[Greenstar]

Hallo to you all,

I’m new to this forum and website as I found out that I needed some help to quit my gambling. I’m from Holland, so my English is not perfect… 😉

For over 11 months I have been gambling almost every week on various website’s like Unibet and 888 Sport. Always betting on tennis which looked like it could make the most profit.
My gambling started when I sat down with a friend watching an UFC event and he mentioned that he sometimes gambled on sports.

As you all know, in the beginning you always win, and sometimes even big. That’s when the evil seed is planted, and that’s when it all started for me: gambling when there was a good tennismatch to bet on. And they are there, every day…

The end of the story till now is that I blew some € 10.000 away, which is like one fifth of my savings. I sometimes even gambled € 10.000 on 1 tennismatch, won € 3000, but blew it away in the next days.

For now I have closed all of my accounts and what we call in Dutch ‘licking my wounds’. Things are not too bad in my life, I have a nice wife and two great sons. But I cannot use the betting in my life. It will cost me all of my savings and every bet is an attack on my nerves. Even when I win big…

Ok, that’s my story for now. I hope to overcome this gambling thing and wish you all the best 🙂

Greetings,
Greenstar

[finding_laura]

Hello Greenstar and welcome to the forum. It may be hard to believe but you are catching your addiction early. You are absolutely right when you say it will cost you all your savings, but that would only be the beginning. I lost what I had then I borrowed to try and win back what I lost and then some. There are those that would tell you they only wish they had lost money, and not their wife and their family. When we can’t control our gambling or be an occasional responsible gambler it’s like we can never go back to being one. Our brains have changed and it is difficult to stop.

You have taken some great steps so far. Closing your accounts and coming here! Not having access to money helps also. I’m not an online gambler, so maybe some of the more phone savy members could give you further suggestions on how to block gambling totally on your phone.

Keep posting, reading, and learning about this addiction or compulsion. Sometimes the words themselves are the reminder you need not to gamble.

take care,
Laura

[Greenstar]

Hi Laura,

I will be on this forum for some time, that’s for sure.
I’m glad that I noticed my addiction early and hey it’s ‘only’ 10K what I’ve lost. I’m sure that I will live with that.
One thing which made me decide to quit was last friday when I was betting all day, while my young children where at the house also. I hardly had any time for them because I was busy with gambling. That day I won one some money ( € 1000) back, just to blow it away with the initial money first thing in the morning. That loss made that I played and lost 10K in almost an year. That was the signal for me too that this has too stop before things get really out of hand. And if it was only for the money, but that nervous feeling when my money is at stake, and betting while my wife doesn’t know what I’m doing… It really stops here! I can say that I’m sorry for the money but I’m glad that awful tension is gone 😉

Greetings and take care too 🙂
Greenstar

[charles]

Hi Greenstar and welcome. Well done on looking for help.

Now, while you are “licking your wounds” it is important to put as many things in place as possible. Then you will be prepared for when the pain fades and the urges may return.

Well done on excluding from those sites, how about getting a blocker as well?

If you have lost about a fifth of your savings then i would also strongly recommend putting the remaining 80% somewhere safe. Maybe in an account only your wife can access? Have you spoken to her about this?

Keep posting, keep taking positive steps.

[Greenstar]

Hi Charles and thank you for your welcome 🙂

This is the 6th day without betting and it sure feels better day by day. Only the loss of the money, but I will get over it, sooner or later. It’s a lesson learned but not a cheap one… No betting means more rest and peace for me and you can’t buy that!
About a blocker, I need to examine that, because it should be installed on our family computer. My wife doesn’t know I gambled that much and I’m not sure how to tell it properly. I know she will find out eventually…
For now I think that I’m on the proper road to recovery and found other things in life (family, exercising, reading…) suits me better 😉

Have a good day and great weekend!
Greenstar

[charles]

Those positive things to fill your time are important, well done.

The blocker and keeping your remaining savings safe would be good moves though. If/when you do tell your wife then it does make it a little easier to not just present the problem but to show her the actions you are taking to deal with it.

[Greenstar]

Day 8 without gambling, day 8 without that constant nervous feelings, but still mad at myself for blowing away 10K…

I realize more, day by day that I never get that money back, but that has to be the lesson to be learned I guess 😉

For recovery, exercising looks like a great way to cope with that urge. Not the urge to bet on sports, it’s no fun and before all this I hardly watched sports on television.
I still feel the urge to get my money back, but ok it will never happen. Best thing should be saving, and I’m quit good at that, even with low income 🙂

Have a great sunday all!
Greetings,
Greenstar

[finding_laura]

That urge to get your money back is just the addiction trying to get you to play! Because like you said, even when you won, it was put back in again. We are never satisfied. We just want more. One bet is too many and a thousand is not enough. Try and get it in your mind that you will not get that money back. It was a very expensive lesson. Look at everything you will gain by no longer gambling. More time being invested in your family. Being present when you are with them. Knowing the value that your family holds for you and that you would do anything to keep them in your life. You are recognizing these things already! Have a good gamble free day 🙂 Laura

[Greenstar]

Laura, thank you 🙂

Today is one more day that I realized that winning back is not possible, I will lose again and set myself back financially.
Like you said, the value my family holds for me is much important then the 10K lost. It’s a lot of money, but impossible to win back. I always did my betting on tennis and my favorite horses have lost again this week, thus making me lose again if I did bet. That 10K is really the maximum I can live with, so quitting is the only option, and not betting makes me feels so much better.
On to a new week without betting ans losing hard earned money!

Greetings,
Greenstar

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