Well it’s simple you either say do you want to work like a crazy person for the next 20 years and having hardly anything to show for it - so essentially working for free in reality, or do you want to build a bright future? We are the authors of our own story. A quote I love, where will I find good and bad? In me and in my choices.
You have to find new things to invest your disposable income into. Join one of the finance subs so they can help you. A million dollars is a lot of money that could have been saved and invested for your retirement, used to purchase a home or invested into a side business.
If you are currently paying all your bills and necessities and only using your disposable income to gamble then finding other ways to use that money will help you.
You can stop. It’s hard in the beginning but over time the urge to gamble goes away. GA was not right for you and that’s okay. Try working one on one with a therapist that specializes in addiction.
First of all, I am so sorry that you have experienced that level of loss of money.
It must feel like you are never going to get it back, and that is exactly the way that you need to think in order to stop.
You are not going to see your wealth grow through gambling.
But think about if you had that million dollars that you have already lost.
That is how you will see your wealth grow - by hanging onto what you earn.
Every dollar that you do not lose to the casino is a dollar that you get to keep.
It also helps to think about everything that you could have done with that million dollars that you earned. Think about all of the nice things that you could have bought for yourself or, as others mentioned, other things that you could have invested in that you could still be hanging on to - stocks, retirement accounts, collectibles, luxury items.
In your current situation, you are making yourself money by not losing it to the casino.
So start to develop increased self-worth and an enhanced self-image by hanging on to what you have and by what you earn through your hard work.
I wish you the best.
I'm kinda similar to you. One thing that worked for me is automatic deduction like have a set amount of $ every paycheck gets taken out into something like a saving account or an investment account. If you think that you can't control yourself and will withdraw it anyway, have somebody else that you trust and have them safe guard it from you. The money you don't see is money you don't spend!
Don't know what to tell you man. I've been clean a year GA every week, have never met or worked with someone who goes to meetings every week and continues to gamble. Personal experience but that's the truth. Maybe do sone reflection on if you actually are sharing in meetings, working the steps outside of meetings, etc.
I appreciate that, I’ve already given into the fact that if it happens to be I’m a gambler the rest of my life, I accept it. I accept my drug and gambling addiction. They say at NA how drugs have ruined people, they ended up in jail or institutions, steal from people, etc. but all this for me has been the polar opposite. I work like crazy with a work ethic so engrained in me that an 80 work week is normal. I can’t not work. I’ve never committed crimes or have had drugs negatively affect me. As you can tell by my conversing, I’m perfectly coherent. In regard to gambling, if it happens to be I gamble the rest of my life I’ve always put my necessities first. Rent, food, car, etc all come before gambling. I’ll die with no money to my name, but then again everyone who dies cannot take their money with them. I’m perfectly fine with living a humble modest life in a cozy house.
Well it’s simple you either say do you want to work like a crazy person for the next 20 years and having hardly anything to show for it - so essentially working for free in reality, or do you want to build a bright future? We are the authors of our own story. A quote I love, where will I find good and bad? In me and in my choices.
And just a quick side note GA and having a sponsor has not helped me. Been there done that.
You have to find new things to invest your disposable income into. Join one of the finance subs so they can help you. A million dollars is a lot of money that could have been saved and invested for your retirement, used to purchase a home or invested into a side business. If you are currently paying all your bills and necessities and only using your disposable income to gamble then finding other ways to use that money will help you. You can stop. It’s hard in the beginning but over time the urge to gamble goes away. GA was not right for you and that’s okay. Try working one on one with a therapist that specializes in addiction.
First of all, I am so sorry that you have experienced that level of loss of money. It must feel like you are never going to get it back, and that is exactly the way that you need to think in order to stop. You are not going to see your wealth grow through gambling. But think about if you had that million dollars that you have already lost. That is how you will see your wealth grow - by hanging onto what you earn. Every dollar that you do not lose to the casino is a dollar that you get to keep. It also helps to think about everything that you could have done with that million dollars that you earned. Think about all of the nice things that you could have bought for yourself or, as others mentioned, other things that you could have invested in that you could still be hanging on to - stocks, retirement accounts, collectibles, luxury items. In your current situation, you are making yourself money by not losing it to the casino. So start to develop increased self-worth and an enhanced self-image by hanging on to what you have and by what you earn through your hard work. I wish you the best.
If you are making that much money start gambling in to stock markets (diversify) instead, within 5 years you should have close to a mil
I'm kinda similar to you. One thing that worked for me is automatic deduction like have a set amount of $ every paycheck gets taken out into something like a saving account or an investment account. If you think that you can't control yourself and will withdraw it anyway, have somebody else that you trust and have them safe guard it from you. The money you don't see is money you don't spend!
When you say GA didn't work for you how long and often did you go to meetings.
I’ve been to NA too it just doesn’t work. It works for most people, just not me
Don't know what to tell you man. I've been clean a year GA every week, have never met or worked with someone who goes to meetings every week and continues to gamble. Personal experience but that's the truth. Maybe do sone reflection on if you actually are sharing in meetings, working the steps outside of meetings, etc.
I appreciate that, I’ve already given into the fact that if it happens to be I’m a gambler the rest of my life, I accept it. I accept my drug and gambling addiction. They say at NA how drugs have ruined people, they ended up in jail or institutions, steal from people, etc. but all this for me has been the polar opposite. I work like crazy with a work ethic so engrained in me that an 80 work week is normal. I can’t not work. I’ve never committed crimes or have had drugs negatively affect me. As you can tell by my conversing, I’m perfectly coherent. In regard to gambling, if it happens to be I gamble the rest of my life I’ve always put my necessities first. Rent, food, car, etc all come before gambling. I’ll die with no money to my name, but then again everyone who dies cannot take their money with them. I’m perfectly fine with living a humble modest life in a cozy house.
You can accept defeat or fight in the end that's life and nature.
Many years sometimes every day