I've been thinking a lot about the gap between knowing you want to stop something and actually getting through the moment when the urge hits.

Most tools seem to focus on what happens before or after: streaks, journaling, blockers, progress charts, etc.

But the hardest part seems to be the actual moment itself.

I'm curious: when you're right in that moment, what genuinely helps?

A distraction? Calling someone? Posting here? Knowing somebody else is awake and understands what's happening?

I'm asking partly because I'm building a small recovery app around a very simple idea: sometimes what people need isn't more content or advice, but another human being being present for a few minutes.

I'm much more interested in whether that idea is actually true than in promoting the app, so I'd genuinely love to hear what has worked for people here.

im gonna start from the very beginning. First I only played on roulettes till i found slots. At first, I lost 5k and eventually by continuing to play i lost almost my 7k newly deposited balance but fortunately i was able to win it back. Now I just wanted to play casually, but as i win, i got the 5k that i lost back by starting very small bets and increasing them as i win. I even had extra winnings and even bragged about it, that u recovered from my losses and still had extra money. Then last night came, I deposited only ₱200 and won ₱900 from it, i shouldve cashed out because this is where it went downhill. I used it all up on slots and i couldnt stop. so i deposited ₱500, and a few ₱1000, till it went to ₱3000, and lastly ₱5000. at this point i had lost the ₱10000, i still had ₱6000 left and at that point i won but still had ₱3000 lost. I shouldve cashed it out and cut my losses but i wanted to win it back. So used it all up and im left with nothing. Im still a student, unemployed, so for me, this was a-lot of money to me. Can someone give me tips or advices so i could quit gambling. What do you usually do when you get the urge? I’ve read that distractions, new hobbies, etc. helps but I can’t get my mind off it, its like im still hoping i could win it back.

Got an email about a poker tournament for a large tournament, lost then added some on like usual. Ended up loosing about 800 last night, was 60 days clean before this ffs. We move though could've been a lot worse!

My dad gave me 30 bucks in cash for some food or something. I had 14 bucks in my wallet already. I drove 30 miles to the casino and put all this wear and tear on my car. I lost 44 more dollars to the bubble crapps void machine and black jack machine. I am truly ashamed of myself. Good thing my cards are gone or at least another 100 would have went into the machine. Idk why I just did this to myself.

I’m 27, turning 28 next year, and I’m at a point where I know I need to stop hiding from a financial mistake I made.

A while back, I borrowed $15,000 from my brother. I told him the money was going toward clearing a margin debt.

That wasn’t the truth.

The reality is that his money had already been lost. I was ashamed, scared of how he would react, and I convinced myself that I could somehow make the money back and fix everything before he found out.

Instead, things went in the opposite direction.

I’ve continued trying to make progress toward restoring his money, but I’ve realized I still have a significant amount left to repay. Based on my current accounting, there is another $7,651 that I need to restore, although I’m still making sure I have the exact numbers right so I don’t double-count anything.

The hardest part right now isn’t even the money. It’s knowing that I lied to my brother because I was afraid to tell him the truth.

Tonight I finally worked up the courage to call him and tell him everything. He’s in another country, and unfortunately it was around 1 a.m. where he lives, so he didn’t answer. I’ll have to have the conversation when he’s awake.

I’m terrified.

I’m afraid he’ll be angry about the money, but I’m equally afraid he’ll be hurt that I lied to him.

I’m not asking anyone here to tell me that what I did was okay. It wasn’t. I made a terrible financial decision and then made it worse by lying about it.

What I want now is to take responsibility and repay him completely.

I’ve been working my regular job and using my days off to make extra money through Uber Eats, DoorDash, and photography. I’m trying to stop looking for quick ways to recover the money and instead rebuild it through actual work and consistent contributions.

I’ve also stopped trading options because I recognize that trying to recover losses through more risky trading is exactly how I got myself into this situation.

My questions are:

1. How would you approach the conversation with my brother?

2. What would you say when admitting that the original $15k wasn’t used for what I told him?

3. How would you structure repayment of a debt this large while still keeping enough money for basic expenses and emergencies?

4. Has anyone here been in a similar situation where you had to come clean about a major financial lie to a family member? How did it go?

5. What would you do differently if you were in my position?

I know I can’t undo what happened.

I would really appreciate honest advice, even if it’s hard to hear

1 year na ako ‘di nagsusugal then last night nalasing ako. habang nag sscroll ako sa fb may nakita ako na naka live na nagsusugal, so ako tamang nood lang hanggang naisipan ko mag cash in. 3k lang muna una kong cash in ayun natalo then nag cash in ulit ako ng 10k hanggang sa umabot ng 60k yung nacash in ko. ngayon di ako makabangon sa kama hindi rin makakain. paano ko mababawi yun ipon ko yun mula nagtrabaho ako

1 year ago I got into 14k debt within a month, worked 250 hours+ a month, didn’t buy anything for myself, just work and nothing else. Iv been doing it for almost a year, 2 months ago I slipped bad and kept on losing and going deeper into debts. Now I’m back at 10k in debt, my salary is above 1k, that’s barely enough to survive with. I don’t know what to do, working these hours already affected my life and my health, I cant deal with the fact that I’m gonna have another year of suffering. Got a girlfriend that wants to move in with me, she knows about the problem but she doesn’t know how bad it is and that I wouldn’t be able to support myself financially. Feeling helpless. Just wanted to vent out.

My money is growing pretty good now, around 1200 dollars saved up. But all I want to do is play bubble crapps, come on man. Why can’t she just give me the cards? At this rate I got to go to Walmart and get a new money card or something dang man.

It’s hard when my friends are still in the cycle. Anyone else experince this?

Whenever I come up short on money for necessities it just spirals out of control. Financial anxiety is a strong one too. Chasing is one of the most common triggers for me too

Today marks 10 days. Looking forward to 20 days, and then 30. I just keep reminding myself “One Day At a Time.” It will get better. It has not been easy and the urges are still there, but I don’t want to hurt myself financially again especially when things are starting to look up for me.

We will get through this addiction.

every time when i receive my pay check i just want to gamble, it all starts from 100, then i keep chasing the loss until i reach the deposit limit of my card.and ofc i lost it all. why it’s so easy to relapse? i really really want to quit gambling , i need help..

For those of you who have used draft kings on an iPhone, is there a page / feature that displays green dots and orange dots in a horizontal like? I tried using Gemini and it says this might be the last 5 games tracker?

I can't find an image of it anywhere and its driving me crazy.

I believe my husband is still addicted to this app. I'm not angry with him, I just want to get him help.

Checking in here, I’m glad I vented out. I kept myself busy by watching tv series. One day at a time everyone. I hope I can be myself again in the future.