‘I used to gamble for as much as 16 hours a day – it was so dangerous I almost died’
One man has revealed how his playing habit was so dangerous it left him in hospital after a suicide try.
Matt, from Chatham, Kent, began shopping for scratch playing cards when he was 15 and progressed onto bookies, on line casino video games, roulette on-line playing and Fixed Odds Betting Terminals.
He claims at his worst he would gamble for ‘unto 16 hours a day’. Talking about his habit, Matt mentioned: “I might gamble all evening. You don’t plan to, however you lose monitor of time and the variety of hours that go and also you don’t realise.
READ MORE: Football stars hooked on medicine and playing as habit turns into ‘Premier League’s curse’
Check out extra actual life tales right here
“You find yourself chasing the losses. It’s a horrible feeling and I bear in mind having heart-pounding nervousness; you are feeling such as you’re in a gap and also you’re attempting to get out of it. But the outlet simply retains getting deeper.”
(Image: Cover Images)
By the age of twenty-two, Matt had spent every little thing he owned and mentioned he’d ‘misplaced himself’. He continued: “You lose a piece of who you are socially, I became more reclusive because of gambling. I made excuses to not go places if I knew I couldn’t find time to gamble secretly on my phone there.
“Even after I was out, I made excuses to depart or have a break to go gamble. Gambling was making my life selections for me. I used to be additionally so preoccupied with playing that I ended having high quality time with my household. My habit was utterly hidden. My mum, dad and brother didn’t have a clue.”
(Image: Cover Images)
At this level, Matt determined to finish his life and he made an try that noticed him significantly injured. He spent 17 days in an induced coma and took months to get better. But being in hospital with no entry to his on-line accounts meant he was in a position to kick the habit.
He mentioned: “When I first came round from the coma, I was extremely confused and I wasn’t sure where I was. The first day of clarity was that I wanted my phone and no one would give it to me. I couldn’t understand why no one would give me my phone, then suddenly everything came back to me and I realised why I was in hospital.”
He had a number of surgical procedures on his again and foot and was bed-bound for 4 months. “Physical recovery was painful, I was so weak that I couldn’t twist open a bottle of coke,” mentioned Matt. “Mentally, I did a lot of my talking therapy with my family and my network of people around me. I was able to just tell them the truth and that was a huge burden lifted after hiding from this huge lie.”
(Image: Cover Images)
Matt is supporting the most recent marketing campaign from the charity GambleAware, to problem stigma on playing harms and encourage others to open up.
Matt says his life is totally completely different now he has kicked his playing habit. He was nervous he would by no means have the ability to stroll once more, however can now run and play some sports activities. He additionally received married, purchased a home and now works for GamCare as a enterprise growth supervisor, serving to others with playing issues.
He provides: “I want to dedicate my professional career to make sure no one gets to where I got to. I feel like this is the area that I’m going to be in for the rest of my life. [I want to show] there is life after gambling, there is life after recovery. It’s hard, but it’s an amazing feeling.”
(Image: Cover Images)
It’ll be eight years in February that Matt stopped playing and he mentioned it ‘will get simpler’. “It wasn’t to start with, but you can have a really good life after it,” he mentioned. “Never underestimate the weight that can be lifted from opening up to someone and that first step can take you into recovery and you can have the life you want after that.
“I might all the time say if somebody’s going via habit, discover that braveness to speak and it’ll be the very best factor you’ve ever accomplished.”
For emotional help you may name the Samaritans 24-hour helpline on 116 123, electronic mail [email protected], go to a Samaritans department in particular person or go to the Samaritans web site.
