My first meeting

Hey MG.

Great news that you found your way to a meeting.

It's a good place to be, especially when we feel that there may be no way out of our mess.

Keep in touch. I'll look forward to reading how you feel after the next meeting.

Blessings of peace, love & happiness
Maria

I have just come back from my first meeting and I am grateful for the members giving me the chance to share and making me feel very welcome. Lots to think about now.

Hi M.G.,

If you tell us which Sydney meeting you are trying to find, we may be able to help you find it. Some can be difficult to find. Particularly because we don't hang out a big sign that says "G.A. meets here."

Glad to hear that you have handed over control of your finances to someone you can trust. Just make it clear to him/her that you are likely to lie, if the urge takes control, both to yourself and to your mate.

B. Awful, isn't it, when you realise that you can't trust yourself?

But, when you meet the members of your local group, you will find that they have "been there and done that"! It's just another part of the problem.

Your reminder tactics are impressive. The First Step, in G.A.'s Twelve Step Program is;

"We admitted we were powerless over gambling and that our lives had become unmanageable."

You have certainly started well, on that Step.

Regards,

Ron Mac

I haven't made it to a meeting yet,as I couldn't find the place, but I will try again this week.
I have gone 6 days without gambling and have made some changes to ensure I don't start again. My best mate has offered to hang onto my money/card for me and I will only take enough out for expenses. I have had to still consciously fight the urge as I pass the venues that I used to go to gamble, but I have made it so that I don't have time to gamble by filling up my time with other activities.
I have made sure that there are reminders surrounding me. I have printed off the 12 Steps and stuck it up, so I can't avoid seeing it, made up a screensaver/wallpaper for my computer that has a picture of pokies with a big circle and line through it and put a counter in my Firefox as how many days gamble free I have been.

Reading some of the posts in the forum here have helped a lot. Thanks for your replies.

M.G

G'day MG

Wow you just posted something that I did Totally!!!

Except I only sat infront of a poker machine for 5 years.

Look for the same things & learn from the differences at your meeting today.

It was the differences that in GA are called the Y.E.T.'s.
You're Eligible Too. that got me back to my second & subsequent meetings. I have not had a bet of any kind since my first meeting - That is my hope for you.
Be Well.

Hi M.G.,

Welcome to the Forum.

You may not have heard of it, but it seems like you have just hit "rockbottom".

The point when you say to yourself, it's "time to get tough", and "enough is enough".

Most of our members have found it, and most have started their recovery from there.

What no one seems to know, is why does it take so long to see it.

After tomorrow's meeting, come back and tell us how it went, for you.

Regards,

Ron Mac
Website Moderator

Hi All,
After putting my entire tax return and half of my holiday pay through the machines this weekend, I have decided to go to my first meeting on Monday.I've spent nearly 10 years feeding these machines and making pub and club owners rich; Time to get tough and beat these things once and for all.