allow it) when I am weak, but today I have control over that because of those other GA members who never gave up on me.
Big Dave (Eastcote/Uxbridge)