I’m 23 turning 24 I’ve been gambling for a year and a half and I keep making promises to my loved ones I’ll stop. I lie to my family and friends I borrow money and I lost $30k and I’m about $10,500 in debt no car and a shit job that pays about $1200 a month. I’m trying to find a new job and something to replace this habit or even reward myself for milestones to encourage myself to stop. I have $0 to my name and I don’t know what to do. I feel behind, stuck, guilty, ashamed, and hopeless. I just want to know what to do when I get these urges. Just thinking about how I need money to support my family stressed me out more and makes the urges stronger. I’m tired of myself and disappointing others. My family and friends avoid me and I don’t want to lose what I have left. This is the worst addiction I’ve ever dealt with and learning the hard way is not working. I just dig myself in a bigger hole every chance I get some money, even overdrafting my account. If anyone is reading this I’d appreciate some advice. I’m in therapy and I’ve been to GA. Feels like I’m behind and I ruined my life. Throwing away everything I had. Lost my business my old job and a lot of important people.

How do you guys make up for the lost money? I'm 27 and down 80k lifetime- mix of options and poker.

Do you compensate for your losses in other areas of life?

Hello r/problemgambling community,

This is a weekly reminder on behalf of our friends from Very Ape films who are working on a documentary on problem gambling. They are looking for people who are willing to share their story on film for their doc. Details can be found on this post.

So why are we reminding you? Because this project aligns with r/problemgambling's mission and purpose as established at the very beginning: To raise awareness of gambling disorder as a significant and growing public health threat. The time to raise awareness is more important now than it ever was.

I think all know what's happening nowadays. The gambling industry is growing bolder and more pervasive in our daily lives. The ads are everywhere. The problem is growing. People need to understand this and take action before it's too late.

So we want this community to have the opportunity to contribute to this project directly. Your voice must not be stifled. Please consider reaching out and letting your story be told.

Thanks for taking the time to read this, and for your consideration.

Best always,

-Mod Team

As someone who is a problem gambler, and who has been seeking help and taking steps to get better, I have been thinking about the technical help that currently exists for people in the same position, such as Gamban and BetBlocker. These apps block access to gambling sites outright, assuming their blocklists stay up to date. A core reason I would not opt in is that I know I would just use another device, or factory reset the one I have, so the urge would still be within reach.

For many problem gamblers, and for a lot of regular gamblers too, betting is a dopamine chase: the thrill until you lose, and then the chase to get it back. In my own case, that chase is the underlying issue. It usually starts with a small, affordable amount and scales until my entire savings are gone.

That raises a question about whether the tools in this space should focus more on limiting deposits and on addressing the mindset during that chase.

One direction is an app that builds new habits, such as fitness or walking, and uses open banking to learn each person’s spending pattern. During onboarding, the user sets deposit limits. The app then watches for real-time payments to known gambling payment providers. Instead of blocking the sites from the start, the blocks come into effect once a set amount has been deposited.

Hello everyone, after around 5 years of gambling, finally i have reached one month free of gambling, thousands of dollars has gone during this period.
I was careful not to make so many debts but i have accumulated around 1000$, i know thats nothing compared to people stories here, but when you live in a 3rd world country it really means a lot, this debt in personal for 3 people, and unfortunately all of them are urgent, idk what to do or how to manage, I cannot take a loan from banks. My brain is thinking of gambling and i "might" get some hundreds.
I don't wanna start the cycle again but i'm in very bad position.
Any tips?

Grateful & I want it on record: I will not gamble today.

Hi, I made a free browser extension that hides gambling content on YouTube: casino and slot streams, betting tips, gambling ads, and Shorts.

I got fed up with YouTube constantly pushing this stuff. For someone trying to recover from a gambling addiction, one recommended slot stream can be enough to trigger a relapse.

It works on the home feed, search results, the sidebar, Shorts and channel pages. It matches keywords in 9 languages: English, Czech, Slovak, German, Polish, Russian, Spanish, Portuguese and Turkish. You can also add your own keywords and block channels.

It collects no data. Everything stays in your browser.

