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I been on this site since June 3rd, 2017. Coming from a remote area and not wanting to receive community services in my hometown, this online site was there, when I felt I had lost my soul and self dignity in the aftermath of the gambling addiction. I can remember the support I received daily for months. The whole group and structured recovery sessions Here, members and volunteers took the time to listen, share their stories and did not feel alone. By witnessing shares and telling my own stories, I started healing and in between all of it, arrangements were made for me to go for outside help. Self help GA along with gambling community outpatient, residentials program were discussed/suggested, and arrangements were made by the moderator(volunteer person in recovery) on this the site, and will always be grateful for the help received when I was a newcomer to Gamtalk. Initially, I was scared and just needed to breathe, talk and listen to others stories, and soon realized how sharing one’s own experience was powerful. That first moderator/volunteer and fellow in recovery , stands out, as his approach was unique and just knew how to approach it naturally with people, even if we where at various stages in the recovery process. For myself, I discovered, I could no longer gamble, and eventually discovered through shares, other forms of gambling was not a good idea, as it brought me back to my main form of gambling . Eventually acceptance and acknowledgment came, I was a compulsive gambler and no forms of gambling could be a possibility anymore. Nice to know there is a place where people with a gambling problem can discuss commonalities, and able to normalize our experiences with one another. When I have urges to gamble, I now can fast forward the tape to the end, by reaching out, and by saying to myself, “history dictates I cannot gamble again.” On most days, I am able to think about the consequential affects of the addiction by constructively processing it, making sense of it, learning how to. cope with it, and reducing my preoccupation by reaching out to others, rather than fighting the urge by myself. I am now rebuilding my life, as I no longer have the burden of carrying this insidious addiction in secrecy. Thanks to fellow peeps, I have been able to stay clean since June 2017.