I’m begging yall,

Please quit before it’s too late. You have no idea how much time and money you are wasting. Cannot even begin to explain how different I felt once I quit, although not a day goes by where I don’t think about how much money I did have when gambling was going well. It does not end well ever

i recently turned 19 and this past year has been terrible for me. i graduated over the summer and was given about 3000 from my grad party and i blew it in a week gambling at the casino. I then got a part time job and would spend each paycheck at the casino. it was a seasonal job so once it ended i found a good full time job to start my career at i get around 1100 weekly and i put around 1000 into slots every paycheck i cant help it and i hate to admit it but i feel like i’m going to continue into the next year doing the same shit i need to change but i don’t know how

In the new season of Squid Game, a character buys 100 pieces of bread and 100 scratch off tickets. He goes to a park full of homeless people, and offers them the choice between a piece of bread and a scratch off. Almost all choose the scratch off, and all the scratch offs are losers.

At the end, the man takes all of the leftover bread and stomps on it. The men are furious, but he exclaims, “you wasted this bread, I didn’t!”

Reminds me that, even at rock bottom, this disease will cause you to deprive yourself to feed your addiction.

Crazy how things work out. By miracle was paid early Xmas eve and was able to buy gifts for my family. Paid off $670 in debt today and self excluded from all accounts. I feel sm better already but I know how it goes as I’ve been thru this many times! Hope to see you here at DAY 100 and I should have a car by the then. Stay strong and self exclude.

—GOALS—

PAY OFF ALL DEBT ❌

HAVE 10K SAVED ❌

GET A CAR ❌

NEVER PLACE A BET AGAIN ✅

Hey

Dont really know what to say, first time ever on here, I M26 recently lost everything to gambling, also have about 30k USD in debt with no income, I dont have a job atm because my contract just ended.

I have a fiance, i feel I failed her, I failed my mother (my father also passed away from suicide when i was 15) i feel horrible doing this to my mom but I honestly see no way out, I cant do anything special for my fiance, my mom, my brother and sister, I am a absolute failure.

I did block myself from all gambling everywhere Land and online, but as I just assessed the situation there is honestly no way out of this for me, I also dont live in the USA anymore so the income here would be about 500-1k usd per month if I get a Job, I wont ever be able to repay my debt I am honestly at the end.

I am so so so sorry to everyone I hurt, to anyone reading this I am so sorry and please stay away from gambling.

Like I need to stop this is ruining my life any part of gambling. I don’t know if you guys experience like symptoms while you play. Chest feels tight, heart racing, tingling, feeling hot. Like I’m 23 just u feel it’s caused heart issues or is this like my central system like giving me these sort of pains. They scare me, I need to stop. It’s all at the casino I’m banned online

Hi i am feeling bad as i said that i was not going to gamble again, i feel like i need to talk to someone, if someone is available to talk please let me know

After a 3 day gambling binge, I can finally have a good night sleep.

If I hadn’t lost yesterday, I would’ve been gambling at this moment. It would’ve been day 4 of my gambling binge.

My gambling binges only end when I lose everything I have.

There’s no point in ever trying to win something in gambling.

The turning point in gambling addiction is when you don’t see gambling as a way to make money, but money as a way to gamble.

I don’t give a fuck about money anymore, I just need my dopamine hit.

But 2025 will be different.

I am staying clean for the year.

Seen it all, there’s nothing to see anymore.

Just need to sit out the withdrawal.

The cycle just keeps repeating, im in my bed after losing more 600€, money that was going to be important for me right now, and because of boredom and this feeling of want to go against my thoughts and this voices in my head saying “this is the time! U will win!” Man these voices are so loud. 1 year ago i was fighting just like i am fighting right now, hoping that the next year will be different and I will finally start saving money and change my broke ass life… makes me sick thinking that everyone around me thinks that i am a loser and as much as i want to prove them that they are wrong, i just keep giving them motives to think that they are right… im so embarassed and mad with myself… this year was the worst year of my life because of this addiction. I have probably spent the same amount as my anually salary… my family knows about this and they are worried about me and i keep telling them i have everything under control but i dont… I really need to change my life next year and leave this virus behind before it drags me my whole life 😔 i hope yall stay safe and please stay away of gambling trust me none of this money is worth it i promise.

Hey all and Merry Christmas.

Just a quick note to say that stopping gambling is the best thing you’ll ever do.

I’ve started to save money and have a relatively healthy bank account. I still have lots of debt but that’s ok as it’s gradually going down.

Relapse after relapse after relapse but this time something just stuck. I no longer want to gamble. I’m 26 years old and have ruined my 20s financially but it can and will get better if you can stop.

Currently 7 weeks sober and feeling good. Keep at it all and merry Christmas.

Happy to say I haven’t gambled a penny while home for Christmas. Last year I was doing it secretly and almost lost all the savings I was supposed to spend on a trip the next week before I got a little lucky and won most of it back.

My mom’s dad gambled everything their family had and then ran away, so it always felt especially nasty doing it next to her.

No more of that now. I hope 2025 is entirely gambling free!

whats going on here. stopped gambling but relapsed. lost thousands it doesnt do anything for me. i feel anger and sadness but why cant i stop. need advice.

Everything you want from gambling, you get by not gambling

Hello friends, this sickness is absolutely horrible and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone. I have relapsed a few times, this last time was particularly a rock bottom for me. Pawning off family jewelry just to lose it all. Loans going into collections, disconnection notices on my bills - I was drowning.

It felt like there was truly no way out. And to be very honest, the trust my family had in me will likely never be repaired. There’s a long way to go, but this milestone is important to me as I haven’t seen triple digits in years.

Good luck to everyone, we can do this!

