[risingphoenix]

Day 1399 since rock bottom
Day 62 since last relapse

I had a relapse about six months ago and it lasted for about 3 months. I let go of my guard and let the triggers take control of me. I failed to honor my own rule of keeping my money away from my reach. That’s the deadly trigger. I lost a bit of my money and I was really sad for a bit. I am thankful for my family as they were able to figure it out based on my body language and immediately stepped in to restrict my access to my money.

With this disease/condition/addiction you can never be too careful. Please keep your money locked away far away from your reach and you will live a long happy life devoid of this terrible curse.

On the good news side of things, I have now paid off my house. Having lost my previous house to gambling, and then building my life back up, buying a new house and paying it off has been due to God’s grace and opportunity he has given me to save my life. I will be eternally grateful.

Living gamble free, one day at a time.

[risingphoenix]

Kin, I am very happy to hear about the number of gamble free days you have been counting. I wish you all the strength to stay on the course. No matter how hard it gets, know that you have to stick to the plan. One day at a time. Things will get better. Take care my friend.

[risingphoenix]

Day 1201 since rock bottom
Day 655 since last relapse

Life goes on. Gambling thoughts haven’t been coming of late. Been very busy at work. I feel like I am overworking as I get very tired nowadays. On the finance side things are good. I have been increasing my savings and paying down the house. I am ever grateful for getting the opportunity to rebuild my life.

Staying gamble free. One day at a time.

[risingphoenix]

Happy New year everyone!!

[risingphoenix]

Day 1092 since rock bottom
Day 546 since last relapse

Thanks asdfghost. Hope you are keeping well and staying gambling free.

I am surprised there is so much spam on the forums now. Wonder where the moderators went 🙁

We are heading into the holiday season when gambling addicts are likely to reach our lowest points and maximum temptation. On Tue next week I hit three years since I hit my rock bottom. The memory of it is scarred in my brain. An extremely painful moment in my life. I am glad to have been able to recover and rebuild my life.

I continue to remain extra vigilant to all the temptation around me and take active steps to remain gamble free. Life is gradually improving but I must remain cautious at all times and check my thoughts. An easy way I have found for myself to remain gamble free is to just restrict access to my money and keep it at arms length in custody of my family members.

Staying gamble free. One day at a time

[risingphoenix]

Day 1066 since rock bottom
Day 520 since last relapse

Recovery is still going strong. It is so interesting that I still have some faint gambling thoughts crossing my mind.. the usual “what if I did this, I could…”

Recovery is stopping your thought and stepping back and realizing why that thought crept in and attacking that root cause. The sheer act of saying no at that instant will allow you to continue staying gamble free. Keep your money as far away from you as possible. Easy access to funds is what perpetuates those thoughts.

All one needs to do is to stay gamble free today. Stay gamble free one day at a time.

[risingphoenix]

Day 1002 since rock bottom
Day 456 since the last relapse

When I hit my rock bottom I didn’t really know how I was going to bounce back. Now 1002 days later, I am looking back with gratitude at all the things that happened for me to get my life back. I am glad I learnt the lessons; albeit the hard way.

Gambling is not the answer to anything.

Here’s to staying gambling free for the rest of my life. One day at a time.

[risingphoenix]

Thank you so much Kin and ttmrtn.

Yes, we all have different journeys. We all eventually find our way out of this mess of gambling sooner or later. The key is to be mindful of the little triggers before things become unmanageable and drag us in again.

Being honest to ourselves is the first step.

Staying gamble free. One day at a time!

[risingphoenix]

Day 988 since rock bottom
Day 442 since last relapse

Another gamble free minute, another gamble free hour, another gamble free day..

Paycheck comes next week and I know I have to keep my money away from my reach. Banking instructions set.

Staying gambling free one day at a time!

[risingphoenix]

Day 953 since rock bottom
Day 407 since the last relapse

Thanks Kin for checking in. Hope you are keeping well.

Life is getting better every day. I am able to live a life devoid of gambling. I am able to focus completely on my work. I no longer regret what I did and how bad I was 953 days ago. I treat the series of events and many years of gambling prior to my rock bottom as a much needed lesson to understand what’s important in life. An extremely expensive but very valuable lesson.

Finances are no longer a concern. I still send my full paychecks to my family every month. I don’t want to take any chances and tempt fate. I don’t really know how strong I have gotten yet, but I know as long as I keep my money away from my reach, it will continue to be safe. I am able to discuss with family before making any big purchases which keeps urges in check.

The effort to stay gamble free is much much lower nowadays. I don’t even think about it anymore. My family, this forum and a lot of you friends here have been a big part of my recovery. I am ever grateful for all I have.

Staying gamble free. One day at a time!

[risingphoenix]

Day 823 since rock bottom.
Day 277 since last relapse.

Staying gamble free is no longer difficult. It has just become a way of life. I notice that even if some distracting thoughts come to my mind I can immediately discard it.

Life goes on. One gamble free day at a time.

[risingphoenix]

Congrats on your 100 gamble free days! Keep it up. Here’s to many more!!

[risingphoenix]

Thanks for sharing Kin. Very valuable knowledge in the post above.

[risingphoenix]

Day 802 since rock bottom
Day 256 since last relapse

Happy new year everyone. I hope you are all staying gamble free.

Thanks Velvet and Kin for the kind words.

I joined a new job this year. It pays 20% lower than my previous one. You may wonder why I chose this job .. it is because it is a type of job I like doing versus the other job I had which was far more stressful and was not fulfilling.

This year I wish to move on from my financial rebuilding (which is almost done at this point) and focus more on my personal relationships and physical health. This means thinking less and less about earning/saving money and just spending quality time with my family and friends. It also means a dedicated focus on eating healthy and getting fit. I have neglected both these areas (I have gotten way too out of shape) in pursuit of money and gambling all these years – something that led to my downfall.

I continue to build my life back up one day at a time! I now have a decent savings to cater to my emergencies, a house (with mortgage of course), a job i like and my family supporting me all the way. I am thankful to Lord/Universe for the opportunity at my very rock bottom to rebuild and live my life the proper way.

Staying gamble free, one day at a time!

[risingphoenix]

Congrats on the 2 yr milestone! Cheers to staying gambling free. One day at a time 🙂

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