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I do experience a lot of upsets due to my gambling losses and it's very stressful to bear it all alone since no one in my family knows that I'm gambling. Gambling is also against our family values so I will just get scolded if I share my feelings since they will not understand my side. I create this thread to help users like me express their stress when they are feeling down so that we can help and hear each other.



This support group thread aims to provide an opportunity for Bitcointalk users to share personal experiences and feelings, coping strategies or information about the root of the problem.


Local thread rules:

• No shaming
• Don't post negative comments on a testimony(emphasizing the mistake)
• Only post encouraging posts and shit posts will not be tolerated
• Avoid pyramid quoting, Snip parts of the parts that you are not replying to
• All off-topic post that violates the rules will be deleted without notice

Use this format when reporting a therapy post:

*Being honest about sharing your progress like "I almost do gambling but I control myself to save my gambling therapy progress" will help you to open up more to control your addiction rather than keep it with you. Even though we don't know each other, Sometimes it's still good that someone cares to read or reply to your problem.

Suggestion on improving the thread is always welcome.


Here's the International Problem Gambling Help Contacts (https://www.ncpgambling.org/5475-2/) for those who needed immediate support to fight gambling addiction.


Resources:

• https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/support-groups/art-20044655#:~:text=A%20support%20group%20provides%20an,information%20about%20diseases%20or%20treatments.
• https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5195317
• https://www.reddit.com/r/GamblingAddiction/

This is a really good cause, how thoughtful @op, I am gambler, though not a frequent one, but on several occasions, I've encountered problems that would be very interesting to share with a community like this, but we don't have one, and it never did cross my mind to create one.

This is really and this thread could become a top thread is well managed, kudos to you op, and thanks for brining on such a great idea.

Why lock the thread which is not self-modetrated? https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5450004.msg62141628#msg62141628

Well, you wanted to make it self-modetrated. I understand. But I think you should have left it like that as long as the discussion on it are not bad and it has some posts under it already.

I have my posts there which I think would be useful and not need to be repeated here: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5450004.msg62141779#msg62141779

Nice topic though.

Discussions of this nature is what we think is needed here. Many are going through lots emotionally as a result of their engagement and possibly addiction in one way or the other looking for how and who to share their experience with but for the fact that it is related to gambling, they keep it to themselves which makes it even worst than it was.
Atleast, this topic would help to sort out most of the problems bothering gamblers and the way forward.

OP it is nice you brought this topic here but locking the previous does not seems ok but anyways you have a good idea.

I want to make the thread serve its purpose because I will not control post especially shameful comments towards other post. I don’t want to regret later on once spammer swarm this thread while I have a chance to correct it now. Sorry for inconvenience.


I feel the same but my initial thread was initially planned self-moderated to control spam. My dumbness just kick in that create this messed.

I apologize to my mistakes and I hope we move forward to use this thread purpose properly.

A few days ago I read someone's reply complaining about their problems at gambling and made a reply in another thread, maybe I'll refer that person to this thread to share a deep complaint about deep addiction.
This thread is very good to be a place to tell complaints about gambling and give each other positive advice so as not to disturb the mind.

just curious, what if someone emphasized the mistake the gambler did while they were or still struggling with their gambling addiction but not in a negative or condescending way, would that be allowed?

nice thread by the way.

how about adding some helplines/hotlines or organizations that a person with gambling addiction can look for if they need help?

Emphasizing on mistake can be in an appropriate way that will not be a negative way that the gambler will feel insulted, we should approach them in a way that they will feel welcomed.

This will be a nice idea.

Helpline /hotlines for people addicted to gambling can really go a long way to assisting people who have been seeking for these numbers on this forum because they know that they are addicted and that they need help. Addition of Helplines and Hotlines will not suddenly reduce the number of addicted gamblers, but it is a step in the right direction in trying to do your part to reduce the number of addicted gamblers. If these numbers/organizations are able to offer help, these organizations/numbers will be referred and given to even addicted gamblers outside the forum by forum members that such numbers will help break free.

My current feelings keep thinking how can I stop gambling, even if not directly or suddenly, at least I can reduce gambling activities gradually.......what to do......! I am happy if there is a way to stop gambling, especially for me personally, of course I like to stop if there is a natural way without therapy, psychology, rehabilitation and so on or a third party.

I used to gamble quite often and win, but lately my bets in vain gambling rarely yield good win values, that's why I'm a little stressed and want to stop gambling, unfortunately it's one real obstacle for me. My mouth said I wanted to stop, but my brain whispered to place another bet. like durian fruit, traders are pricked by thorns, if you smell it, the aroma will be even more fragrant.

If this thread can get a little idea, to reduce my gambling activity, maybe something is the best thing for me.....what can be done....!

Nice idea. Fellow bitcointalk users could understand the problem better then other peers as not all people with the problem are playing with cryptos.
I will definitely bookmark this thread if i need help some day, as i know, while i don't have a problem now we all got bad days when we need to talk, or to commit to new way of life.

