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Hello Community,
I have been MIA as I’ve been busy getting my third book edited and ready for release this hopefully early spring. This one will have a wee bit of everything and more gambling recovery ramblings and the “lighter” side of recovery. This is just one beautiful blessing recovery has given me MANY… With a glossary of Resources.

I do, however, read my daily email digest from GamTalk and I happened to read this I think from hmmmx3 …

“I love to gamble and until recently could walk out with more money than I went in with. However, recently, I don’t stop until every winning is gone. I somehow convince myself that I am going to win more.”

WELL, this is called “The Disease of this Gambling Addiction starting to invade and distort your thinking and choice-making.” See, problem gambling begins to progress, and so you begin to either start risking more money and keep LOSE, or you win, but keep gambling until your last dollar is gone as you mentioned.
It is how this addiction slowly progresses and you are being sucked into the “cycle” … It won’t matter if you win or lose, the cycle will keep you hostage. Now is the time to stop and find another hobby. When the money runs out, and it will, you won’t like what you’ll DO to get money to keep in action.

I know as I lied, stole, was arrested, charged, took out MANY payday loans and credit cards only to max them out, sold anything I had, or pawned anything of value, and the list GETS LONGER… So before this begins to happen? GET HELP. The bad habits and behaviors will soon follow if you don’t. There may be many reasons why we become attracted to gambling. For me, this was what I needed to know. The WHY and the HOW I was using gambling for some reason.

Well, after my 2nd failed suicide attempt and began my journey within recovery, the first few years was finding some of the underlying issues and roots to my addicted gambling. It was trying to escape the haunting memories of my trauma and abuse as a little girl.

But being raised to not ask for help or speak about what goes on in our home, I spent years keeping it stuffed deep down until I couldn’t anymore. So I used gambling to “not think or feel the pain and hurt and became addicted. I used it for coping and to numb out for a few hours.
Today I am not defined by my past.
I have maintained my recovery for almost 14-yrs. Now I “pass that on” to those still suffering in SILENCE.
I am no longer ashamed or embarrassed that I reached out for help.

All of this lets me live an AMAZING LIFE TODAY. We do recover.
Cat