Category Archives: Stories of Hope

Puddsley’s Story

Story summary: Puddsley suffered emotional and physical abuse as a teenager. She began gambling after the birth of her son, first Bingo then on VLTs after which began to lose control rapidly. She hid her problem from family and friends as her problem got worse. She worked as a dealer in a casino. She attended counselling for six or seven moths but then relapsed. Eventually, she hit rock bottom and attended her first GA meeting and received three weeks of in-patient treatment. She hasn’t gambled for 473 days.

Elijah’s Story

Story summary: Elijah gambled compulsively for 20 years. He lost his marriage, family and possessions. He went to GA for year, then AA whilst stationed in Iceland. He had low self-esteem, cheated, lied and womanised. He met and married a woman who was more accepting of who he was and attended counselling as part of a gambling study, then attended GA meetings. After six months gambling free, he had a breakthrough that recovery was possible. He got a sponsor and took part in Gamtalk and another online support site. He recovered from cancer and was supported through it by GA members.

Aaron’s Story

Story summary: Aaron lost control of gambling on VLTs and he lost his job and his family. He borrowed money everywhere and lied to family and friends. He tried GA several times but eventually quit gambling after spending 26 days at a residential treatment facility for addictions. He now attends regular GA meetings and has a sponsor he can call or go see at any time.

Fading away’s story

Story summary: Fading away experienced stress and some traumatic events prior to developing a gambling problem. She first went to a casino with husband for fun. She ended up going before work, during lunch break, after work and spending her whole pay cheque. Her gamblimg problems lasted ten years. Eventually, she went to counselling and gets online support at Gamtalk.

My Story

Story summary: My story’s husband and son had addiction problems with alcohol and drugs. Her son died of an overdose and she began going to the casino more and more often. Gambling was on her mind all the time. She started going to GA and hasn’t gambled since July 10th 2012.

Shelmar’s story – I gambled to feel connected to my mom and brother who passed away

Story summary: Shelmar gambled to feel connected to his Mother and Brother who passed away. He also gambled to escape from the stress of his work and personal life. As his gambling debts grew, Shelmar started to steal money from his employer. After getting caught, Shelmar was diagnosed as a Pathological Gambler and began a treatment program as well as attending GA meetings. Shelmar self-excluded from his local casino and hasn’t gambled in more than 19 months.

Phil’s Story: “Gambling was my only form of escapism.”

Story summary: Phil used gambling to escape from family and work problems. He hid his gambling from family and friends as his debts got bigger and bigger. He felt a huge weight lift from his shoulders when he eventually told them what was going on. Phil went to see a counsellor and after a few sessions he began to see that he gambled because he was unhappy. Phil gave control of his finances to his wife and took up cycling as a more positive way to vent his frustration and to keep him busy. Phil also used a debt management service to work out a manageable repayment plan to his creditors.

Raymond’s Story: “Miracles do happen”

Story summary: Raymond tried to stop gambling many times without success. He began gambling as a young boy going to bingo with his Mother who also had a gambling problem. He took 30 years to admit his problem. He started a business spent and lost all the money from it to gambling. His last bet was 24th January 2009 and he has been going to GA and using online support sites. He is living life one day at a time.

Terry’s Story: “ I’m proud of who I am.”

Story summary: Terry began gambling when he was 13, at local racetrack. He gambled for 40 years until reaching rock bottom in January 2000. He hid gambling from his family. Eventually he realised that a “big win” was not going to happen, so he self-excluded from the casino, went to counselling and admitted to his wife that he had a gambling problem. His recovery journey began from that day onwards.