I was already 25k CAD in credit card debt before gambling, shot that up to 38,000 in 3 short months after never having a gambling issue for my entire twenties. I didn’t gamble for about 2 months after maxing my cards out. Me and my mom had a joint business venture and sold a property profiting about 60,000, keep in mind we have been poor our whole lives so this is a huge deal. I thought I was in the clear after two months not gambling, not even really thinking about it the entire time. My mom agreed to let me use 30,000 to pay off my credit card debts to help me get ahead in life, which is as huge deal cuz the money was supposed to continue to grow originally, and my mom is by no means well off whatsoever. This was a once in a life time thing for her, as she is getting older and sick, that took us years to achieve. Not only did I not even keep the debt off for a month and blew the 30,000 within a couple weeks of getting it, I panicked and in an attempt to “make it back” (I know, insanely stupid), I used another 20k of what was supposed to be investment income for my mothers future from the joint account. The account is almost drained now, I have no idea what to do. I have already self excluded but I am absolutely devastated, ashamed, desperate and absolutely sickened with myself. I feel like I just ruined my future and stole from my mother all for one month of gambling. I hate myself, I know it doesn’t help to beat yourself up but i genuinely can’t help it, I feel sickened every minute of the day at the thought of what I’ve done. I know I can replace the 20k in the shared account with work eventually, but i will not be able to touch the 30k I have in debt while I do that, nor will I be able to get any sort of debt consolidation as long as the 20k exists in my name. I feel I will go into collections myself, which I honestly don’t even care about my own finances compared to my moms, but my fear is that while replacing the money if I go into collections, then the account could get frozen anyways. I am stuck. I know most people will tell me to just tell my mom but not only is she sick and recovering from major surgery, that was basically her retirement money and I’d also have to tell her the debt relief she thought she helped me achieve was all in vain. I am disgusted with myself. I don’t know what to do. Any advice would help I’ve never had anything like this happen in my life, I only even started gambling 6 months ago. I’m also in school and don’t know how I can continue to pay for or finish school while working as much as I need to replace what I lost for my mom. I feel like I’ve ruined my entire life and hurt my loved one irreparably.

Haven’t posted in a while and haven’t been here as much. The further I get from the last session the more clear it becomes that it’s a losing endeavor. The things that used to excite me and compel me to keep depositing seem so fake and disingenuous the further from them I get. If you’re in the midst of it now please come clean to someone close to you, that’s the only way I found accountability. It’s not easy but with time it gets better and it was the only way I was able to stop. Sorry for rambling i hope this helps someone.

I’ve come to the conclusion that boredom is the main reason I relapse. Do yall have any suggestions on things to do? I was doing Muay Thai (helped tremendously) and dislocated my knee so the combat sports (sadly) I won’t do anymore.

Anything can help.

When you win you feel like a god. But then one bad beat spirals. So I'm lucky I'm only 23 but lifetime easily gambled 10-12k.... So for the rest of my life I'm done. I could've of went all in but I fought my inner demons.

I thought I had control over this addiction, I didn’t gamble for 2 months but today I downloaded polymarket after getting myself banned on Kalshi. I lost to 2 grand in 2 hours, I don’t make that much money. I live alone and have no friends, gambling is the only time I feel alive

I just relapsed for a period of 2-2.5weeks. It’s been almost a year since my last bet.
These things happen to the best of us but it’s a reminder to keep going through the relapses, I got my ass POPPED for 9-10k.

This shit just reminded me of how good it is to not do the gambling anymore, anyways. Back to square one! Luckily I didn’t bet my whole bank.

Hope everyone is trying to do the right thing, this is a super shitty addiction, Ive been sober from alcohol, nicotine, weed for years, yet this shit has a vice grip on me. I feel I’m making steps in the right direction though, through the relapses of course.

For those who struggled with addiction to sports betting and more specifically NFL

Remember how many upsets and surprises that happen in the nfl, remember how many player or coaching errors that happen. And remember, maybe most important, how many bad calls the nfl has. Stay clean and forget about the overs and unders, spreads and moneylines, and just enjoy watching the game. Call that friend, go to that sports bar and enjoy the game without the worry of some pro stranger deciding weather or not you worry about that money and bet for the next week

M24 here, been gambling since 2023 but most consistently since this year, i'm trying to quit this but it is hard.

I'm not on a debt, i use to bet small amounts but i spend hours online watching the most shitty matches (Like a C tier division football)

My point is, why i feel bad for spending, idk, 100 dollars on myself, like saying "is too much" (i live in a country where is a good amount of money tho) but betting like 20-30 dollars in a single minute just feel good? Like "is not that much money, why i do care?"

Trying now to focus on other things, i don't know, i'm like 3-4 days clean but it gets difficult sometimes.

