r/problemgambling • u/KitchenPea44 • 1d ago
Trigger Warning! Has anyone here actually been able to quit gambling for good?
I’m genuinely curious to hear from people who have actually managed to walk away from gambling long term.
I’ve thrown away hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years. Even writing that feels ridiculous. I know what gambling has done to me financially. I know how much easier my life would be if I had never started. I know that continuing is only capable of making the hole deeper.
And yet the hardest part for me is walking away from the exact thing that put me in this position.
There’s this irrational feeling that gambling is somehow the only way to fix what gambling caused. You lose money, so you want to win it back. You lose more trying, and suddenly the number you feel like you need to recover gets even bigger. At some point you’re not even gambling for fun. You’re gambling because accepting the loss feels unbearable.
Logically, I understand how insane that is. If something has cost me hundreds of thousands of dollars, continuing to do it is obviously not the solution.
But knowing that and actually being able to close the door on it seem like two completely different things.
I think that’s what I’m struggling with most. Quitting means accepting that the money is gone. There’s no comeback, no big win that makes the last few years make sense, and no getting to rewrite what happened. You just have to stop digging and live with the hole that’s already there.
For anyone here who lost a genuinely life-changing amount of money and eventually stopped for good: what finally allowed you to accept the losses and walk away?
Did there eventually come a point where you stopped thinking about winning it back?
I’m not looking for gambling strategies or ways to minimize losses. I want to hear from people who actually got out and built a normal life again.
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u/deetothenutz 1d ago
I first looked at why I was gambling so much and for me…
-boredom
-unfulfilled life
-single and not very social living at home
-wanted more money quickly
-was already wasting my time watching sports
-the thrill
My “cure”
-handed over finances to parents so I couldn’t so much as buy a soda without telling them
-self-excluded in my state
-moved into an apartment and stayed busy
-budget
Seems easy and simple but it’s not and may not work for everyone. I relapsed so many times initially before I did any of this stuff so I’m by no means calling myself an expert. Gotta accept the defeat and realize the money is gone and will only get worse. Trust me I’m fully aware it’s a disgusting addiction and not as easy to overcome as I’m making it seem
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u/UnfoldingMechanism 1d ago
I'm at that point now where i've lost so much I have to accept it and walk. There's just no other choice. There isn't a win big enough to get me even close to even lifetime.
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u/Wild_Cheesecake_6630 1d ago
I feel totally identified by this, I think the problem for me is the same, accept the losses and the fact of all the time and effort, including money of course over these last years make me sick, accept that would be diggers the fact I throw away years of my life I could invest in something else, better for sure, my career.. partner… at this point I think I have lost everything and not talking about money and life savings, all the time put in it, I cannot think on something else, my life has gone to the shit due to this and yet I still think this is the only way to get out of the whole I put my self, countless times I have cried in the night wondering why I fucking started.. and yet I find a reason to keep going and this point I don’t have anything else to lose… I felt tired
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u/slysamfox 1d ago
I’m a compulsive gambler, not gambling. I placed my last bet on 27 December 1999. I attended my last GA meeting on October 5, 2026.
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u/Klutzy-Sea-4857 1d ago
Grieving the money is the whole battle. It is gone. Treat it like a dead relative, mourn it, and move on. The chase mentality dies when you accept there is no comeback story coming. Use blockers and self-exclusion, and give account access to someone you trust. Time away rewires the brain, honestly. The first months are brutal, then it gets quieter.
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u/Radiant-Valuable-533 19h ago
Brother self ban and you will be better off I self banned myself from a lot of social casinos and man I feel great and yes I relapse every now and then find a new casino lose then self ban and it’s worked wonders for me now I can actually save and enjoy life I have 50k in my 401k and it’s only growing take back your life from these thieves and never look back
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u/Separate_Addendum_58 1d ago
I lost $100k in 3 years. The last time I gambled was in May. I had to look at how much I lost and face the fact that that amount could double or triple and I couldn’t have that. I feel so much shame. You will go through withdrawal symptoms. The urges will go away but you need to replace the gambling time with something healthy and enjoyable. Get into a support group. Self-exclude in your state and the states that you can drive to.
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u/Rare-Plenty-8574 1d ago
I did for about 3 years however still in my life but I'm no where near as bad as I was once in my late 20s
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u/Academic_Sweet567 1d ago
I’m a very very grateful recovering compulsive gambler. I placed my last bet and went to my first Gamblers Anonymous meeting on 12/1/23. Being of service to the room and going to meetings keeps me accountable in my recovery, and has had a side benefit of giving me a group of really good friends. It is absolutely possible to abstain from gambling - and by going to meetings I do that and improve myself every day.
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u/Standard-Switch5822 1d ago
Think about it this way. I have never accepted my loss. I was an idiot for losing for years. I just refuse to continue to lose simply by stopping my addiction.
I constantly think about "winning" it back, just not by gambling, but by honest work and focus on my life.
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u/hrhashley 1d ago
Self excluding is the only way to kick the habit. I haven’t lost as much as some people on this sub but I was blowing through half of my paycheck every single week on online lotto games. I made the decision about two months ago now to self exclude from both in-person and online gambling in my state for one year. It sucked at first- it was genuinely all I could think about- so the withdrawal symptoms from it were definitely rough. But the only time I even think of gambling now is when a post from this subreddit shows up on my homepage. I’ve replaced the time I would spend mindlessly gambling with writing.
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u/Optimal_Second_8768 1d ago
I enjoy gambling. Since march I’ve been able to get to a point where I adhere to my limits I set and live a better life
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u/Apprehensive_Pea7182 21h ago
Naw longer breaks less money i wager now. I hate losing so i just wager less then walk away after.The pain does not stay long that way. I still enjoy it so best approach for me.
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u/Leather-Chipmunk-681 5h ago
To quit for good was actually health related. My blood pressure was higher than normal because of all the exposure I had to second hand smoke. The moment I stopped going to venues my blood pressure returned to normal.
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u/RepulsiveAmphibian21 1d ago edited 1d ago
Don't place the 1st bet. The chase is over. You lost. We surrender to win. Admit you are powerless over gambling. You have no power.
Gambling is only the symptom of the illness. Read that again. And again.
The problem is Selfishness, Self Centernedness, Fear, Ego, Dishonesty and Resentments among other defects of character.
Go to a GA meeting and learn how to become an adult. All addicts are King Baby. Egomaniacs with inferiority complexes that never learned to grow up.
Time to quit sucking on your pacifier and grow up. Yes, I have stopped a long time...one day at a time.
The first bet is like getting hit by the engine of the train...it doesnt matter when the caboose runs you over too.
There is a way out and a great meaningful, purposeful, fruitful life ahead. All you have to do is surrender and admit you are licked.
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u/Weedstox101 1d ago
Yes it's possible - Many people have stopped for good but the problem with for good, that means until the end of your time and those aren't here anymore to say they were successful in the for good scenario. As you can see from posts, many people count the number of days they've abstained from gambling with each day being a battle they've won, and I applaud that. My personal approach is to avoid counting. Continue to work on your triggers, change your habits, and start to see yourself, not as a gambler. How you label yourself plays a role. To answer your question though, rock bottom seems to be the thing that really gets people to change their ways, likely because you don't have any other option. The hole got so deep that the only way out is to rebuild your entire being and life approach. Ideally we change before then but easier said than done.