Gambling Destroyed Me

• Gambling has destroyed me I have gambled for the past 8 years and desperately need to stop. I am a 32 year old woman who works 2 jobs and has for the past 5 years. I wanted to save money to clear some debt and have a nice savings account to buy a house.
• Gambling is Destroying Our Marriage and Family Life What do you do if you are married to someone who is caught up into gambling? He or she might even be going down the downhill slope of gambling away your marriage, family relationship, your home and everything you own and treasure.

Don't you or anyone else give her money, this is only enabling her to go out an gamble. Talk to the national hotline about gambling, go to a gam-amon meeting. These will help you understand the disease. It did for me,I have educated myself on the disease since this break-up, I wish I had done that before but hindsight is 20/20. Gambling addiction is not just a single monolithic condition. There are many ranges of the spectrum. However, for someone to be said to be addicted to gambling, they must exhibit some certain traits, characteristics, and signs of gambling addiction. New members of Gambling Anonymous sessions are usually asked a series of 20 questions, and those. A life ruined by gambling is not a great life. You will have a lot of pieces to pick up. It will take time from you, as well as money, in addition to robbing you of all of the joy that you have in your life. Gambling addiction is a horrible silent addiction that can become progressively worse.

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• I have gambled for the past 8 years and desperately need to stop. I am a 32 year old woman who works 2 jobs and has for the past 5 years. I wanted to save money to clear some debt and have a nice savings account to buy a house. Instead I have worked 55 hours per week all these years only to accrue more debt and keep trying to pay it off. Spinning my wheels. The financial losses haunt me daily. I think I am trapped in these thoughts, and honestly believe the obsessive worrying about money and what could have or should have been keep me addicted. I have told my partner and she is trying to stand by me. She does not totally understand it, but is trying to be supportive. I am afraid she will leave me if I don't stop for good because she wants to have a nice life. I am ruining this prospect for the both of us as nether one of us have any money saved right now. I just continue to struggle with the losses, and keep feeling hopeless. I know people say you cannot look back, and can only change what you do in the present. I want to know how to stop fixating on past mistakes and what might have been if I had never turned to gambling to feel better. Any suggestions? Thanks.It's a great life if you don't weaken.

Updated September 04, 2017 16:45:46

I'm a gambling addict. Three years ago, I was convicted of white collar fraud, after I stole over $130,000 from my employer to fuel an insatiable addiction.

My poison of choice was not poker machines, but online gambling.

Racing, the thoroughbreds, the trots, the dogs — I wasn't fussy, so long as I could get a bet on and fuel that addiction.

The bets would range anywhere between $5,000 and $20,000 a day. I would bet until 3:00am, try to sleep for three hours and bet again for another three hours on online racing in the United States.

I always thought the stereotypical gambling addict was a working-class middle-aged man or woman, sitting at their local club, feeding their favourite pokies machine four or five nights a week.

But I rarely ventured into the local TAB.

Betting while the kids were in the bath

At the zenith of my addiction, I was married with two beautiful young children and working as a finance manager at a local council.

When I was with my family, I was physically there — but mentally, I was miles away, thinking about gambling: when I could next bet, where would the money come from, whether I could back a winner.

I thought about gambling 24/7. I placed bets at home, at work, the shops — basically everywhere and anywhere I could get reception on my phone.

I would be walking with the kids and our dog, yet I'd still be trying to place bets. I would even bet and watch the races on the phone while the kids were in the bath. Galleta casino sabores de.

A knock at the door

I had been thinking about stealing to solve some of my debt problems for months, but I couldn't do it because I knew the consequences would be dire.

Then one evening, I had a visit from two large men with a baseball bat, strongly suggesting it would be in my best interests to repay a sizable debt that was due that week.

I thought about gambling 24/7. I placed bets at home, at work, the shops — basically everywhere and anywhere I could get reception on my phone.

I would be walking with the kids and our dog, yet I'd still be trying to place bets. I would even bet and watch the races on the phone while the kids were in the bath. Galleta casino sabores de.

A knock at the door

I had been thinking about stealing to solve some of my debt problems for months, but I couldn't do it because I knew the consequences would be dire.

Then one evening, I had a visit from two large men with a baseball bat, strongly suggesting it would be in my best interests to repay a sizable debt that was due that week.

They punched me and threatened to use the baseball bat 'next time'.

I was left bruised and battered from their warning. It was a seriously scary moment; I still occasionally have flashbacks and it sends chills through my body.

That night, I made the decision to steal from work. I felt physically sick and fidgety; my mind wouldn't stop racing. I knew it was wrong, but I did it — knowing I could one day get caught.

The first time is without a doubt the hardest — but once you've done it, stealing becomes easier.

Listen to the program

Gambling Destroyed Meaning

I had nothing to lose. That's how I 'reasoned' it.

However, stealing became another problem to add to my list.

I was constantly worried about being caught. When someone knocked on my office door, when I got a phone call, when my boss called me to a meeting, I was never quite sure.

The fear was slowly killing me, but I couldn't confess, couldn't turn back. I was on a knife-edge with no solution, no way out.

It was a Monday morning when I was finally caught. I was called into the CEO's office and they presented me with the overwhelming evidence.

I was caught red-handed, but I still denied it. I knew my career was over and that jail was not far away.

But at that stage, I had a small sense of relief. No more looking over my back. The lying and deceitfulness could stop.

On the inside

When I was caught and sentenced to jail, the gambling addicts I met in the prison system had similar stories to mine. They were middle-aged, smart, well-educated men from good upbringings, all addicts to racing and not the pokies — certainly not the stereotypical gambling addicts I had imagined.

My addiction cost me everything. I lost my job, all my material possessions including house, car, everything I owned.

Gambling Destroys Marriage

But that pales into insignificance to the lost relationships.

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My marriage disintegrated, I lost access to my children, I don't talk to my family and I'm no longer on speaking terms with most of my friends. I don't blame them.

During my year in jail, I had enough time to reflect on all the damage it had caused and when I was to be released I knew I couldn't go back to that lifestyle.

You get far too much time to reflect in jail. I was constantly thinking about the kids, but I didn't decide to quit gambling because of them. The constant stress and 24/7 of thinking about gambling had destroyed me: physically, emotionally, and financially.

I knew if I didn't stop gambling it would kill me.

Get help before it's too late

I write this not because I find it a cathartic experience, but because I hope that it helps others to seek help before it's too late. Or for family and friends of addicts to intervene and offer support.

For people 'on the edge' or thinking about committing fraud, the solution is simple: get help.

Seek support before you hit rock bottom. The help that suited me the most was from my psychologist, one-on-one extended chats — but for others it may be Gamblers Anonymous.

For the family and friends of addicts: please don't give up on them, it's a horrendous disease and they need all the support you can give.

Life in 2017 is certainly not perfect, but it's a damn sight better than it has been.

Gambling Has Destroyed Me

I've got regular access to my children, I'm rebuilding lost relationships, I've found some temporary work — and I haven't had a bet since 2014.

Gambling Destroyed My Life

Topics:gambling, internet-culture, family-and-children, fraud-and-corporate-crime, law-crime-and-justice, australia

First posted September 04, 2017 12:14:41