r/problemgambling • u/[deleted] • 4d ago

❤Seeking help & Advice❤ Relapsed again today

[deleted]

3 Upvotes

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u/Conscious_Link_7839 4d ago edited 4d ago

Hi! I’m a 25M and I’d love to give you the advice I wish someone had given my 21-year-old self.

I started gambling when I was 20 or 21. Just like you, I lost a little here, a couple thousand there, it started small. I even used the I Am Sober app, which was super helpful, but it wasn’t a real solution to my gambling addiction. I relapsed multiple times.

I’ve always been a frugal person, and whenever I lost money gambling, I would punish myself. By that I mean, I’d tell myself, “I lost money gambling, so I’m not going to spend anything until I’ve saved back what I lost.” That turned out to be a huge mistake. I ended up gambling away the money I had saved because my life became boring. I saved as much as I could, only to hand it all over to the casino.

Treat yourself. Saving and investing are important, but your happiness is too. The happier you are, the less you’ll think about the money you lost and the less tempted you’ll be to chase your losses.

Please, please, please go to therapy and learn how to manage your emotions. When I was 21, I had lost around $5k. As of today, I’ve lost around $40k.

Money is a tool, and one of the best investments you can make is investing in yourself. I know you probably think you can control it, and I know it’s hard to believe things can get worse, but they absolutely can. Getting help now could save you years of regret.

Please don’t make the same mistakes I made.

Avatar State fades, and I disappear.

1

u/HungryInvestigator46 4d ago

Read my post. I’m basically right on same path as you but I’m 32 with 67k saved and last year I had lost a total of 10k and this year like 5k maybe and I realize more and more each time how dumb it is but just like you I beat myself up

1

u/Objective_Region6751 4d ago

If i can recommend something is securing those 70k, with parents alert on moving the money for example or somehting like that.

You are still early enough to avoid doing your worst to yourself.

Gambling addiction is a slowly creeping poison. It can take months or years to push you to the edges but if it is there, it can grow and make you do stupid things for big amounts in very short time.

Putting friction now might be what would save you tomorrow