Hi Tina,
sometimes i find it difficult to keep up with everyone! Funny (not haha) thing is the forum gets busy right before Christmas every year. It’s a time of year it can be harder to hide the affects of gambling because of the expected gifts and merry making. It bursts a lot of bubbles. I think a lot of CG’s live in a bubble and as long as we have money to gamble it’s like we don’t want to even acknowledge the bigger picture or what we are really doing to our finances.
I’ve asked GT to see if they can find my old thread from 2009. I know I was dealing with this exact question at the time, how, when, could i tell my partner! He was finishing a really busy time at work and I knew he would be upset. He had every right to be really. I had left him as destitute as myself as all our money was pooled. I agonized for weeks until I felt the time was right. I wanted us to have some time together when i told him. So that if he wanted to talk about it he could. I figured he’d be angry but in all honesty I think he first went into shock when I told him. He would ask a question and then get quiet. A little later he asked another question. Then he left for a while. He wanted to know things like how much had I spent. And if I was going to wait til they showed up to repossess the house to tell him.
I just told him how terribly sorry I was and that I was taking steps to try and stop gambling. I told him if he wanted to leave me I would understand. But to my surprise he told me I wasn’t the first person to have a problem with the pokie machines.
We’ve been through a lot together since then. We still have some issues but I’ve come a long way in my expectations. But we are still a work in progress.
Sending good vibes of strength your way!
Laura