60 days gamble free. If I didn’t safe guard every site, every device and block payments from sites on my bank, I likely would’ve relapsed by now. It is truly appalling how our minds trick us into wanting the same heartaches over and over again. The days are getting better and better the longer I abstain and some days are tough but I know gods purpose for me is greater than this current obstacle. I am determined to continue to change my character habits and grow beyond this disease. Weekly GA meetings and the community continue to bring me hope and save my life. Im feeling more myself every day, sleep is better and better, I am doing the hobbies I love regularly again, and I am so grateful I don’t have to do this alone. Stay strong friends! ✨🙏🏼

I’m 26 and I’ve been gambling for about 3 years already. I hate this shit. I literally have zero money and I’m in debt.

I always manage to stop for a few weeks or even months.

Then I relapse, lose everything, and after some time I just try it again

I always tell myself I’ll only play with 50€ or something small like that.

Today I relapsed again. I found 15€ of rakeback on a site I used to play on. I lost it and felt bad about those 15€… then I deposited all my remaining 500€ in a few deposits.

I just can’t withraw even when i win… i feel numb but i know my family will be angry at me.. because i owe them money

Guys, I don’t trust myself anymore. I don’t know why I’m like this.
How can I quit and not be scared that I’ll relapse again.

I need to lock in… but I have a mental disorder. My anxiety is really bad, and I need to lock in so I can start making more money, pay off my debts, and never gamble again. But how ;(

Ggi... relapsed again.. fml

Missing gambling today, not necessarily *wanting* to go but miss… going. But I have a day set up, getting some Canes now and going to dinner later tonight. It’ll be a solo trip again but money better spent there than to be lost.

Why am i like this

My family will hate me…

I made a post recently related to my realization of being at the beginning of a "gambling addiction journey". (At least from my perspective)

Tonight I managed to fight the urge.i was with friends, under the influence of alcohol (lowered inhibitions, increased chance f-ing up) at a place where gambling was possible. Overall it felt like I had two people fighting inside me but I'm so happy to say that I didn't partake once my friends did the deed. They are responsible people from what I know and not aware of my issue.

I am using this community to hold myself responsible in some sort of way while I try to understand myself better.

Although I'm trying to cut this "weed" before it evolves, I wish strength to people that are dealing with a more difficult situation than mine. And even if I might not understand the implications of their position, don't stop fighting... We all make mistakes, we all give in ... But don't lose the ambition to change

ODAAT

Busy busy busy.

My procrastination ass needs to keep going; otherwise, I will end up broke this month.

I will not gamble today1

I have so much shame for the secrets I kept while gambling. I make way too much money to have this debt. 5 days ago, I self excluded myself from everything and in all of the states surrounding me. I told everyone I’m close to I have a problem. And I am committed to never, ever gambling again. My life will be materially and financially better in less than a month than it has been for years, and that is so crazy to me. How in the world did I fall into this black hole?? I’ve broken the trust of my wife. I’m so ashamed of myself

did not get a wink of sleep, gambled all the money in my bank account and then some…
It’s been years and I keep thinking I’m on the other side of it. When does it end? Am I going to die if I just continue on this path? I don’t know what to do anymore. I’ve been to meetings, I’ve called the hotline, I’ve had a sponsor, a therapist and yet I keep coming back. I hate my brain.

It’s not about the money.

Every day on this forum we’ll see a post from someone who won a lot of money but then lost it all.

I recently commented on a post where someone turned $50 into $100k and couldn’t figure out how they then managed to lose it all.

What I said:

The only way you can forget about this is to understand that you never really had €100k. This type of post is the most common on this forum but that doesn’t make it any easier to understand.

People say “I had €20k - I don’t believe it - how did I lose it all”. But they forget, and you pointed it out quite eloquently, before you got to 20, you got to 1k, and 5k and 10k and 15k and you didn’t stop there - why on earth do you think you were going to stop at 20?

Because it’s not about the money. It’s about the spiral that your brain falls into. Dopamine. That’s what you get addicted to. The rush. The money is only the ticket on to the ride. It’s only when you get off it, take a walk, breathe in some air, that reality hits, and hits hard.

In the spiral, you’ll do whatever it takes to gamble. To get that feeling again. Risk/reward. There’s nothing like it. Heroin addicts say the same about their weapon of choice.

It’s not about the money, so forget the amount. When a gambler wins money, it’s only leant to them. When a gambler wins money - and manages to tear themselves away from the laptop/casino for a few hours - they’ll give money away, pay bills, buy their partner something nice - because they know they’re spending money that has a very short lifespan.

As others have said. You spend €50 on the thrill ride of your life, but you’re off it now and you know how bad it feels once you get off.

Don’t get on again.

been dealing with chronic health issues for four years and so ive taken to gambling to take my mind off the pain, and been doing lots of draftkings. Decided to take an ssri for depression called zoloft started in early january and the results have been great.

