I recently underwent outpatient surgery and followed the strict orders from my doctor. My surgery went according to plan and my recovery was fairly easy as I did exactly what the doctor told me to do. There was too much risk, in my mind, of not following doctor’s orders.

I am doing very well and think it is interesting when I compare the recovery of my surgery to the recovery of my gambling addiction.

Why couldn’t I follow orders when I try to stop gambling? Why couldn’t I listen to the people who had been down this road before me and knew the pitfalls of a gambling addiction? Instead, I had to learn the hard way. I had to subject myself to personal and financial hardships, which ended upon affecting my family and my relationships.

Gambling is not the cause of my problem- I am the cause of my problems. I chose to gamble, I made bad decisions and did not use what should have been very obvious or in other words, I didn’t use my own common sense when things started to get really bad. My gambling spiraled out of control and I let desperation call the shots.

It honestly doesn’t have to be so hard. There are ways to beat an addiction, if you will listen to the voice inside, the voice of reason, and let others who have made the same mistakes help you free your self from this insidious disease.

Think of life in simple terms, although it can be very complicated and difficult. It doesn’t have to take years to stop gambling nor do you have to end up in bankruptcy to learn from it.

It is a choice. God gave each of the right to decide our own actions. Isn’t it time we stop making excuses for how damn difficult an addiction can be and begin to exercise our own personal power over it?

And so today, I will not gamble. With love and peace to all those who still struggle with addiction.

In recovery,
Marina

Build your future on hope, not regrets.

Gambling help at:
http://au.groups.yahoo.com/group/kazscoffeelounge