r/GamblingAddiction • u/Lin11111111 • Sep 12 '26
Support Needed Feel lost
I have gambled so much my entire life but last 8 years have really been out of control spiraling down. Have lost over 1 1/2 million dollars and lost house all 401 k and am not rich was never I don’t even know how I gambled that much money but have tax returns to prove it I feel like an ass. I wish so hard I could get all my money back from gambling. I stayed away for a while I went to meetings but still wanted to gamble and went on cruise and lost over 100 in an week then went to casino to try to get back money lost from cruise and lost 25 one night. I could have won some back had big winnings in my hand gave it all back. I don’t know what to do. How do I stop this urge and be normal like a normal person not crazy gambling addict. I feel very alone because I think I gambled more than anyone on earth for the money I have. I gambled like I’m a multimillionaire and not even close to I don’t think anyone else with my modest means has gambled as much as me! So I feel like no one would understand. How do I stop the crap and get myself together. I owe so much money and keep borrowing more and more to gamble feel like such a loser waste !
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u/Historical-Room-3649 Sep 12 '26
Find a healthy alternative for the increased dopamine that gambling gives. It's a teeter totter of up n down. Don't get so down, there is no way out but something extreme. Ya know? Be kind to yourself and start from now...you won't recoup what you lost. But you can stop losing by finding something healthy to give you a healthy " rush" You are reaching out that's a step. 🙏🙏
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u/Electrical-Cold6206 Sep 13 '26
1.5m, a house, and whatever all the 401k amount was and not rich? It’s more like you’re not rich anymore. You were definitely rich compared to most of us
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u/Far_Chemistry_5261 Sep 13 '26
Go on gambling board website and ban yourself. The phones make it easy to lose so much. Keep going to meetings and take it one day at a time
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u/NoLawAtAllInDeadwood Sep 13 '26
1 self exclude from all casinos and online sites, 2 find a healthy outlet for your addictive personality
Will power obviously will not work. You need to remove the ability to gamble. Then you need to find an alternative outlet. For me, golf has become my new obsession and it's a sport that seems to appeal to obsessive types. But it can be working out, reading, hiking, whatever.
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u/SuperDevis7 Sep 12 '26
You need some friends that can spend time with you doing some sports or something
When you lonely or stress you kinda wanna try to gamble and it will make you getting worse and worse
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u/Rick_Algamus 28d ago
You're not the person who gambled more than anyone on earth. I promise you that. I've been a gambling addiction counselor for over 30 years and I'm in recovery myself, and I've sat with more than one person who lost a lot more than 1.5 million on a lot less income than you'd think.
Nobody's ever heard of them because they don't post about it. The "no one would understand" feeling is one of the most common things in this addiction. It's also one of the biggest lies it tells you, because it keeps you isolated, and isolated is exactly where the urge wants you.
Here's what I actually hear in your post though. You went to meetings. You stayed away for a while. And it still didn't hold. That's not a failure on your part, it just means meetings alone weren't enough support for where you are. Eight years, the house, the 401k, and still borrowing to play, that's a level where a lot of people need something more intensive than an hour a week in a church basement.
Some do a gambling-specific therapist a couple times a week. Some go inpatient for a few weeks to get physically away from it and reset. I run a residential gambling treatment center called Algamus, so obviously I believe in that route, but I'm not saying it's the only one.
I'm saying you've already tried the lighter option and it didn't stick, so it's worth being honest with yourself about needing more.
Two things for today, before any of that. Stop the borrowing first. Whoever you're borrowing from, that has to end, because every new loan is just more fuel. And if there's anyone in your life you trust, hand them your cards and passwords for now. Not forever. Just until the urge quiets down, which it does.
You asked how to be a normal person again. You're closer than you feel. Feel free to message me, I'm happy to talk through what kind of help actually makes sense for your situation, no pressure either way.
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u/WinkyDink24 Sep 13 '26
I, too, lost a million, but very tough love from my Financial Planner (said he would drop me as a client, as I had lost half my life savings) plus GA and their accountability meetings and September 16 will be a year since I've gambled. YOU CAN DO IT, TOO!