-
Hello to everyone. I am new to this forum. My name is Graham and I struggle with an addition to online gambling. It has landed me in significant debt and, in combination with a few other things, ended up in the separation from my long time partner. I am struggling to get it under control. Every time I pay off some of my debt my immediate reaction is that I can use that free space on my credit card to head back to the online casino and grow my money so I can pay off my debt faster. It worked once, and so despite knowing better, I somehow convince myself it will work again.
I am diagnosed ADHD, so the dopamine rush I get from online blackjack is a quick fix. The worse things get the more of that dopamine fix I need. Vicious cycle. I have spoken to family, and they helped me out of the hole once, but I don’t have the strength to tell them that I have fallen down this well again.
I post this for myself, to get it out of my head and into words as much as anything. I am hoping by engaging with others who have seen similar struggles, that maybe I can find a path to a new beginning and break out of this cycle that seems to be all encompassing at the moment.
For anyone who made it to the end – thanks for sticking with me!
GamTalk
Support for gambling related issues
Activity
You are here:
- Home
- Activity
Hi Graham! I appreciate your honesty. That’s a great first step. The actions you need to take are simple but it’s the staying committed everyday that’s hard. People have had good success with installing bet blocker. I’d also take the steps to have no access to money….how ever you need to make that happen. I liked to use a pre paid Visa card. You can use it for daily expenses but it won’t allow you to withdraw cash from it. This is not a forever thing but it will act as a good road block for those urges that are guaranteed to come as you gain positive momentum in your clean time. If you scroll through previous posts and comments there’s some wonderful advice from amazing people who’ve had lots of success beating this addiction. The casinos are trying to sell you a false dream. Congrats on realizing that and working to change course. Much love and light to you.
Hey Graham and welcome. I too suffer from this exact same thing, you are not alone. I try to tell myself that a casino is a business and they are making billions for a reason. I am now on day 4 and have been doing my best to stay strong. Some advice i can give is find hobbies to distract you and slowly pay off your debts. GA will so help you!
Today is day one. Accounts are suspended, and I am ready to give this a go. 4 days seems like it is miles away, but I small steps in the right direction will get me moving. Thank you for sharing your success and advice. Having others to talk with who “get it” seems helpful.
I am sorry to hear you are struggling like me with this. You are not alone. Right now I am just taking this a day at a time. Like you gambling has stolen my money and caused me to lose some of the people I love. The good news is that I am realizes how powerful this addiction is and doing everything I can to get my life back.