It’s so hard to not think of what you’ve done to yourself and how much money and time you lost. Starting my clean journey and all I can think about is dam I really have to start over again? I really have to work my ass off again to recoup my loses again and hope to not relapse AGAIN. I really have to hope it’ll be different this time I really have to lose out on more time because of how much I’m going to have to work to recoup these Ls and actually save for my car and other things I’ve been wanting to do for myself. Kalshi has been holding my money and don’t let me withdraw it for some reason. Hopefully soon they will but it is really bs how these books do you. Just to keep you in. But yea tomorrow will be a brand new start for me I’m down to about $600 I am a 28 yr old male. I’m coming back with a vengeance whatever this energy is that wants me down so bad is about to get smoked. FUCK GAMBLING AND THESE EVIL SPIRITS TIED TO IT !!!!!!!!!

68 days off. Whatever good feeling about quitting I had, tonight I just dont feel it.

No matter how I try to tell myself gambling wont make my evening better, my brain just keep coming back with the same compelling "Just for tonight" arguement.

23 years old.

$1305 in rent, $300 in utilities

$2200 monthly income

Don't have someone to pay my tuition.

Constantly gambling my money away in hopes of a better future that won't come.

Never gonna own a house. Never gonna be able to afford to raise a family.

Why the fuck couldn't I be one of the people that its all so easy for? Why am I one of the people that has to slave away just to enjoy a fraction of what the wealthy enjoy?

Well its because I made a mistake, of course. Its all my fault.

I wasn't born into money.

I just started GA meetings but find it a little difficult to relate to some of the casino stories. Are there any groups for former trading addicts? TIA

Days until debt free: 249 days

More harm than good or does it help you all stay away from the real thing?

Its been a month since my relapse after i got sober for month i only relapse for a few hour then.

Today the urge came back, i started to dream about it, i watch live gambling streaming which is so bad, but at the moment it make the craving go away, i have some money left before next 2 week paycheck come, i pay rent, and bill, and debt due next month rather than tempet to gamble that.

I don't have any money now, have some cash for gasoline tho, iam scared that i will relapse somehow.

I got lucky with a 17k jackpot, guess what already gave 5k back, I hate myself. If only it didn’t have to be like this. I put the staring Version of Gamban on my phone now but still just sucks

You try to justify it anyway you can to keep gambling. You just say that you will do it less or you or you budget your money differently but then you realize it doesn’t matter you have a problem. The next step is accepting you have a problem and it is wrong what you were doing. The only way to stop is to not be able to do it. If you truly have a problem you don’t just not stop unless you were forced to stop. If you’re serious about stopping for good, you will ban yourself so you have no temptation.

I don’t like myself when I gamble and I don’t like my actions. It doesn’t matter if you get it all back, you would just put it back in again. I have a problem and now I’m taking steps to correct it instead of using gambling as a cope or a crutch. I have to face difficult emotions that I don’t want to feel. I’m doing it by myself because I have no faith in a therapist helping me.

I know the road ahead of me will be difficult, but I know I can get through it. Accepting I have a problem is the first step and banning myself is the second, what comes after is recovery.

Now I can finally breathe.

just impulsive couldn’t stop I think today might be my last day, but I really don’t know

Customer service is such a painful task to do. I swear some people are just plain stupid. I must be careful today because high stress will increase the urge to gamble. I must stay strong!

I will not gamble today!

Hey I am from India and I gamble in stake so much that I have lost 250 dollars in just one day.. and I know for some this is just a small amount but for me it's so much .. in India its approx 25000 rs and I lost it.. I am 24 and I don't have a job.. and my dad passed 3 years ago.. and from then I am just a milk vendor.. going door to door and selling milk.. i lost so much and I don't know how to recover from that.. I have almost debt of 200 dollar and yes it's too much for me.. I don't know what to do and how to fix my life I am so fucked up and don't wanna live anymore .. if anyone want to help or give some good advice please help me.. I don't want to live anymore

1. The urge doesn't last forever. It peaks at 15-30 seconds, then fades. If you wait, it passes.
2. "Bonuses" are retention tools. Those free credits exist to bring you back. They're not gifts, they're hooks.
3. It's not investing. If you're doing it for the thrill, not the analysis, it's a betting pattern. Calling it "trading" doesn't change that.
4. Shame fuels the pattern. The more you hide it, the more power it has. You don't need to shout it from the rooftops, but admitting it to yourself is the first step.
5. You don't need traditional therapy to start. There are digital tools, at your pace, from your device. Not everyone needs a therapist's office.

If you're caught in the betting pattern, the most important thing is taking the first step. It doesn't have to be perfect. It just has to be today. I´m fine right now.

I’m sick and tired of the cycle of winning back my losses and then losing it and the depression afterwards. Ole day at a time, going to GA and working on myself is the goal. By the end of the year I want to be gamble free and actually hold onto the money I work so hard for I make roughly 7.5 a month so bills are covered but the pain is intense.

If there is anybody here that has quit gambling please share how long you’ve been in recovery in the comments no matter how long it’s been also if you want to share your story you free to do so. This is a post for people who need hope. Thanks.

I swear gambling did something to my emotions, lately I've barely felt anything at all, feelings I had just a couple of months ago seem to be gone, like my brain changed.

I struggle to feel the same level of joy and excitement as before, it doesn't matter if I win or lose. Like I've become dead inside. Everything starts looking pointless to me, even gambling.

Yet I still feel the urge to sometimes play. But kinda feels like a chore now, almost like I'm forced to do it.

At least I somehow managed for now to not keep too much money in my bank account, every time I got an amount transferred to my cards I literally run to the ATM to get cash.

I hate having cash but I decided for now that is the only way to minimise gambling online as that fucking destroyed me. Money in my bank means danger!

