Hello Sherrie and thanks for starting a thread in the Gambling Therapy forums

Here at Gambling Therapy we pride ourselves on being a caring and diverse online community who can help and support you with the difficulties you’re currently facing. We understand that this might be a tough time for you, particularly if you’re new to recovery, so come here as often as you need to and participate in the forums, access online groups and connect to the live advice helpline if you need one to one support. We’re in this together!

Here on the forum you can share your experiences in a safe, supportive and accepting environment. The beauty of writing it all down is that you can take your time and you will be creating a record of your progress that you can look back on if it ever feels like you’re not moving forward. So, share as much or as little as you like but do try to stick to keeping just one thread in this forum so people know where to find you if they want to be updated on your progress or share something with you.

As well as the forums New Members are invited to join Charles in the New Members Practical Advice Group On Mondays at 21:00 (UK) and Thursday at 19:00(UK)

And on that note….

I’m going to hand you over to our community because I’m sure they will have some words of wisdom for you 🙂

Take care

The Gambling Therapy Team

PS: Let me just remind you to take a look at our privacy policy and terms and conditions so you know how it all works!

Hi Sherrie ,
That’s exactly what happened to me .
I am Irish but when they banned all the uk people I could not get logged in . I knew I remembered you – my name was Sad back then, but like your old thread title , everyone thought it was too negative so I changed it .

I guess you know all the stuff about barriers etc so I won’t bore you to death .
I know you can do it and you know you can do it- you have done it before .
I lost a great qualification due to gambling. I exited a masters course with a pg. dip. I will always be annoyed with myself but it is too late to go back . It’s not too late for you .you can get back on track with your course and do really well.

I am so pleased you are reaching out for help . The health problems sound serious and the chemo sounds really difficult and painful . I hope you find another way to mange it .

I am sorry to read about your husband losing his job – it does put incredible pressure on you. Making a financial
Plan is sensible and will give you hope for a good financial future .

Well done on coming back here Sherrie – I hope you continue to share your recovery on here. Xx

Nice to meet you.idi, laura and I are great mates so I thought I would come along and say hi.
Your situation sounds difficult. Life is difficult…, Chemo is so tough on the body. Is it Possible you could seek out alternative natural treatments? These treatments are so toxic on the body. I do hope your husband is able to find a job to take the financial pressure off you a bit. Hope to see you in group.

Yes, your situation is difficult. I also cashed in a very small four figure pension to gamble in january17 when I could not gambling, the longer the better.
Throughout my life Sherrie with two main. partners, I have always been the breadwinner with the man staying at home with the kids, cooking and cleaning. I am worse than hopeless wth domestic chores even now. This also weighed heavily on me, but not as heavy as when I started earning large amounts of money for just a short time in my 50s. I even had a vision board with me winning a fortune on it. But ihave torn to hat up now and thrown it away. First, has to be your health and maintaining your income. As they say in GA, we can’t tackle all of our life problems at once. I expect you may well be feeling depressed. When our negative emotions turn inward we become ill. Gambling is never going to take our problems away and will only ever make them worse Sherrie. A big win will not solve our life problems. We have to tackle why we are using gambling to escape.
My brother in law has copd and this Xmas he had an exacerbation. It was scary to see. I suspect with my lifelong smoking I probably have it too. Once I have gambling under control and my life is to as destitute as it is now, smoking will be tackled. But it can only be one day at a time. You have a home, your husband is alive, you have a job. ***** your blessings Sherrie because your position is better than mine. My home has been under threat of repossession, I have no job and no partner. It can get better Sherrie. But you have to really want it to. Doyou?

Hey Sherrie .
I am fortunate in my situation in that I am still working – the usual – not much to show for it and debt – but still working and will hopefully for another decade ( please God ).

However in the past I went for debt advice and was told my only option was bankruptcy – I have some idea of what it is like to feel that your back is against the wall and you just don’t know where to go – the letters and Phone calls are incessant and the stress of unbearable . Somehow I have come back from the brink .

I coped (just about ) with that awful stress but I didn’t have to deal with my partner being so ill- you have so many huge burdens in your life right now .
It is so hard to stop gambling at the best of times – when you have the worry of such an ill family member I can imagine gambling gives you a little bit of an escape from it . It really must be a terribly painful time for you .

Sherrie , is there anyone you can reach out to — could you speak to a counsellor or friend ? I feel you are carrying too much for one person to cope with .

Day one is ok you know – I have had years of them.
No one is going to judge you here because it’s the one place where not one of us have the right to judge – we all know what day one feels like and it is usually not the nicest feeling !

