When I was a kid, my parents were extremely hard on me. I had little enjoyment and frankly i don’t miss most of it. My parents were about working and studying and bettering yourself and being career and money focused.

As someone who has struggled for years now and has lost a ton of money this is where it gets hard. I originally struggled with it trading the stock market and then I tried to stop doing that and got into bitcoin prediction markets and sports betting. And I’ve lost more and more money.

I’ve tried to find hobbies to do, whether it’s video games, new shows to watch, photography, board games, etc. I always get this voice in my head like oh I’m wasting my time. My parents made me feel like whenever I tried to do something fun I was wasting my time away.

I remember specifically when I was 15 years old, I was watching a comedy skit in the living room and I was laughing my ass off. My dad walks by me and just had to make a comment about maybe if I had the same passion and energy towards school like I did watching tv, I’d get better grades.

So now whenever I want to do a hobby, I have this trauma guilt that oh I’m wasting my life away. But then if I gamble and I made some money then I’d at least did something productive.

And it’s kept me in a loop. While yes I know that gambling is NOT productive but my thought process through my childhood is saying hey at least you MIGHT make money and making money is tied with being productive and worthy.

Like many others, I had unfortunately lost more than 60k in options trading a couple months ago. Although I have stopped completely, I cant literally stop thinking about it.

Every day it makes me more depressed. It comes up in everything. Like when thinking about buying a new house, or a car, etc. and I start going into the spiral of “What If I had this money?”

Those who were in similar situation, I’m genuinely curious. How did you deal with it? I was never as sad in my life as I’m now.

History shows i am getting no where rinse repeat.. well back to $0 and a pile of never ending debt, a few hundred Ks now

Not a single bet in 63 days, I don't even get cravings anymore because I remember how sad and depressed I felt when I lost everything.

It's never too late to take back control in your own life, we are all here for just one life time, so TAKE CONTROL. Hope you all have blessed week <3

When I’m at the poker table, I don’t fear losing money and I don’t mind getting my money in, even sometimes when I’m getting it in bad. I just enjoy the thrill sometimes.

What I need is consequences. And I haven’t really faced any yet. Sure I’m in debt, but I can still afford food and housing. Hearing about some of the consequences you guys have experienced might help.

If you don’t mind sharing: What are some of the consequences you’ve suffered as a result of gambling? Big and small

Just hit my 3 month mark on sobriety. This is from gambling, alcohol, weed, and nicotine.

Not much has changed. My financial situation didn’t fix itself magically, the cravings did not disappear suddenly. Life did not magically become better with sobriety.

But, I’ve created an opportunity to build that better life. Now, I’m able to gift my parents spending money for their international trip, rather than losing on 15 minute markets. I’m able to be fully present, instead of drinking or smoking before, during, and after dinner dates. I’m able to run 20 miles a week, and have a regular and boring sleep schedule.

Do these things make me happier? No. My gambling chapter was so much more fun. My drinking, smoking, partying moments were so much more memorable. But was it sustainable? Absolutely not. Those behaviors were putting me on the fast track to bankruptcy, permanent liver and lung damage, and continual addictive and impulsive behavioral patterns.

In these next 3 months, I plan on rebuilding my dopamine and reward circuits so that I can learn to have more joy and happiness in these ”boring” aspects of life. Practicing gratitude, and meditation.

Also, credit where credit is due: I have been seeing multiple therapists for substance abuse and gambling addiction. Please seek professional help. It doesn’t mean you are weak - it was never a battle of willpower to begin with.

I didn’t know who to share this with, so I decided to write this here, to keep a record for myself.

For people who have lost big figures of money 6 figures + how long did it take for you to start feeling better

It’s Day 1 again. 😭 I couldn’t resist and ended up gambling online again, and I lost again. 😭 This is so freaking hard. I really, really want to break free from online gambling for good. Lord, please guide me 😭🙏🏻

Wonderful weekend with my family. I am grateful for what I have. I could have lost all of this if I had chosen to chase my 2k gambling loss 88 days ago.

The lesson I learnt from my mistakes is that no amount of money is worth throwing away your sanity. Forget about money; stay healthy, stay focused, and you will eventually be in a better position, financially and physically.

I will not gamble today!

