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Following on from my betting tweet I’ve decided I’m going to make a thread on things that helped me stop and things I’ve seen other people do that can hopefully help someone else stop. Was going to wait till the 1st as that will be me 2 years without one but hopefully...
This can help someone before the new year and if anyone has a New Years resolution to stop then hopefully this helps.
1.The most important step. Sign up to gamstop, if your serious about wanting to stop you have to banned yourself from having the bookies in your pocket. This will ban you from all uk registered betting apps. Make sure you pick the 5 year option.
....Most of the time you can’t be bothered walking/driving to a bookies. Once you’ve done this I promise it gets easier as you’ve not got an instant deposit place to put bets on.
2.Self exclusion from the bookies. A tip I would say about this is to do it in the one you visit most, this way the staff that probably know who you are anyway will be aware that your not suppose to be in.
....This is only a small step in staying out them as I know it’s easy to just go to another bookies where they don’t know your barred, it will require a lot of will power to not go to another one but this leads me onto my next points.
3.Have trust in your family and friends even work colleagues. The old saying a problem shared is a problem halved, admitting to them you have a problem will mean you will have more people looking out for you.
...There’s nothing to be ashamed of admitting to it, it will be the best the thing you ever do. If these people don’t know how bad it has got then they will just allow you to walk into a bookies and lose more, if they do know they will help you out and keep you away from it.
....A side note to this is that then your mates will not be putting bets on for you as they know you situation.
4.Using social media. This was one of my mates that done this and I think it’s a good way to have others looking out for you. Post on your Facebook/Twitter/Instagram that you are making an effort to try and stop betting and that if anyone sees you in or around the bookies...
...Then tell them to get a hold of you. Sometimes it only takes for someone to say to you in person or over the phone until you realise that it’s not worth it.
5. YOU DONT ENJOY IT. I used to tell myself this all the time “aw I enjoy putting a bet on” there’s nothing enjoyable about mood swings, being skint, worrying about bills all the time and maxing out credit cards. Get out of this way of thinking.
6.If these above steps fail. If you really are struggling to stay away from other bookies that don’t know your barred from then it’s time to remove the source of your problem. Money. If your partner or family know the severity of your gambling...
...and you can’t stop after these steps, it’s time to hand your money over to someone you trust. This may seem like an extreme measure but it doesn’t have to be forever, could maybe be for a month or two, once you realise the money you’ve saved over that time and how much you
...don’t actually need it, maybe it will click.
7. It gets easier with time. The longer you go without a bet it does get easier. You will start to gather some money behind you, paying for things like clothes, holidays, nights out and clearing credit cards without a second thought. Once you see all these coming together...
... it will become more about keeping your non betting streak going.
8.Urges. Don’t get me wrong you will have urges along the way. Seeing your mates putting some coupons on, it’s a big race week, something like Cheltenham and people will be talking about it. Once your at this stage like I said above...
...you will more than likely not want to spoil all your hard work on a bet, by this time you will realise it’s not actually worth it and your better off just keeping your money.
9.Debt you have through gambling. Once you’ve came through the other side and are not betting anymore, there is still damage done after you stop. But the good thing is now, you have the money there to solve it 
get your credit cards transferred over ...
get your credit cards transferred over ...
...to 0% balance transfer cards. You might not be able to get rid of full amounts of it but small bits at a time will help. Don’t do the old I’ll “pay it at the end of the month” carry on, get a direct debit set up on them, whatever you can afford and let them slowly come down.
...It will take time but once you start paying them off it a great feeling and it shows that all your hard work and struggle was worth it.
10.Enjoying yourself again. Once your debts are starting to go down and you’ve got money in your bank account, not waiting on that overdraft text at the end of every week 
it’s time to start enjoying having your money and recovery....
it’s time to start enjoying having your money and recovery....
...Won’t be telling you how to do that whatever makes you happy it’s always easier with a few quid on you tail