Relapsed yesterday after 22 days. Lost 1000 AUD, But this time their is no urge to go and win back that money. I don't want to take this gambling habbit any further. Started Nov 2022 Let this end at Dec 2024. Ready to attend GA till whenever I feel I don't have problem gambling. Also, has anyone been to CBT? Foes it help?

Thought I could beat it,

Christmas was two days ago, and all I got is 50 bucks left.

I don't want to die but how would I want to continue living live this. Why Am I doing this to myself.

I can't even remember when I realized I got a problem with gambling cause it's more than 2 f**cking years ago

But yet I still have no money in my account, thanks to the universe I have no debts but every day feels like a burden.

Went back in yesterday while watching sports with family. Nothing crazy, but I’m trying to be honest with myself because the slope is slippery as hell. Biggest fear is wild mood swings coming back. Staying away today trying to reset.

What the f is wrong with me? I thought I had stopped, now I'm back, but it's different. Of sorts. I'm playing only on legitimate sites, small amounts, nothing over 50 bucks. Lottery, lottery tickets, some pg stuff when I'm down just for fun. But now I feel like shit. Yesterday, I played to win, and won. Just 5 dollars, but it helped. However, I know I'm still just chasing a win when I play the lottery. I don't even know what's happening anymore

Fuck this. I got drunk and gambled. No point in this since house always wins. Don’t get why I had to gamble

Tonight is GA. Have to go back even though I’m ashamed about how many times I’ve relapsed since first finding GA. But after the meeting, I’m always glad I went. Never once regretted going. And I can’t suffer in silence like I normally do.

I want to be that guy that is posting Day 780 on here.

“Be patient. The days will pass soon enough”

Hello,

Is this concerning? I've been really anxious about my partners gambling enthusiasm for awhile now. They don't necessarily go to the Casino very often, but they also usually don't have a lot of money and go every once in awhile. My partner plays a lot of casino games, spending a lot of their free time playing them on their phone and playing pretend slots. I don't think they pay real money for this, though, just fake slots. They also watch a lot of YouTube videos of people playing slots. They also like to buy scratchers and often want to buy more scratchers with any wins from the tickets rather than keeping the money. The point is, I don't necessarily see a bad addiction here and not one where big money is being spent, but I've also never met anyone else who is like actually an enthusiast when it comes to gambling/casinos. It really stresses me out because I'm very against wasting money and I'm worried one day it will develop into an addiction. The constant casino games and videos is what stresses me out because it shows interest in doing it. They also told me that they don't have a desire to gamble when they have money, but they want to gamble when they don't have money because of the odds of winning more. I feel really uneasy about it, am I being dramatic?

Nobody is helping

G.A meeting tonight(Thursday) 7pm eastern time on zoom Meeting ID 8627683586 Password: 1234 Chairperson Dennis B Topic : Open Therapy - Talk about good things or issues you may be experiencing. One to thing to consider is what are your Recovery plans for 2025. Anyone who has a desire to stop gambling is welcome

Hello everyone,

Happy Holidays. I hope this post finds you at the very least in hopeful spirits. I know some are in a rough spot financially and mentally, but please stay strong and continue pushing yourself forward. If you feel you're unable to on your own, continue seeking support through GA, trusted family and/or friends/partner, or through this forum. I turned to GA and 2 family members that I was able to openly communicate my struggle with, and it was like a weight off my shoulders. Being able to face the truth was incredibly helpful to jumpstarting my recovery.

Along with seeking support and help, we should all realize by now that the #1 step to overcoming our problem gambling is to STOP gambling. Do anything except gamble. The road to recovery will always start with this step because this is when we can start gaining control of our habits again. When gaining back control, something that happens is that we can rebuild our focus. In the midst of gambling - researching this and that sport team or player, or endlessly spinning this and that slot and jumping around to different slots, our entire focus is centered around the gambling activity.

When we remove the gambling activity, where does our focus go? For most of us, including myself, it goes to the painful past, the regrets, "how will I ever come back from this?", the debts, the stupidity, etc. As flawed humans, it is inevitable to have some form of regret, hopelessness, despair. While it may be necessary to fully feel the pains of these thoughts and feelings, it becomes a problem in itself if our focus becomes solely on this negativity.

We have to rebuild our focus. When I was first starting to come to terms with my problems, my debt situation, the bleak looking future, I stopped gambling. I was consumed with those negative thoughts and regrets. But because of the support of GA and my family, I was able to at least peek my head out of the hole and start to look at my life in terms of non-gambling. I looked around my apartment and it was a mess. I looked in the mirror, and I had let my body and health and hygiene go. I looked at my job and I just wasn't giving it the focus that was required.

I started to slowly clean my apartment and organize it. Little my little. Took care of the dishes that have piled up because I used to just leave them there and gamble instead of washing them. 20 minutes at a time. My bathroom was disorganized and nothing was in the place it should be. Scattered around the counter top, empty bottles not thrown out, nothing had been cleaned/disinfected in months. I started cleaning this space, 20 minutes at a time. With small things like this, slowly I was rebuilding and regaining my focus. I started going back to the gym. Short sessions at first. Focusing on lifting, lowering weights. Focusing on my breathing on the stationary bike. 20 minutes here. 30 minutes there.

It's so important to rebuild and regain our focus. With all the disruption that gambling causes to the reward centers of our brain, the constant dopamine that it floods us with, we become scatter brained and we don't have control of our focus and decisions as compulsive gamblers. Start looking at your life in terms that don't include gambling, or finances. Start finding things that you can focus on in short bursts that can improve your life again. You'll rebuild your focus and rebuild your life. Slowly but consistently. One day at a time.