I really respect your effort embracing vulnerable side of gambler and encouraging people to talk about their problems and feelings. Only good things can come from this.

my only concern about this is that it could become a lot of work, I mean, the forum has many active members and those that visit the forum and this board from different parts of the world, so it could become hard looking for helplines/hotlines or organizations from other countries.

It's good to have support where users can have some talks and advice from fellow members. We all need one but I think it's good to have it on telegram or somewhere where users who have these gambling problems can't also see the signatures we have here.

I don't wanna sound like something that you will moderate soon but it's one thing that a user who wants to quit gambling needs to also avoid. The casino ads. If you are surrounded by it, it will be harder to resist.

At least there is a place to share stories about our gambling, who knows with this thread we can get moral support and encouragement from friends here, right now I can't share stories in this thread but I'm sure this thread will be needed by many gamblers, especially addicts to share the story. there are many cases of addicts who want to quit but are ashamed to reveal it to their families. maybe with this thread they have a place to tell stories.

As a gambler, I really welcome OP's good intentions and should be appreciated for wanting to make this thread self-moderated so there won't be many spammers making off-topic posts so that it makes this thread neat just to hear lots of stories and complaints from gamblers and others. want to tell the truth about their habit of playing gambling.

Good to see this kind of thread exist.

I want to share my recent experience as in few minutes ago when I wrote this post. I was winning on streak with slot games. I manage to increase my bankroll from 50xrp to 278xrp or equivalent to 4.5mbtc. I switch game from slot to live craps just to get a fresh air on playing slots. I want to bet slowly so I'm betting with 1$ as this is always my default currency.

I already placed my bets and bets closed until I realized that the currency is set on mbtc! I really my world is crumbling because I accidentally all in my bankroll that grow for a whole week.  :'(

Long story short. My bet lose and I decided to skip gambling indefinitely. I knew I just originally loss 50xrp bankroll but I invest a lot of time on that profit. This is a terrible terrible experience. I'm not aware that the currency that I play last time will be set on default. Lesson learned.

https://i.imgur.com/GNzz4O2.jpg

As long as they want to share their problems with us here, we can provide solutions that they can do to overcome disappointment or express their sadness.
But some people don't want to share their disappointments and keep them inside because they think it would disgrace their pride if they shared it with other people.
Hopefully, people who have experienced sadness while playing gambling can express their feelings and get advice from us to experience prolonged sadness.
Maybe I am a gambler who still wants to learn to control myself when I play gambling because I feel is if I lose, I still have the desire to continue playing and that causes me to suffer more losses.
But I knew if I wanted to cut down on my gambling time, I had to work on having good self-control like everyone else.

This is what I do:
When I'm not gambling, I try to do many things like listening to lots of songs while doing physical activity, travelling to other places with my friends, or other things that have nothing to do with gambling.
My experience in gambling is not that great because sometimes I win and vice versa so I try not to be too sad because winning and losing are part of gambling.

Pretty good thread, Thank you OP for creating a thread that we can use to share experiences and complaints when playing at the casinos that are here.
Every gambler has experience, whether it's bitter or legit, and when this thread exists, they will share all the experiences that have been obtained so that other users can use them to learn and as references when they want to play.

Now we all have a place where we can exchange experiences and add more information about some games that we have never bet on.

I have no merit, but this is really a useful topic to make.
In Italy out of 60 million inhabitants it is estimated that 1.3 have a critical relationship with the game :(
 
tips to avoid pathological gambling:
(I take the liberty of giving these tips because a dear friend of mine used to play compulsively and has now managed to reduce significantly)

- play for fun and not to "earn"
- record your games/earn/expenditures and analyze them to understand what happened
- set game limits (a monthly amount that is not too high to lose)
- use COLD WALLET to not have the crypto to play immediately available
- find valid alternatives to gambling (other hobbies or activities)
- ask help if you think something is not goin as planned.

Good topic to be discussed. With the proliferation of those new accounts that post about their frustration towards a casino and complain about their experiences there and even managed to accuse a lot of them. I'm not the one that's addicted and needed therapy but my aunt is. She's too secretive and all of the money that she has taken from being an heiress was all gone and even her kids(my cousins) had no idea where all the money went. We suspect that it was all gone in gambling because we all have an idea about her gambling history. I'll read those therapy posts in here and will suggest it to my cousins since I don't usually talk to her anymore as I've given her a loan that has never been paid and she just used it to fund her gambling addiction.

I had similar experience with a casino while playing a roulette game. It was a live game so I saw everything live. Although the betting pattern was quite different as  it was in mbtc though I have won a reasonable amount of mbtc so I keep playing with it to increase my winnings. My time spent on accumulating my wins all gone just within a space of time as I sensed it from the staff what they were upto but my thoughts never went there to stop and start processing for withdrawal and it was very bad what happened but I had no choice than allowing it to go just like that. I learnt my lesson and ever since then I had to do away with the casino.

This is something we all should take note of, I for one don always check the currency that I'm betting with all the time. I only just glance at the currency at the start of the game and once I begin gambling I'm no longer concerned with the currency because depending on the game you'll have to pay more attention as not to be distracted.
So just like in your case, I think I'm also prone to making this kind of mistake, thank you for sharing.