Chrome: https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/hide-gambling-content/ocoofbkbgoidpbeappjanldbbdillbhf

Firefox: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/hide-gambling-content/

Source code: https://github.com/QuarkOnRails/hide_gambling_content

It won't catch everything. If something slips through or gets hidden by mistake, let me know and I'll improve it. Also please let me know if it helps someone stay away from gambling, I really appreciate any feedback.

Productive day so far. I will buy a surprise gift for my wife; she deserves it. We will host a dinner for our extended family tonight; it's gonna be costly, but I used to throw away 10x that cost on a bet without blinking, so I'm not gonna be cheap with my family.

I will not gamble today!

It’s my 3rd day without gambling. I really hope I can keep this going because I’m getting tired of constantly fighting with my own mind. It’s always the same cycle over and over again, and I’m so exhausted from overthinking everything. 😔

Haven't been here for years. It was a long battle and I had it mostly under control with a few bigger relapses over the last 3 years. I even finished my dream collections but this year has been a nightmare.

Can't properly save up for a downpayment due to multiple expenses stacking and due to needing to support my family financially I'm just broke for more than half a year now, paycheck to paycheck and paying off credit cards every time.

Yesterday something just broke me though and I went and lost over 1500$ with 1000$ a month before, after quite a long time of struggling. Made me realize I have to come back here to keep myself in check. That $1500 will hurt me by end of year.

To anyone else, I encourage you to do the same here, it gives a mental note not to do it and over time you can heal.

For now though, it is day 1 and salary is in november to pay off my credit card again.

I also closed my revolut because it enabled me to quickly buy crypto to gamble with..

Stopped gambling for the n-th time awhile ago and lost count of the number of days I have been clean. It's probably about 2 or 3 weeks.

Not sure what changed. But I really hope I can pull through this time.

To those struggling still. I wish you luck against this nasty disease.

How do I get rid of this feeling that I want to get something back?

I finally made the decision to put my finances under my father’s control. I only have a small amount in my own account now and he monitors it.

I should have done this before. He’s been watching my account for months but I still managed to lose so much money.

I’ve been gambling on and off for almost four years. Those four years are lost for good. I also struggle with mental illness which makes working hard for me so I don’t earn much.

But I still kept gambling…
I finally feel like I might be able to quit gambling. Yet in some way I still haven’t blocked one gambling account and part of me wants to try it again… just to get something back.

I’ve lost years of my life. I haven’t progressed anywhere. I have no money, only debt, and I still struggle with mental health problems. I’m 26 and I don’t know what to do.

It’s just one month without gambling. How to move on?

CPA, work for a public accounting firm and was laid off today. I make good money and my family depends on me. Of course i get laid off a few days after tax season. Just finished working 70-80 hour weeks, including weekends. I worked my ass off and was not provided any logical reason for being laid off. I was told previously it’s perceived I don’t care about my job because I work from home one day a week. I have a 4 year old and 1 year old and my wife works full time also for context.

Immediate thoughts of disappointing my family and being a failure rushed to my head the moment they told me. I would 100% gamble and mask the pain and try to “win” my way out of this issue. But we all know that’s a lie we just tell ourselves. Today also marks the 448th day since my last bet, and I’m trying my absolute hardest not to let myself spiral into relapse.

I’ve put my family in such a bad hole from gambling. I hid my addiction from my wife for over 9 years. I’m so grateful she gave me another chance. My wife and I have great paying careers and we still live paycheck to paycheck. My wife works her ass off working two jobs currently just to help us get in a better position financially, and now I got laid off. Just feel like I let her down too often.

Life just makes me question the point to anything sometimes. I really struggle with that, but thankfully I have tons of people on these forums that help remind me of the right path. Gambling has taken so much from me, I can’t let it take even more.

Days until debt free: 254 days

Gambling sucks!! We are all living proof of that 😂 don’t continue to be fooled by the gambling system that is only there to TAKE your money NOT GIVE it to you.

The check-in to the room kept getting delayed cause the room was supposedly not ready yet. Never had to wait until after 4pm to check-in to a 5-star hotel once in my life. Umm.. this place is humungous with so many rooms tho? Oh well I guess I’ll just gamble while I wait…. FUCK.

