Just ask yourself these questions….
- Do you stay away from school or work to gamble?
- Do you gamble to escape from a boring and unhappy life?
- When gambling and you run out of money do you feel lost and in despair, and need to gamble again as soon as possible?
- Do you gamble until your last penny is gone, even the bus fare home or the cost of a cup of tea?
- Have you lied, stolen or borrowed just to get money to gamble?
- Are you reluctant to spend “gambling money” on normal things?
- Do you take any interest in your family?
- Do you find it difficult to concentrate on your job or education.
- Do arguments, frustrations, disappointments make you want to gamble?
- Have you ever thought of suicide as a way of solving your problems?
Getting there
There are many reasons why we entered Gamblers Anonymous, most of us came because we could no longer cope with the problems posed by our addiction - whether it be school, home, work, family or friends.
We have reached what is know as our “Rock Bottom”.
We had tried to stop by ourselves (sometimes under fear of blackmail or violence from parents or family members) without any success.
The only way left for us now is to try Gamblers Anonymous, but, first we must forget the myth that we are too young to be addicted.
Rock Bottom
To reach our Rock Bottom, many of us had to fail school, lose jobs, commit crimes and end up in jail. While gambling we found that our lives had become totally unmanageable. We told lies to hide our addiction, not only were we hurting ourselves but also those around us, including girlfriends, boyfriends and family.
We were all alone, no one could understand that nothing, or no one, came before a BET for us. No matter how hard we tried to stop, or how much we promised, we kept going back BUT not all of us had to reach Rock Bottom. Some of us were more FORTUNATE and made the decision to seek help.
Now what?
Although for us, it was the hardest thing we ever had to do, walk into a G.A. room alone and admit that we had a problem to total strangers, we soon found that we were among friends - for the first time we felt understood.
We found that the first thing we had to do was accept that we are compulsive gamblers and that for us to recover we had to stop all kinds of gambling. This included 10p bets, social bets and fun bets. We began to listen and share our experiences.
We soon found that, having taken the decision to stop and seek help, our lives began to get better. Soon the fears and lies and the feeling of being alone stopped.
People around us began to notice the change, we soon began to work and live the Gamblers Anonymous Recovery Programme. One day at a time, and soon we came to believe in a power greater than ourselves. For some of us the greater power was our Meeting, for others it was God, as we choose to call him. We were grateful that we had a CHANCE to recover at our young age.
Today
Today, with the help of Gamblers Anonymous, we no longer want to escape from our problems by Gambling, we are encouraged to face REALITY rather than run away. Ours is the only life over which we have any control.
What now? If you think you have a problem, then call the helpline 0861 233 578 near you and have a chat.