COMPULSIVE GAMBLING DESTROYS                                                    

Update December 12, 2023

The adrenaline, the euphoria, the joy of knowing you will be in action is enough to inspire any gambler to gamble again and again  no matter how much they have lost. I am not just talking about lost money. I am talking about lost health, jobs,  family, and friends. 

About losing everything that matters.

I gambled for over 50 years and lost it all. In the last 14 years since 2009, I have quit gambling and slowly rebuilt my life. Yet, I continue to long for my greatest friend and unconditional lover. 

Gambling.

Now, I am no longer owned by that gambling urge. I own it. But, I only own it only day at a time. So, I stay on guard and keep working with other compulsive gamblers continually or I know I am doomed. 

Each day I commit to not gambling that day and to get to the next day without making a bet. Gambling is an incurable, lifelong disease. That is the bad news. 

The good  news is the condition can be arrested.

 You can stop.

It's not easy but it's much better than going to jail, an asylum, or the cemetery. Those are the only alternatives. That has been proven time and time again. 

I was a very big gambler at times betting box car numbers on sports, craps, blackjack, or anything at all, everyday. I would win or lose hundreds of thousands of dollars. I had lost well over 1 million dollars before I stopped gambling in 2009. 

Or, I would go back to betting pennies,

It was never about the money. It was only about the action.

I also lost  my priceless soul by stealing, lying, and cheating. I was dirt to myself and all the people who loved me. My self respect and that of others came back to me in bits and pieces only when I stopped.   

I lost  over a million dollars, Many will never trust me again with good reason regardless of how I have redeemed myself.

The addiction of compulsive gambling is the same for all of us affected whether one bets nickels or millions of dollars. We are powerless. Gamblers cannot stop. Help is needed.

The help comes from joining Gamblers Anonymous (GA) which is a totally free fellowship. There are meetings all over the country. Free..

Just hit the Google button.

No one stops gambling on their own permanently. Will power alone will not make it. I tried many times and would stop for a few months or longer. 

But, the urge to gamble waited patiently to take me down again and again. I would stay abstinent for one month to three years. Eventually, I would start gambling again.

I could not understand that I needed the help of other compulsive gamblers to quit gambling permanently. I always thought I could stop on my own. I never wanted to. 

So, I would say I was different. I insisted I did not need Gamblers Antonymous.

Being destroyed financially, mentally, and emotionally was not enough to stop me. The monster inside my brain and every other compulsive gamblers brain still lives on unaffected by logic and reason.

 It says "come back to me. I love you no matter what you have done. You can gamble David. You can set limits, you can avoid going out of control and just enjoy the thrill of being in action like a normal person.”

Simultaneously, my rational mind always kept speaking the painful truth constantly saying. “You are powerless., you cannot stop gambling on your own."

My compulsive gambling mental illness is much smarter and stronger than my will.

"You are doomed if you gamble David.” That is the true inner voice.

That truth must be accepted 100%.about the impossibility of successfully gambling if you are a compulsive gambler. There are no halfway measures.

I do know that now. The gambling demon in my brain will never go away.! But, it can be stopped from doing any more damage.

The evil, patient, clever voice lies and tears at my rational mind and keeps saying "Just do it. You will be okay." 

My  powerless mind needs constant reinforcement to continue saying no to that urge present everyday of my life. 

 Now It says "David, you have tried to stop gambling and cannot do it alone. Go to a gamblers anonymous meeting, Contact your GA. friends."

My sick mind is a powerful, self destructive force that needs no nourishment. It never starves and is endlessly patient. It waits and waits tirelessly inside myself and inside every other compulsive gambler. It screams "Come back to me David. You want me."

It stalks me and tempts me like the sick, twisted, sociopath it is.

But, it can be beaten.

My solution, my lifelong answer came when I started to attend Gamblers Anonymous meetings regularly which are filled with people just like me. I faithfully attend several Gamblers Anonymous meetings weekly, every week, no matter what else is happening. 

My Gamblers Anonymous meetings are the biggest responsibility I have. My life depends on my fellow compulsive gamblers who are exactly like me and you.. They are continually at weekly meetings and you can find meetings no matter where live,.

Gamblers Anonymous come before work, family, or anything else because I know that gambling again will either drive me insane, put me in jail, or kill me.

So, I know that my life depends on not gambling and I need the support of other compulsive gamblers continually. I stay abstinent by going to meetings and sharing my feelings with other gamblers whether young or old and whether they have been abstinent for one day or thirty years.

I know that I need the positive reinforcement I get from being at GA meetings which are plentiful all over the country and the world. 

Just Google gamblers anonymous. Call the   any of the 24/7 phone services or have someone call for you. 

I work the 12 steps of recovery alone, with a sponsor, and at group meetings. I deal with the personal defects that caused me endless pain and suffering from gambling. 

Recovery heals the soul and improves the person. That is for later. Now, it is time to find out about stopping gambling.

Only from Gamblers Anonymous can I get the strength and support of others just like you who help me through each day.

Compulsive Gamblers all share the same feelings. Only other compulsive gamblers understand each other regardless of age, nationality, beliefs or any other denominator. 

We are all the same because we are all powerless over gambling and our lives are unmanageable. 

It's an easy concept to understand but tough to accept and stick with. But, hundreds of thousands of men and women all over the world are successfully recovering compulsive gamblers.

Look up Gamblers Anonymous online and find out where to call and where the local meetings are in your area.  Punch up Compulsive Gambling on Google..

 There are thousands of meetings throughout the country everyday of the year. It is a totally FREE fellowship.

There are free, twenty four hour a day non stop helplines that can be called by anyone, anytime. Call it gamblers and spouses. It may save your life.

You can also just punch up meeting lists and walk into any meeting. You will be welcomed with open arms.

I have not gambled a penny since January 9, 2009. Before that I gambled everyday for over fifty years..

If I can stop anybody can.

But, only with help.

You can win only but only if you don't play.

Gambling is my deadly lover who I never intend to return to.

Compulsive gambling is the devil.

The National Helpline is:

1-855 479-2743

 It is a FREE call for gamblers. spouses or friends

It is an access point to local resources for those seeking information about a gambling problem.

Just check it out wherever you live. 

Give it a try

You cannot lose.