[KingofJersey]

Hi everyone, I’m about to turn 23 in a month. I know many of you are probably thinking that I’m being melodramatic, or that I can’t have a real problem at my age. But I do.

I’ve been gambling long before I got to legal age. It started with filling out parlay cards and handicapping games for my parents to bet on when I was 12 or 13 years old. Then it turned into my family opening online gambling accounts in their name, but me doing the betting. Then I went to racetracks and Indian casinos. Gambling was a family activity. It was a weird kind of bonding for us. As you can imagine, this was a recipe for disaster.

Things escalated massively when I turned 21. Now I could fully gamble by myself in any capacity in the U.S…. and so I did. Sports betting, online poker, slots… I pretty much did everything I could. It was a mess. I lost more and more money… and of course, my thought was that “I lost $xxx, I can’t stop now, I need to get that money back”… but I never did. The worst part of all was when my father actually came up to me and said that he believed in my skills in betting on sports… so he was giving me money to build up my bankroll. I could feel myself resisting when he came up to me, but I still accepted that money. And I lost it all. To this day, I still haven’t been able to pay it back, and that is truly the most embarrassing of all…

All in all, I believe I lost roughly 70%-80% of what would be considered my total net worth. In less than a year. When I was done, all I had left was the remnants of a depleted savings account (the first account I’d ever opened as an adult) and a beatup Hyundai.

I stopped gambling roughly a year ago, and I have had a few stretches where I lost control and went back to gambling. But I’m more aware of when those moments are happening now. I’m not fully recovered by any means, but I’m getting better.

I joined this forum to help myself stay away from gambling, in part by helping others. Kind of like the 12 steps, where a crucial one is to help out others with a similar problem.

Thanks for reading, and hope I can help in some way, even if it’s just disgust from reading my story.

[i-did-it]

Hi King ,
You are never to young or too old to develop an addiction – well done on taking action to stop gambling. I look forward to reading more about how you have achieved a year – I have never done that despite trying for 8 years . Keep posting

[KingofJersey]

Hi i-did-it, Thank you for the reply. It remains a struggle, but hopefully less so as I get to know others who are fighting similar battles. I empathize totally with you and you have my support however I can help in a small way.

I was very fortunate, I had signed up to study abroad (basically as an exchange student) in a foreign country. I had done this nearly a year in advance – so I got really lucky that it coincided with my downward spiral gambling-wise.

It forced me to be away from the same gambling avenues, and so I essentially had to go cold-turkey for several months, and that definitely helped get me off of gambling.

When I got back, I did eventually start gambling again, partially due to anxiety and being around the same triggers at home. But it was definitely greatly diminished.

Aside from the time away from home, what definitely helped me was getting a side income started. I just started flipping items on eBay and stuff like that, and somehow, that helped keep me away from gambling. Maybe it was just being busy with a hobby, or maybe it was actually making money without losing it for the first time in a while… but one way or another that helped.

I have slipped though a few times, things like watching too much sports on TV (I used to be a bettor) or going near casinos (I live in Nevada so this is a problem) can still be triggers.

[i-did-it]

Hi King, it doesn’t matter really how we break the habit so long as we break it . I have found that although i think of gambling less when I cannot gamble , the moment the opportunity arises I am back there – sometimes even knowing that I will be able to gamble soon and the whole fantasy of the big win starts

I have dabbled in eBay too- mostly when I have gambled a lot and really need the money . It is fun and in truth almost as addictive as gambling but without the aftermath.
KINg you probably know but barriers are really important in staying stopped – these can be blocking software on your laptop, cutting off access to cards and money , or as you have found a physical barrier (also getting banned form online and land based casinos and betting shops .
Please make sure you have some barriers in place to help you stay stopped – this addiction brings nothing but heart ache and once you have this addiction you will never be able to gamble normally again

You are young – you have a whole happy life ahead of you – don’t let one little habit spoil it for you
.
Stay strong and have a great day .

[Author]

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