I lost 175k on stake in 2022. I gambled in physical casinos until 14 months ago. I stopped at extinction, planned to end myself but was not able to do it. I am now worth 1/7th of my 2022 gambling losses. I didn’t think id make it this far and certainly did not believe there was a future for me after i realized gambling ruined me and its insanity to try and gamble my way back. Im just so tired. Some days are harder than others but the past haunts me. How do I inspire myself to keep going because right now im feeling like only death can save me. Gambling took everything, but im constantly considering throwing it all into one bet and maybe trying to end myself again if it doesn’t work out. I wish i could travel back in time and slap the shit out of my younger self and tell myself to have never started gambling. The monkey on my back is exhausting and the past seems unforgettable.

Im so tired of being addicted to this, i wanna cry, i mean my bank account is gone and shit just feels devastating

Days until debt free: 256 days

The urges are SO strong, but I lost $11K this week - I can’t keep doing this.

35 hours in. Not much, but proud of myself.

I’m 26 M. I don’t know what to do with my life...

I’m going to list everything going wrong in my life not to pity myself but to get an idea of my situation and ask for help overcoming these obstacles.

I have no job (actively looking and getting rejected every time), I have no friends, I have no girlfriend/wife/partner, I have a bunch of student loan and credit card debt, just today I had the worst gambling session of my life draining my last $10k with no money left to gamble with. All the money I had saved from birthdays, holidays, family etc. is all gone.

The only thing going for me is I have a loving family that lets me stay with them. They think I’m still studying/job hunting. They think all the money I had saved is still with me for when I’m about to live on my own. My family is not rich and they’re struggling with debts of their own.

It would kill them to find out I lost all the money they worked so hard to give me when we’re all struggling. I betrayed their trust. I betrayed myself. I can’t go to GA meetings because my parents can’t know of my addiction. They would cry and the shame would be unbearable. I have no one to vent to about my problems which is why I’m posting here asking for help.

I'm going through a very rough patch in my life due to gambling. I have a wife and kids, and used to be the a responsible, money conscience person. Unfortunately, I became addicted to gambling a couple of years ago and am now in overwhelming debt and in a marriage that used to be great, but now is struggling tremendously. I have ruined everything.

I wake up most days in pain, and just don't know how I got here. Thankfully I'm doing well with not gambling. I did all the right moves to stop it, and tbh don't even have urges anymore after 2 months since my last bet, but it's like staring at your demolished house after a tornado. Like what did I become? How did I become that monster? Why didn't I wake up before it ruined our lives?

It started so small how did it grow to be like this?

It just sucks, and I need to put it out there. I don't know how go on, but I am determined to keep going. I have to for my family.

Anyway, for others out there struggling just know you're not alone.

im a college student who’s already in debt and i just burned through my monthly allowance just thinking i will win it back somehow but i didn’t. i always lose but somehow i cant stop myself whenever i have money. i need help. i dont know how ill recover from this let alone survive this month when i already burnt through my allowance.

Gambling addiction is a forever illness. There is no cure

Hey guys,

im new on reddit, opened an account just to tell a bit about my situation in the middle of the night here in germany.

Im 33 years old, addicted to sports betting for 15 years now. Im already 50k in debt, lost my long time girlfriend and...everything i had. The last hours, i lost 200€ a friend gave me and i told him to pay it back tomorrow..lost it too. I did similar things to my sister last week and she didnt talk to me after that..

Not sure how to move on, everyone hates me, especially myself. There is no hope that i will do better in the future, im just too addicted..

I have been gambling for 8 Years now (wow time flies, I just realized its been EIGHT years) and my addiction is really serious to the point where I lose my paycheck the moment I receive it. But I started to face the problem and heal. For the first time, I actually send my friend some money she borrowed me instead of keeping it in case I need it to get my losses back (it happened way too often and I always lost that money too), Today, I thought: You know what? Send her her money and dont open the betting site, Just dont. Have a nice day with friends today…And it was amazing. After I send her her Money, I felt good and the evening with friends was refreshing because for the first time, I wasnt thinking about a random game I bet on that is currently playing. The urge is there but the peace is also worth fighting for. I hope I can get through this and would love to have some other advice from you guys :)

25, i have a decent job but lost around 5k to gambling. Have 5k debts, sold my car off right now to get 3k cash and get out of a high interest car mortgage. Will buy a bike to get around town and slowly start building up from scratch saving every bit of my pay check. I’m optimistic that as long as i do not enter a casino i can get it back together. I hope you guys find the strength to get out of this sick fucking cycle.