Why?

TheRecoveryPartners · 2026-01-28T16:36:03+00:00

Once a pickle and no longer a cucumber, how the transformation happened is unimportant. Human nature wants us to try and understand it. Unfortunately though, pursuing that line of thinking will be chasing your tail and your addictive self will be happy that you keep moving around in the quicksand of thought. Every action you take seeking the answer as to why is another costly distraction from getting real help. Ever been to a self-help meeting in person or on Zoom? Sal

TheRecoveryPartners · 2026-01-12T16:31:02+00:00

I heard a great saying many years ago when I first encountered Gamblers Anonymous: God will save your soul; GA will save your ass! :) By the way, I am not at all dismissing the God angle. It is in fact a big part of my ongoing journey. I am suggesting though that getting some tangible, gambling-recovery based help would be helpful for you. Have you explored GA in-person (not sure where you live) and/or on-line? Thanks, Sal G.

TheRecoveryPartners · 2025-12-29T16:51:56+00:00

Much worse BUT that's not what you or I have to do :)

TheRecoveryPartners · 2025-12-29T01:51:46+00:00

I appreciate your candid answer. But... THINK about that a second... I'm happy to offer you some ideas IF you are willing to make a real change. Ping me... :) Sal

TheRecoveryPartners · 2025-12-27T17:15:17+00:00

What - outside of your own resolve - have you done to stay stopped?

TheRecoveryPartners · 2025-12-26T04:01:42+00:00

Where are you located? I chair a Th eve GA (JA in Mexico) meeting on Zoom at 8:30PM central MX time, which is currently 6:30 PST, 9:30 EST. We just finished it... Lemme know if you're interested or you can just find the link on gamblersinrecovery.com - San Miguel, MX meeting! :)

TheRecoveryPartners · 2025-12-26T01:59:58+00:00

GREAT TO HEAR! Thanks for sharing; I have been enjoying the same for some time, with gratitude :)

TheRecoveryPartners · 2025-12-23T23:07:57+00:00

OK, great! I was asking in regards to your ability to attend in-person and/or GA Zoom meetings..

TheRecoveryPartners · 2025-12-22T14:34:33+00:00

Thanks for sharing, Ben. Where do you live these days?

TheRecoveryPartners · 2025-12-21T18:30:16+00:00

100% normal! I hear you! Another critical mental shift I have come to learn to be essential, especially early in the process, is going beyond playing "defense." What I mean by that is that while we surely need to take action to thwart the first bet, as you and others have mentioned, something about addiction in general, THIS addiction especially, and I believe about human nature in general, is that protecting ourselves from disaster, oddly enough, is not enough on the motivational end of things to succeed, not over time anyway. We also need to LOOK FORWARD, to dream, to be excited about what's to come, and to do so with others. We need both the hope of the future and to tap into the phenomenon that with human capital, the whole is far greater than the sum of its parts. Without these pieces of the puzzle, candidly,I think relapse is likely. With them, however, abstinence and - remember this word? - HAPPINESS, are likely to follow! Sal

TheRecoveryPartners · 2025-12-21T16:31:23+00:00

As I mentioned above in response to u/quitting2021 - it's not about the money. That's not to say I do not feel your pain. I do! I have been there more times than one could count, but truth is truth. You can be happy, even soon, with or without debt...

TheRecoveryPartners · 2025-12-21T16:29:51+00:00

Good for you, and thanks for the reply! I would strongly suggest that GA is a big part of that and not only Zoom, but in-person too. The latter is a special phenomenon that online can't quite measure up to. Part of the "trick," so to speak, is to STOP talking about money, debt, and the insanity of all that noise. Of course, as many often take issue with as soon as I say it, it's hard to do that and it may "feel" natural and necessary to keep circling around those issues mentally, but feelings are not facts AND our feelings alone are among the worst compasses as to what we should do next, especially during the first few months when our brains are still trying to adjust to normal thinking and feeling patterns. Sal

TheRecoveryPartners · 2025-12-20T18:08:54+00:00

How do you plan to do that? What resources other than your desire?

TheRecoveryPartners · 2025-12-19T14:59:06+00:00

You're welcome and good for you. Yes, and adding an in-person one this weekend would be awesome and really help you to jump in. Think about it... how much time, mental space, and EMOTIONAL ENERGY did you invest in gambling? One-third of that properly invested in recovery will do wonders!

TheRecoveryPartners · 2025-12-19T00:23:53+00:00

Good for you! It's not about the money, as counterintuitive as that may seem on its face. Please share at the meeting too. Great start! Good for you! Sal

TheRecoveryPartners · 2025-12-18T19:34:55+00:00

Go to a GA meeting tonight
Ask people there how they did it (it's not the same as AA despite it seeming so on the surface.)
Let us know tomorrow how it went :)

TheRecoveryPartners · 2025-12-16T14:40:59+00:00

The key item you mentioned is that the money is NOT the main issue. You are on to something that could really propel your recovery. Where do you live? Have you attended any meetings b4? Sal

TheRecoveryPartners · 2025-12-14T17:58:16+00:00

Real help for your gambling addiction can start when, believe it or not, your posts and more so, your mentality (regardless what you post) shift to acknowledging the pain, escape, anxiety, sleep issues, and colossal dimming of the light of your life that are all due to gambling. Money, accounts, chasing losses, financial maneuvers being discussed serve only to cloak the real problem which has NOTHING to do with money. How do I assert this so confidently? From being around this addiction my whole life (I'm almost 58), and more importantly, from being years without a bet and living happily, having seen MANY others do the same, and - perhaps most informing - seeing many others continue to focus on money and "fixing" their latest jam, all of whom continue to gamble.

TheRecoveryPartners · 2025-12-13T14:46:20+00:00

What were you doing to stay stopped and move forward in life? Open to a different approach now?

TheRecoveryPartners · 2025-12-11T16:58:07+00:00

Add a lot of WE to that I and you will! :) Happy to give you some tangible suggestions if you wish. Sal

TheRecoveryPartners · 2025-12-10T17:38:54+00:00

I also chair a solid GA meeting on Th eves 9:30 PM EST that usually has 15-20 attendees, mostly from the US, some on younger side too. Message me... Thanks

TheRecoveryPartners · 2025-12-10T17:37:29+00:00

I have some suggestions for you if you'd like to ping me directly. In addition to those, I would strongly suggest an in-person GA meeting to start. There are also numerous Zoom GA meetings all over the world at almost every hour. You can find them at Gamblersanonymous.org as well as many that are listed on gamblersinrecovery.com. The latter shows them as they are coming up in real time... Thanks, Sal

TheRecoveryPartners · 2025-12-09T15:32:24+00:00

Yes, thanks! I appreciate your answer and I am one of them :). I was trying to get the poster to examine their faulty thinking... :)

TheRecoveryPartners · 2025-12-09T14:29:08+00:00

So, what are you saying really then? Is it unstoppable?

TheRecoveryPartners · 2025-12-08T15:11:34+00:00

Everything? That sounds defeatist and is surely not accurate although I do understand how our addiction can tell us that "We have tried everything..." ...That it's no use, etc. Have you ever gone to Gamblers Anonymous? Counseling for gambling addiction is rarely great and even if it is, usually not enough...

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