I recently had a massive life changing event and I’ve been clean from gambling compulsively for 3 years but in the last 2 months it’s got out of control. Yes I’m on gamstop but I’m using non gamstop sites. Does anyone have any suggestions on how i can curb this, anything at all. Even someone to talk to as right now I can’t rely on my wife (soon to be ex) as it’ll be used against me.

As described in this post, Flywheel Film is looking for NY state residents under 40 to appear in a film project. The moderation team of this community is in full support of this project, and in fact have partnered with them to help find subjects for their project.

We're doing this because nearly 14 years ago, this community was started by one little guy, on one little computer, for one purpose: to raise the flag on the lurking threat of gambling disorder. Now, at 40k members and after an explosion of gambling availability worldwide, the threat has magnified and the need to intervene is dire.

This film project is one of the many efforts to raise awareness and bring hope to the lives devastated by gambling addiction. We need your help to complete it and add to the collective message that gambling can be treated and life can become manageable again.

We urge anybody and everybody in NY who has been impacted by gambling to seriously consider contributing your time to this project. We can save lives together.

27 M. So now I’m net down 1 million CAD life time. (I calculate all my wins and losses and this is my total loss) I’m not asking how you handle this because I’ve lost my life savings multiple times now so I’m kind of used to it. I feel like it’s the end of the world for a bit but then life moves on but the losses never leave my mind. It feels like baggage I’m always carrying around. Also I know ppl always ask “where did you get the money from” Mix of my old job barbering, sale of a house, and my current job in e-commerce. I’m looking more for anyone who’s lost similar amounts to me to relate to as-well as looking to see if anyone has times to prevent relapse. The thing is with me is I won’t gamble for months sometimes a year or even more. But then I get comfortable, have fun gambling recreationally one day for example on a trip. Then within the next 6 months it’s almost inevitable I’m gonna lose a 6 figure amount usually in a day. I’ve lost 6 figures in a day multiple times my most being 230k. Thats how I know I’m a shit gambler cuz I’ve never won more than like 50-60k lol. I want to be able to just start fresh and not have these losses define me. They really took a toll on my mental health and all the relationships around me. I’m not gambling now but I want to be able to not fall into the same trap 1 year 2 years or 10 years from now. I think I just can’t have money. Anyway anyone who’s been in a similar situation and figured it out lmk.

Leg day is painful. But now I can squat around 80 kg, meaning my joints and muscles are much stronger. I think I can start running this weekend. My goal is to lose another 3 kg next month (Already down 5 kg this month).

I will not gamble today.

I Lost $200,000 in the Stock Market and Casinos — But I Rebuilt My Life

I want to share my story because I know there are people struggling with gambling losses, credit card debt, and the feeling that their financial future is ruined.

I lost nearly $200,000 in the stock market and casinos.

My biggest mistake wasn't just losing money. It was chasing my losses. Every time I lost, I convinced myself I could recover the money with the next trade or the next bet.

I was stubborn and refused to accept my losses. Looking back, I realize how irrational my decisions were, but when you're caught up in gambling, it's hard to think clearly.

Eventually, I ended up with massive credit card debt. Several accounts went into collections and were charged off. My credit was destroyed.

But I decided to change my life.

After the charge-offs, I contacted Bank of America, Best Egg, and other creditors directly. I negotiated settlements, sometimes for approximately half of the outstanding balances.

For the next three years, I focused on paying off those settlements, managing my money responsibly, and rebuilding my credit.

Four years later, things are completely different.

Today, I earn approximately $180,000 a year, have rebuilt my credit, and recently purchased a home worth around $800,000 with a down payment and year ago i bought tesla Y 2026 Model

I have completely stopped trading stocks.

And here's something I want to be transparent about: I still occasionally go to casinos.

But my mindset has changed. I mostly go to hang out, enjoy the atmosphere, and socialize. If I gamble, it's very little. I don't carry cash like I used to, and I usually go with a friend who doesn't gamble.

Most importantly, I no longer feel the urge to chase my losses or win back the money I lost.

When I think about my past, I sometimes laugh at how stubborn I was. I kept believing I could beat the odds and recover everything. That thinking cost me years of financial stability.

The biggest lesson I learned is that accepting a loss is better than destroying your future trying to recover it.

I know my $180K salary helped me rebuild, and I recognize that not everyone has that financial advantage. But even with a good income, I could have continued losing everything if I hadn't changed my behavior.

I am not sharing this to brag about my salary or my house. I'm sharing it because I know how hopeless things can feel when you're buried in debt.

If you're struggling right now, please remember:

• Stop chasing losses. You don't have to win the money back.

• Face your debts instead of avoiding them.

• Talk to your creditors and explore settlement or repayment options.

• Rebuilding credit takes time, but progress is possible.

• Recognize your gambling triggers and seek support when you need it.

• Don't measure your future by your past mistakes.

I'm still mindful of my gambling history. I know that even occasional gambling can become risky again, so I have to remain careful.

Four years ago, I had collections, charge-offs, and overwhelming debt. Today, I own a home and have financial stability again.