I know you must be feeling very low right now , so forgive me if I sound preachy – I have got myself in quite a lot of bother on the forums so please trust me when I say my intentions are good even if my words come across clumsily .

Keep strong Sherrie .

Sorry if you feel it is that way. My situation is what it is, yours is how you describe. This forum is amazing as a support when we are in recovery.
I apologise if anything I have posted has offended you.
Warm wishes

Yahoo ! Well done Sherrie !

Well done all round Sherrie – on the studies , being gamble free and focusing on the things that will help you – yeah I love alcohol too and it is much cheaper and u actually can have a lot of fun! Much better than gambling.
So glad to see you posting !

Sherrie, what can I say apart from you are a wonderful women, so very happy our paths crossed in life, it sounds like you are still going through awful lot in life and under immense pressure, I know your life has been far from easy but you really are a strong women and being truthful if you hadn’t of helped me like you did when I first found recovery probably around 7 years ago, I know for a fact I wouldn’t be here now, If I can ever help in any way I promise you I will, please keep posting Sherrie your words have so much meaning and your honest sharing offers so much hope to you and many, I really do hope you are keeping well and please share again very soon, I know many people miss you.

Maverick

Hi Sherrie
Can I echo Maverick’s words .
You are a great person and you deserve a good life.
It would be nice to hear an update – good or bad .
Keep strong xx

OMG Sherrie, just reading this now. How are you doing? did you delete a bunch of posts? How is the RA? has it settled down? Has hubby found a job and taken some pressure off of you? I remember when the UK people had to leave. Politics and money was all that was about. It was awful. This site hasn’t been the same since. But, it still is a place to connect with others with the same addiction. I am so sorry I missed this thread and did not respond sooner ((( Sherrie))) I hope things have improved. I have to run, head full of dye and time to rinse! take care,
Laura

Hey Sherrie, checking in. How are you doing? Any improvement in things? Need some extra support? Life is starting to return to normal for me. If you need to set a chat date let me know. Hugs, Laura

There’s a lot of it about at the minute Sherrie.

It’s a real shame as there dosn’t really have to be.

A lot of folks seem to have gambled recently, a lot of names that have used these forums on and off for years. Maybe there is a clue in that statement. ”On and off”.

Once it is on, really and truthfully, it should stay on. Ask anybody with years and years of clean time they all say the same. Recovery is dependant on ongoing support.

Hi Sherrie
Sorry to hear that you “messed up” but well done on coming back to seek support. It can sneak up on you when you least expect it – it is so hard to be prepared all the time .

I also had a blip myself recently – no it didn’t sneak up on me – it was very much premeditated- so I guess I can only blame myself .
Hope to see you in group soon
Xx

Hi Sherrie.

The good news Sherrie is that you kow what works. Get back to doing the things that helped you in the past. Posting regularly here, connecting to the groups, GA, your mindfulness etc

Hopefully see you in a group soon.

Hi Sherrie honey, this addiction feels like quick sand sometimes. Sucking us in again. Hugs. I know you are probably feeling in a difficult place. You are human. We return to our coping mechanism. It’s not a good one, it’s downright dangerous to our health. But that is what it is. I’m glad you reached out here. A better coping mechanism. And it sounds like you did it pretty quickly. If you are going through a rough patch, please post directly on my thread and I will support you however I can! Sometimes I am away for a day or two or three, right now due to lots of ”stuff” going on that is important. But I am feeling a little bit more in control this last couple days. Please hang in there. You are worth the effort! Laura xo

I am sorry to here you went back.  I try to look at the positives.. You know what you have done wrong, and you are trying to make it right.  It was a momentary lapse of reason, and not a lifetime sentence.  Get yourself back to the right frame of mind, and know that you learned a valuable lesson.  For me, it is important not to beat myself up too much, because the more I despise what I have done, the more that I begin to not care, which leads me astray.  The fact you are back online shows you care, and you want to do the right things for yourself.

Best wishes, and I hope my words help a little!

Johnny B

Hey Sherrie,

popping in to see how you are doing. Hoping you had a good weekend.

If you keep trying and making changes you will eventually get traction. And once things start to hold the momentum will begin. Please don’t throw in the towel. I feel you are so close to that point. Where your changes will begin to add together. Keep closing off the access. Strangle the heck out of this monster that lives within us. Because yes, you deserve to have a life free of this and free of the chaos it creates. Please take care of you xo

Good to see an update. Side effects suck. But in most case they will ease off with a bit of time. Hang in there. Laura xo

good to read. Hope your new course goes well. Hard to beleive fall is around the corner. Keep going xo Laura