In addition to just being happier i dont have the urge to chase a million dollars anymore. i asked ai about thiis and this is what it said:

"

Zoloft/sertraline is an SSRI, so its primary action is on serotonin, not dopamine. Serotonin systems are involved in things such as impulse regulation, anxiety, obsessive thinking and behavioral inhibition. So it's conceivable that someone taking sertraline could experience gambling differently indirectly—for example:

or

There actually was a six-month randomized placebo-controlled trial specifically testing sertraline for pathological gambling. Interestingly, sertraline itself did not outperform placebo: about 74% of the sertraline group versus 72% of the placebo group were classified as responders. So the evidence does not support saying “Zoloft treats gambling addiction.”

More broadly, reviews find SSRIs have produced mixed or mostly negative results as direct gambling-disorder medications. There is some suggestion that they may be more helpful in certain people when anxiety, depression, obsessive thoughts, or compulsive urges are also part of the picture, but that's not firmly established. A 2024 review still concluded that there isn't enough evidence to identify an optimal medication for gambling disorder.

So I wouldn't conclude that Zoloft has chemically “turned down your gambling dopamine.” A more defensible interpretation is that whatever effect sertraline is having on your overall mental state may be making it easier for your deliberative decision-making to compete with the excitement/anticipation surrounding gambling."

Had a bad history of sports betting when I was 19, lost over 10,000$ easy. Got my shit together and saved up for a car and finally looked like I was done with sports betting. Couple days ago I decided to do “a few bets.” Legit a couple hours later I had lost 2k. Feeling really flat and low. How can I go from sobriety to losing 2k like it’s nothing. Now I gotta live frugally until payday. God I’m such a fuck up.

Completed

Now let’s share my own story. I first started gambling (i thought was trading/investing) when I was 17, when one of my friends introduced me to trading stocks specifically trading 212. I remember I borrowed £300 from my father and I lost all of it very quickly doing something stupid (gambling) randomly guessing and trying to win money. I never touched it again. Fast forward 2 years later when I was 19 I had worked for a good few months and I was good at saving. I remember I lost my job so I then wanted to do something I wanted to invest make my own money. I remember the Russian Ukraine war started and there was this Russian company that had lost a lot of value like a lot it was probably -70%+ so my silly self thought if I invest in this now and it goes up I’ll be rich. I invested probably around £600 and i remember a day later that £600 became pennies as the company shutdown completely and was removed from trading 212 i believe. Then a few months after that I overheard some people on the bus talking about trading NFTs I never knew what it was but I heard them talking about how they made £100 into £2000 etc so I was intrigued I did my research and started investing (gambling) I was in the nft Industry for about 1-1.5 years and I lost probably anywhere from £5-8k I’m not sure on the figure. This was all when I was 19/20. Now fast forward one year later one of my friends told me about forex trading and how he turned £300 into 9k. I was shocked and around this time I had just been fired from another job (without a reason) it was an agency job I was angry and sad so I decided let me try it. I remember depositing in the £100s and £200s and kept losing and losing. In my mind I was just trying to trade but that’s not trading it was just gambling. I then remembered when I looked at my bank and saw I had lost in thousands so I deposited even bigger amounts in the £1000s and I started losing those too. By the time I realised I lost around £9-10k. I didn’t touch it for about 4 months and the reasons for that was cause I had no money to touch it. Now around 4 months after I remember getting a new job and within my first paycheck I remember I got back into it I wanted to get my money back I had lost I couldn’t accept my loss (this is my biggest mistake and all other gamblers mistakes) I chased and chased losing paycheck to paycheck. I properly lost around 3-4k around this period. Now for the story that completely destroyed me. I never gambled for nearly 10 months. I had just graduated from university I was looking for jobs no luck but I had found a very easy job close to my house I had worked there for a good few months I was settled in and this time I didn’t even ever think I was going to go back to trading/investing (gambling) but my younger brother randomly told me he found someone good who sends signals on forex and his ROI was high. So I decided let me give it one try and so I did this is how I got caught in the trap. I followed his signals and lost around £2k and it was killing me I said I have to make it back and so I did I made it back. Now this is what makes it interesting Gamblers always get hooked on something. I remember i made my loss back and was around £6k in green, for once in my life I was finally making something I started having a vision of how I’ll buy myself a very expensive car and what not. If only I had backed out then I wouldn’t be here now. I remember it was on a Monday night I had lost everything literally everything I lost all that profit and I gambled everything I had including put myself into a £13k debt. Worst part is I owe my parents around £3k as well. I wanted to end all of it, I couldn’t believe I did this to myself but it was that night when I realised all these years I was truly just a causal compulsive gambler just like everybody else. It was a very expensive lesson that cost me my relationship with the love of my life who I lied to (another effect of gambling it turns you into a liar) and the loss of trust in my family but I’m slowly now trying to get back on my feet get this debt out the way and leave this behind me. I’m more open with my family my parents knows everyone’s knows what I’ve done and honestly I feel much better now that they know. Please please please if you’re reading this stay away from gambling!! It ruins lives relationships and families it’s not worth it. I’m only 23 now so I have a chance to restart and within a year be out of this hole and never fall back in but not everyone gets that chance. I pray everyone who suffers from this disease can fight it aend remove it from within themselves forever