Compulsive Gambling

[gerryBScot]

Any one share this problem and interested in support? Recently I reached 5 years of not gambling. Recently relocated here to LOS. There is a significant connection between the two suffice to say would not be here if still gambling. Periodically the insanity returns and it would help to be able to talk with another compulsive gambler. Anyone suffering with this complex problem, would be glad to talk and offer you some hope.

[zzdocxx]

http://www.recovery-world.com/Gamblers-Ano...e-Meetings.html

[Crushdepth]

Congratulations. A couple of my friends suffer from gambling problems and the impact is truly appalling. Hope you can remain off it.

[Jonny B]

any1 know if there is any type of counseling type service for this in thailand for a thai person, a friend has serious problems and i used to work at a casino so i know how damaging addictive gambling can be. thanks

[gerryBScot]

Thanks for the link and kind words. Jonny, I am in Ratchaburi and would be happy to offer your friend practical support if language/ distance etc issues are not overwhelming. I am a member of Gamblers Anonymous but I am on my own here and there are no meetings here yet but clearly there is a need, especially for Thais.

[Jonny B]

Thanks for the link and kind words. Jonny, I am in Ratchaburi and would be happy to offer your friend practical support if language/ distance etc issues are not overwhelming. I am a member of Gamblers Anonymous but I am on my own here and there are no meetings here yet but clearly there is a need, especially for Thais.

thanks, this person is quite a bit older and speeks no english and i think it would prob be better if she could see some1 in person, although she doesnt even listen to her own family so i dont know how a stranger is going to go. any tips on how to get this person to quit? at the end of the day it comes down to wanting to stop doesnt it and most gamblers have lost too much and just want to keep playing with the blind hope that theyre going to win it back, just never ends does it. how did you quit? at the time of your gambling did you think much about the financial damage you were causing?

[gerryBScot]

I made it to a meeting of Gamblers Anonymous (GA) in December 2003 and after about 25 years of carnage and deep shame I heard people describe exactly what I had been doing,what I was feeling and I heard some solutions. Of course there had been a lot of excitement and fun a long the way except after 25 years I knew I was in big, big trouble. I couldn't stop even if I wanted to. I went to a lot of GA meetings in the first year. I was desperate enough. I was mid 40s and absolutely sick and tired of being sick and tired. Some practical things I learned: it is the first bet that does the damage, not the fifth or sixth; I learned also that it did not matter how much I won, and like many compulsive gamblers, though not all, I had some spectacular wins; to win is to lose cos whatever I won went back with even more. I learned also that I suffered from an illness and that the issue was not one of good v bad but rather of being sick. Learned a lot. Days of not gambling became weeks, weeks became months, and months became years..... Yet a few Sundays ago as I sat here at home watching the football being piped in from the UK the urge to gamble was on me like a rash; what price so and so to win the championship. The thought is as far as it went fortunately but it was quite unsettling as I hadn't experienced such a strong urge for a considerable time. I can assure you it is not about money; a compulsive gambler like me looks at money as ammunition, that is all, spray it about and for most of us there is not much we won't do to get it. But the problem if you are a compulsive gambler is you simply cannot win, you cannot win enough to stop.....you win 5 million, you will try for 10 million and so on. It is inevitable you will lose. let me stress I am not against gambling, I don't want to interfere with anyone's right to buy a lottery ticket or have a night out at a casino or race track.....but if you are a compulsive gambler like me you simply cannot do any of this stuff end of story. I think it often helps someone like your lady to hear another person tell their story, what it was like, what happened and what it is like to day. A merry xmas to you and please come back to me if you think there is any worth in seeing if we can do anything to give your lady some hope.