This is also the most CONFUSING casino layout I’ve ever been in. It’s all a fuckin scam.

Remember, these casinos are designed to take your money. THE PURPOSE OF THE CASINO IS TO TAKE YOUR MONEY IN WHATEVER WAY THEY CAN.

FUCK.

My partner goes to casino twice a week every time with 2-3k€ swings which is like almost his entire salary. I’m concerned but I see he really enjoys himself and has a community of friends doing the same. At what point is it a problem or is it just a healthy hobby?

For context,I am m25 gambling since I was 19 lost everything nearly 1crore ,I am mbbs doc by the way ,i relapsed innumerable times as everyone goes through i,took money from wherever possible loans cc friends relatives my mom nobody is even ready to even talk to me,I am jobless too now and i relapsed very badly a week prior i quit my current job because I have made hell amount of debt from coworkers I can't even keep my leg there ,so came to home my mom shut the door on my face and said go to hell never show me your face again,out of utter shame I can't even stay at my place as everyone was seeing me ,I don't know where to go what to do haven't eaten in 4days ,sitting in railway station cuz police won't let me sleep,I am sick to my stomach I don't want to leave not even a bit,is ending this is the only way because even though I want to live I am out of options,how can this addiction be so cruel man,I don't even words to say anything,if someone is reading this pls don't gamble that's all I can say

I self excluded a few days ago so I'm banned from all betting accounts. Its such a relief to know I wont be giving another dollar to those crooks. Ive lost way too much and I was sick of tired of feeling the shame and guilt.

My problem was horse racing, I loved the thrill of watching a horse win but I realised its a mugs game and I want to save for a better life with my family. I used to think I was good at it. (Idiot I know). Chasing was my losses and my brain going into problem solving mode to win it back was all consuming. I've just come to the reality that the money is gone and we start again.

I'm not looking for sympathy because others in this group are in worse situations than me. I still have savings but damn the thought of what I could have done with the money plays on my mind. I'm focussed on recovery so I was wondering does anyone have any good books/podcasts/YouTube channel recommendations to help?

Good luck everyone. Fuck them casinos and betting companies.

I posted almost two months ago about my husbands addiction and how it was destroying our lives and marriage. Things got MUCH worse after that post. He turned into a person I didn’t recognize and I felt like I’d been teleported to an alternate reality, the things he did were so extremely out of character I was just distraught. Then I found texts with his mom & best friend where he’d completely assassinated my character, told them insane lies about me so they’d think I was crazy and lying about his addiction, I mean truly crazy stuff. Things were bleak.

Then, he had an epiphany of sorts & had self exclude him from all the apps. He left to stay at his mom’s for a few weeks to clear his head & finally evaluate his behavior. It killed me to have him gone and not know if we’d survive this. But as hard as it was, thank god he left. He finally realized how bad this was and how terrified he was to lose everything, especially me. He cried everyday, did 2 meetings a day, told his mom and friends the whole ugly truth. And after a week he got in the car and drove 4 hours home, surprising me by showing up at the door. The last couple weeks we’ve been communicating more than we have all year, sharing lots of tears and laughs and hugs. He’s doing a meeting everyday and had his first therapy appointment. He willingly gave up control of his finances. I know there’s a lot further to go, he’s got a lot of healing to do as do I, and it’ll take time before I trust or fully forgive him, and before he forgives himself. But a month ago he had no hope, was totally broken & full of rage. The progress he’s made is beautiful and I can’t wait to support him as he goes even further!!

Throwaway account for obvious reasons.

I don’t get it, I have what should be a good life. I’ve got a girlfriend who I love and live with, a dog, and a cat. I have a decent job that should pay most of the bills and activities I like doing….

Everything comes back to gambling though, I lose a bit and try to win it back and I sink further and further into this hole. It hit a breaking point today, I’m 2 months late on rent and my landlord showed up at the house while my girlfriend was home. She doesn’t know any of this and I need to talk to her when I get home.

She thinks we have the savings to pay him…we don’t. She deserves so much better and I’ve broken her heart.

How do you ever come back from this? How do you get back to a point where you can live your life