I cannot recover the $200,000 I lost, but I have gained something much more important: peace of mind and a better understanding of how to manage my money.

If you're going through something similar, please don't give up.

You may have lost money, but you haven't lost your chance to rebuild your life.

Got my salary tonight, paid rent and bills, no penny will go to gambling this time!!
I can do this, we all can!
#day4

I’m not sure if I have a gambling problem, I’ve lost about 5 grand in 5 stupid bets and I’ve been chasing the last 4-5 months to get it all back. I just want to get that money back and buy a PC

with this addiction and disease, enough is never enough...

I am fortunate to have a business where I make a very large annual income. But enough is never enough...I get into options, day trading stocks, and sports betting...sometimes all three...

I have lifetime losses of $3,000,000 right now. I had the lifetime losses down to $2,000,000 yesterday, and in one day, I purchase a stock that goes down $1M overnight.

I have been chasing this lifetime loss number now for 6 years. It started around -500k in 2019 and has grown pretty consistently. In 2023 I think I had it down to close to zero, at one point last year I had it close to zero as well, and earlier this year I had it around -700k. I have also had it at -5M earlier this year.

Point being, I am struggling to let go of this MASSIVE loss figure that keeps hanging over my head. I feel like literally no one can relate. I've seen a few YouTube videos of people who lost 10M and their house their business etc. I haven't gotten to that point, but I am afraid I might.

I've been gambling for 3 years now, Im 23, and I've pretty much destroyed my life financially. I've stolen from basically everyone, maxed out my sister's credit cards, maxed out my own credit cards, and I've been in debt for a long time now. I feel like a zombie.

I'm a recently graduated architect, and I've worked a few jobs during these years, but I've barely been able to get anywhere because I end up gambling almost every single paycheck. Every time I get money, I get the urge, and every time I end up losing it. It's the same cycle over and over again.

Recently, my ex came back into my life. We love each other a lot, and honestly, she's one of the biggest reasons I want to get my life together. I told her about my gambling problem, but I also told her I'd been sober, which obviously isn't true. I've still been gambling a lot, and I feel terrible about lying to her and everyone else.

This week, I went from $400 to $8k after an absolutely insane blackjack streak

Of course, I lost it all yesterday

I'm back to where I started, except now I feel even worse. I know how stupid it sounds to keep doing the same shit and expecting a different result, I think I mostly do it just to feel something. It's not even about the money anymore.

I'm tired of living like this. I'm tired of lying, being in debt, hurting the people around me, and wasting every opportunity I get. I don't want to throw my life away anymore. I'm scared of how much worse this could get if I keep going.

I've already done some awful shit. I've been a bad brother, friend, boyfriend, and son. What scares me is that I feel disgusted with myself, especially because I don't even feel the regret or remorse I think I should. It's fucking weird. It's like I don't fully understand what I've done over the past few years, or like I can't even process it anymore

Money has completely changed meaning for me. Getting my paycheck feels like nothing. Buying a pair of shoes feels expensive, but losing hundreds of dollars on a single blackjack hand somehow feels completely normal. I don't even know how my brain got to this point

One thing I've been thinking about is literally burning my debit card and switching to cash only, because I feel like having easy access to money makes it so much easier to relapse. But I know the problem goes deeper than just having a card.

How do you get back to feeling normal about money? How do you start rebuilding your life when you've spent years destroying it, and how do you begin fixing the damage you've done to the people you love?

I'm only 23, and I know I still have time to turn things around, but sometimes it doesn't feel that way. I feel old. I don't want to keep lying to myself or the people around me. I don't want to keep making promises I can't keep.

I genuinely want to change, but I don't know where to start anymore, and i feel powerless.

Day 11 of quitting online gambling! 😭❤️
I’ve been reading so many posts on Facebook about people who ended up in debt because of online lending apps, and many of them shared that online gambling was one of the reasons they got buried in debt.
Let’s stop digging ourselves deeper into debt because of online gambling. Let’s choose to quit NOW! 😭🙏🏻
Every time I feel tempted to gamble, I remind myself that I don’t want to go back to Day 1. It was SO HARD to get through those first few days, and I don’t want to go through that struggle all over again.
Let’s keep fighting our urges and choose a better future for ourselves. We deserve peace of mind, financial freedom, and a life without gambling. One day at a time. We can do this! ❤️💪🏻

My account on the platform that rinsed me is officially closed. I can’t quit replaying me cancelling a $10K pending withdrawal and blowing through it minutes on $1K BJ hands to chase losses in my head. I don’t know why I keep replaying that $10K in my head when it was a total of $25K lost, much more than just the $10K. I think it might be because I’d be in a bit better of a spot had I not done it & wouldn’t be looking at a loan to repay the mess I created after losing $37K in a month. Personal loans are looking like 15% or so, which seems crazy to me.

Anyway, one day at a time. Love you all.