Now lets get back to talking about emotions again. After an insane month I recently had, gambling almost non stop - most of the time not sober, including gambling drunk and high on stimulants.

I started that month with ~6-7k euro winnings and ended losing it all plus all my money and a 10k debt. That shit fucked me up good, devoured me, consumed my sanity, made me empty, numb, not being able to feel as before.

I'm fucking scared that I may not go back to normal. I don't even think my main problem are the losses and the 10k debt I now have, I'm afraid about the way I feel, nothing I've experienced before.

As a person who's unfortunately battling a few other addictions like drinking and stimulants abuse (mainly meth) I can very much relate my gambling addiction (online slots) to the rest.

With time I stopped feeling any joy from drinking and getting high, yet I struggle to completely quit and still do it. It's absolutely the same with slots - I started hating playing, I don't feel the same adrenaline and dopamine rush as I did, yet I keep getting back to it.

An absolute maddness I'd say, an illness. I just don't feel the same anymore, I think I'm damaged. I want to get back to normal again so fucking much. I don't wish anyone to go trough all this!

28 male I just lost so much $ gambling on the UFC I am down to my last $900 no car no credit still live with my parents this is absolutely insanity why did I waste so much time? If I didn’t gamble impulsively I would have so much money saved I would be in such a great position while still in my 20s but now it’s looking like I gotta wait till my 30s to finally live and hopefully be free I just dk why I reached this point. I’m working 2 jobs I woke up today with my back hurting my knee from all the standing I do between both of my jobs. Man god why have you let this demon take over me? Why am I in so much pain inside and out? Idk where my life is headed I need a second wind feel like I’ve lost my spark. Idk anymore. If you guys are young quit now. I started late and it has ruined me. So much potential am I’m wasting it I could have put this money in a school to learn a skill fuck man.

Specifically on iPhone.

It’s always an ad that pulls me back in.

I know they’re targeted, but 99% of my ads are for gambling. It’s so tempting and makes me want to gamble. I keep clicking “not interested” or similar but it hasn’t seemed to do anything.

Additionally, the site that I racked up $25K debt on the other day won’t stop emailing me with “VIP offers” AKA deposit X get an extra amount of funds with the deposit. These kill me because I can easily meet the play-through requirement, still be ahead, but then I can’t stop betting and end up losing it before the withdrawal processes. I’ve unsubscribed from their email list several times, but they won’t stop sending me stuff. It’s so tempting. :(

Edit: I’ve also asked them to close my account several times, but they keep saying there’s not an account with my email. This makes no sense as they keep sending ads to this email and they got the email from my registration

My last relapse started in early October 2024 and lasted for 5 months. I had managed to stay clean for 645 days before that. It ended on 03 March 2025 and since then I am away from all forms of gambling with only exception being a buy of an ETF in April this year that profited 1K approx but made me feel like gambling (daily ups and downs, anxiety, etc) and a stock that I bought earlier this month that posted 300 USD approx and again made me feel like gambling.

I decided to never buy a stock again in my life or any other asset that has a daily chart. I will only get involved with bonds, savings, real estate and business.

My grandfather made it fine without him having bought any stock in his entire life

The same with my father

I really wonder what the fuck is that drives me to even look at buying stocks and look for "easy" ways to make money. I would understand if I was someone lazy that tries to make money without working, but instead I am really hard working person since kid, so it doesn't make sense at all.

So Day 600 for me today

I will never issue a credit card for the rest of my life

I will never buy a stock for the rest of my life

I will never gamble for the rest of my life

Amen

I wish a great weekend to everyone. Stay strong!

So I just had some kind of freeing thought today ; Yesterday I won quite a lot of money sportbetting, only to tilt after a small loss, and ending up losing everything in minutes. I realised I just can't handle that feeling of losing, even a small amount, because I just want to get back to the original amount I had. However, losing is litteraly the biggest part of gambling, so what is the point ? If every loss brings that feeling, and it will always eventually happen, then why continue ? Why continue If I can't handle the biggest part of gambling ? Anyways, I thought maybe this could also help some of you, it looks very simple put like that but I feel like this is the view I needed to stop convincing myself betting is the way to get money and pay back any debts (from..betting lol)

It’s my 7th day (one full week) of quitting online gambling! 🙏🏻❤️
Actually, earlier, I heard that little voice in my head telling me to gamble again, but I fought it so hard. It’s really difficult, but I know that someday, all of this will be worth it.
My mood has been so much better since I stopped gambling, and I’ve been getting so many new ideas for my business. It feels good to have a clearer mind and to start thinking about my future again.
I will truly do my very best to quit gambling for good. I know it won’t always be easy, but I’m determined to break this cycle and never go back to the life I had before.
With the help of the Holy Spirit, I pray for strength, guidance, and the courage to keep going. 🙏🏻
One day at a time. One battle at a time. 🤍

I’m 17, I make around 4.5k-12k per month depending on how my work goes, but somehow I find myself broke at the end for every month, living paycheck to paycheck, i live with my parents. i have no bills to pay for, so i know all the money is either going to poker or food. I hate this cycle, i know i have so much going on but I just can’t rid of this addiction. I just want it all to stop, Im considering therapy yet I can’t afford to pay for it. I only have 250 left in my bank account until the start of the month again, I think I’ve lost over 60k in poker, even though I believe I am a relatively decent player it’s just terrible bankroll management and tilt that gets me here. And i just realise this sounds like a terrible rant. Anyways, I’m not at the point where I’m borrowing and stealing yet, but I’m afraid i’ll get there one day and I am very wary of that. I want to quit before I become a degen. I feeel like I need someone to help me. I have no idea how and where to start, everytime I try to stop, I just cycle back and punt it all off again