Here's the list of gambling support that you can call based on your location:

Australia: 1800 858 858 or http://www.gamblinghelponline.org.au
Austria: http://www.spielsuchthilfe.at/
Belgium: SOS SPELEN: 0800 35 777, https://gokhulp.be/
Canada (by province)

• Alberta  Alberta Health Services http://www.albertahealthservices.ca or call toll-free: 866-332-2322
• British Columbia British Columbia Partnership for Responsible Gambling www.bcresponsiblegambling.ca  888-795-6111
• Manitoba:  Addictions Foundation of Manitoba http://afm.mb.ca/programs-and-services/gambling/ or call toll-free: 888-347-8888
• New Brunswick   New Brunswick Health – Gambling  http://www2.gnb.ca/content/gnb/en/departments/health/Gambling/What_is_problem_gambling.html call toll-free: 800-461-1234
• Newfoundland  Newfoundland Labrador Health and Community Services http://www.health.gov.nl.ca   call toll-free: 888-899-4357
• Northwest Territories  NWT Health and Social Services http://www.hss.gov.nt.ca/en/services/addictions or call toll-free: 800-661-0830
• Nova Scotia  Problem Gambling Help Line https://gamblingsupportnetwork.ca/or call toll-free: 888-347-8888
• Nunavut  Nunavut Health and Social Services http://www.gov.nu.ca/health or call toll-free: 800-265-3333
• Ontario  Ontario Problem Gambling Helpline http://www.problemgamblinghelpline.ca/  or call toll-free: 888-230-3505
  
• Prince Edward Island Health PEI Gambling Addiction Services http://www.healthpei.ca/gambling  or call toll-free: 855-255-4255
• Quebec  Gambling: Help and Referral http://www.jeu-aidereference.qc.ca  or call toll-free: 800-461-0140
• Saskatchewan  Saskatchewan Health – Gambling http://www.saskatchewan.ca/residents/health/emergency-medical-services/problem-gambling-help-line  or call toll-free: 1-800-306-6789
• Yukon Territory  Yukon Health and Social Services http://www.hss.gov.yk.ca/index.php
• Denmark: Danish Gambling Authority https://spillemyndigheden.dk/behandling

France: Adictel Prevention Addiction: contact@adictel.com 24/7 www.adictel.com/en/
Germany: Gluecksspielsucht Problem Gambling Hotline: 0800 0776611 www.gluecksspielsucht.de/
Hong Kong: Caritas A G Counselling Centre: Hotline (852) 1834 633 www.gamblercaritas.org.hk
Ireland: GambleAware Ireland: National Gambling Helpline: 1800 753 753 www.gambleaware.ie
Korea: Korea Center for Gambling Problems https://www.kcgp.or.kr
Malta: Responsible Gambling Foundation http://rgf.org.mt/
Netherlands: AGOG: National information number: 0900-2177721 www.agog.nl
New Zealand: To access immediate assistance in New Zealand call 0800 654 655 or go online to http://www.gamblinghelpline.co.nz
Norway: Hjelpelinjen Helpline: 800 800 40 www.hjelpelinjen.no
Philippines: NCMH Crisis Hotline: 1800-1888-1553
Singapore: National Council on Problem Gambling http://www.ncpg.org.sg 800 6 66866
South Africa: National Responsible Gambling Problem Gambling Counselling Line: 0800 006 008 www.responsiblegambling.co.za/
Sweden: phone, chat, SMS and email service for the whole of Sweden www.stodlinjen.se/
Switzerland: Careplay: Tel: 041 367 48 47 www.careplay.ch/

Resources:
https://www.ncpgambling.org/5475-2/
https://findahelpline.com/ph/topics/gambling

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The list will be updated regularly. I appreciate it if everyone will contribute on this to provide your local gambling support group to make sure that contacts will be updated and active.

I do not make this kind of mistake because I can not joke with money, or because I use one domination to bet all the time, unless the type of game I choose is requesting me to change the denomination, there are games like that. If not like that, I prefer to use mBTC to gamble. But most of the time now during bear market, I use USDT while going back to BTC after significant bear market.  In short, always try to use one particular domination is better.

Since all of us here are into gambling its really nice to have this thread where we can share our sentiments and listen to problem shared by other individual. For sure there's a lot to learn from people different experiences so hopefully many people will not be shy to share up their story since this could help many gamblers to change maybe on what wrong doings they do and correct it while its so early.

I will add some resources from Italy (EU).
I have read a statistic that count around 1.3 million of people live with a gambling issue in this country. It's a serious burden here, also because there was a massive campaign made by government (!)
https://www.mymovies.it/film/2015/vivereallagrande/ Documentary available in amazon prime...

https://www.gioca-responsabile.it/ (phone number toll free 800 151 000)
https://www.gamblingtherapy.org/it/ (they provide online support)
https://www.sisal.com/sostenibilita/gioco-responsabile/supporto (phone number toll free 800 558 822)
https://vinciamoilgioco.org/ (local association - phone number toll free 800 135 903)
[this last resource has also a test online to evaluate status of a gambler ---> https://vinciamoilgioco.org/test-dipendenza-gioco-azzardo/ ]