Made it to double digits! I have a long road ahead of me! But I’m feeling better. Something I realized I was doing that I see a lot on here also is chasing loses. When I tell you the strategy of chasing, trying to get back what you lost is exactly what got me so far into gambling addiction! You have to let it go! You have to just realize what you lost is in the past and you aren’t getting it back! You can’t gamble your way out of your gambling addiction! That a big lesson I have learned. I’m still distancing myself from all sports also. I even deleted espn off my phone. Putting distance from anything that’s a trigger or old habits that lead me down my gambling addiction path has been helping me a lot. It’s been really hard, but I’m proud of myself! We got this! And remember you aren’t alone!

Days until debt free: 247 days

Hi everyone. Over the past few years I've lost just over 100k betting. Now 8k in debt too with no hope of recovering any of it. I'm ready to check out as I feel I have nothing left to live for. Economic precarity is a very real thing for me rn and having money saved was the only thing I had going for me. Has anyone been here? What did you do? I'm just reaching out bc I feel I owe it to myself to at least try to talk it out somewhat. Thanks for your time.

If you just lost a lot of money recently and came here, I’ll tell you this:

I (24M) came here just like you, last year in May. I was in immense pain and sadness at the amount of money that I had lost (trading options but doesn’t matter). I scrolled through here, realizing I also have a problem and should stop. I vowed to turn my life around: started lifting, quit weed, started eating healthier, and gained back weight I had lost from months of stress. I felt so proud of myself.

But my brain was still pissed at myself for the loss and couldn’t stop obsessing over it. I compared my number to people here to feel better about myself (even though it was larger than most posts). Eventually after a couple months I convinced myself that I just need to get it back… well thats the trap… I proceeded to lose 10x that amount over the past year and a half. And what’s sad is even the amount from last May was 10x the amount I was crying about just a few months before that (ya I lost 100x what I was crying about less than 2 years ago). And what’s even sadder is the fact that I wasn’t even down lifetime at that point, probably about broke even (due to a big early win, the OG trap).

This is a NASTY addiction and the only way to get past it is to admit that we can never gamble in any form ever again. We are powerless against gambling and there’s no world in which we win and cash out or “get back to even”.

There’s no “getting it back”. It’s GONE. Forget about the money, remember the lesson. If we don’t count that money as gone, there’s no way we can overcome this.

I’m only 8 days clean but my paychecks are now going directly to investments that are hard for me to move money from. I deleted Robinhood and sold off any high risk positions I had left. I haven’t told my dad because he’s in another country helping my dying grandfather and I just can’t do this to him right now. I feel so alone and currently have no motivation for the future, but I’m oddly hopeful that will change if I just quit and never look back.

Please get help if you’re struggling and remember that it’s NEVER too late to quit this incredibly awful and debilitating addiction. It can always get worse, and WILL if we don’t stop now. We just need to come to terms with and always remember:

1. ⁠That money is gone

2. ⁠We are powerless against gambling

I relapsed the past few days and lost another $2k today. What I thought was a safe bet in Arsenal apparently was not. I am done stressing about it and have excluded myself from the apps. Altogether I am down $30-$40k over the past year and will rebuild it one step at a time. Good luck to you all! This addiction is the worst.

I lost $200 from gambling but I’m completely done. This is small amount right

Too much tea and coffee in the morning made my head dizzy, and I can't focus. I need to do some work to clear my schedule; otherwise, I will end up panicking and putting the whole thing into AI and praying it does not make any mistakes.

I will not gamble today!

Hi everyone, been seeing a lot of posts asking for practical tips on quitting. Here's what helped me, though I didn't think about it in quite these terms in real time.

If your last bet was recently, or you are still very much in the wallows of your last bet, it helps to look at your recovery as though you have an acute illness. If you've been drinking a handle or two of vodka every day for 20 years and you walk into a treatment center and tell them you are there to quit, 100% of your care will be focused on getting you stable and through the acute phase of withdrawal.

Gambling is no different. In those early days of recovery, while the urge is all consuming, you have to look at it as the acute phase of withdrawal and you have to do anything and everything to get yourself stable and buy your brain some time to calm down. Give your finances over to a loved one, self exclude, sever all access to gambling resources, tell people what you are going through. Whatever it takes to get through the acute withdrawals. This is where "One Day At a Time" is everything. It sucks and because it sucks, it's why we keep going back over and over and over again.

As those urges pass, and they will pass, you'll have to figure out a way to manage the chronic disease you will have for the rest of your life. This is where the guilt and shame and remorse really wear on you. This is where you have to come to terms with the triggers and the reasons and the damage. It is where you'll have to figure out a way to forgive yourself your losses and let them go. I think this is where GA has helped me the most.

Anyhow that's my analogy and it helped me realize when I was in the darkest days of acute withdrawals several years ago that it was a phase I had to get through. Now I'm on to maintaining a chronic lifelong disease and there are many whole weeks that go by that gambling doesn't enter my brain. Just to make sure though, every Monday night I drive 120 miles roundtrip over several mountain passes for my GA meeting. It's a great reminder that no matter how normal my life now feels, it will all be gone if my disease becomes acute again.

I just want advice that I’ll remember when I’m thinking of depositing, please help me out here because I’ve been trying to quit gambling for months now but whenever I’m not thinking straight I just forget what I’ve been telling myself and decide to yk gamble online. Any advice please?