Hi everyone, I’m Jake and I’ve been dealing with sports betting for a long time. I’ve tried to quit many times but always fall back into it. Looking forward to getting some solid support and sharing my journey with you all. Hoping to find useful advice and connect with those who understand my struggle.
Hey @betfreejake welcome to the forum, we’re delighted to have you here. Sports betting is something that I struggled with for a long time. Honestly it was tough for me to watch sports without having something wagered on them. I’d venture to say that sports gambling is super dangerous because it led me to doing other negative things like drinking alcohol in excess.
What helped me get over that was a few things:
- Relearning the true love of sports - I bought cheap seats for a local baseball game and just watched it and appreciate it for what it was.
- Stopped drinking too - Found that I was drinking to watch sports, and watching sports to drink. Of course this led to gambling as well. Quitting that helped with this dramatically. MY dumb drunk brain would certainly egg on even dumber bets.
3. Understood what’s really at stake - It’s not money. It’s your own body, your family, and so much more.
Finally, I was able to get some great free live in-person counseling from the 1-800-gambler hotline. Did you know that they offer that service? Throughout these 12 sessions I got the resources and help I needed to get over sportsbetting addiction and I pray that you can do the same. The only reason I bring it up, is because my counselor was cool in that I could text her when I was feeling an urge and she helped walk me off that. Now I enjoy sports for what they are.
Either way man, welcome aboard, thanks for stopping by and best of luck in your journey.