Jane, I hope you do find the time to investigate the site it is still
a work in progress, so feel free to poke your nose in anytime.

Glad to hear you are hear for the long haul and I look forward to
hearing from you whenever you feel inclined to post.

Where are you from Jane, I am in Melbourne Australia?

Look forward to getting to know you.

LindaH.

--- In GettingPastGambling@yahoogroups.com, jane <stormy_yang@y...>
wrote:
> Hi Linda,
>
> Nice to meet you.  Your site really looks good.  I have not had the
time to investigate it but you can be assurred that I will poke my
nose everywhere :).  I am here for the long haul, so I am sure you
will hear from me from time to time.  Take good Care.
>
> Jane   Day 15
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ---------------------------------
> Do you Yahoo!?
> Yahoo! Mail - 50x more storage than other providers!

Alexandra, great to hear that you are 7 months gamble free, a
wonderful achievement?

How long have you been gambling Alexandra?  I certainly know it is
not easy, though we keep trying and we know that it is something we
have to do for our own well-being.

I gambled for approx. 9 years, the last two were torture, maybe even
more.  I knew I could not keep going that way, but try as I might, I
seemed to not be able to help myself.

Finally finding on-line support something eventually clicked.  It
seemed so less threatening to be sharing experiences this way and
like you said, I too was amazed at how wide-spread this addiction
really is.
Certainly helped put things into perspective for me getting to know
others in the same boat.

Also like you, I was very new to computers and am still learning, so
if you need any help please just ask and if I can I will help you or
at least try.

LindaH.
--- In GettingPastGambling@yahoogroups.com, "Alexandra"
<alexandramarie1970@y...> wrote:
> Thank you for the welcome Sharon. I am still trying to get used to
> communicating with people online, this is so new to me, and I never
> would have believed that gambling was as widespread as it is. To
hear
> from people all over the world with the same problem is incredible.
>
> I am now in my 7th month gamble free, and in order to stay this way
I
> have been working as many double shifts as I can. I also can use
the
> money to try repair all the damage I have done.
>
> Best wishes to you and all those that are reaching out to so many,
it
> is comforting to know that when I get home from work there are
places
> for me to go where I will not feel alone.
>
> Alexandra
>
>
> --- In GettingPastGambling@yahoogroups.com, absolute_aussie_f@y...
> wrote:
> > Hi Alexandra,Barry,Lori,Peter,Rans and Teri
> >
> > Welcome to GPG and thankyou for joining us here. I am looking
> forward
> > to hearing more from all of you and experiencing your abundance
of
> > knowledge and your support and in turn being here as a source of
> > support for you all.Hope to see you again here soon. Take care
> >
> > Sharyn

Welcome to you.

I am looking forward to getting to know you when you feel like
sharing yourself and your experiences with us.

We are all seeking the same thing here, a way to overcome an
addiction that has taken hold of us.

I hope you are well Crafty (?) and invite you to post whatever you
feel comfortable with soon.

LindaH

To both of you HELLO, I was so excited to see you both join GPG and
hope you will soon be posting as I know you both have valuable
information to share.

You have both been "stranger" for a while, but I am glad you to see
you are back and I hope with a vengance.

Love to hear from you.

LindaH.

Jonathan, so glad to see you here, was asking after you at Kaz's as
you have not been around for a while.

Please let me/us know how you are?

If for the moment you feel more comfortable emailing, please feel
free to, I would love to hear from you, as would all your friends.

I tried adding you to Yahoo Messenger, did you receive the invite.

Waiting to hear from you in great anticipation.

Best wishes and still in my thoughts.

LindaH.

Thank you for the welcome Sharon. I am still trying to get used to
communicating with people online, this is so new to me, and I never
would have believed that gambling was as widespread as it is. To hear
from people all over the world with the same problem is incredible.

I am now in my 7th month gamble free, and in order to stay this way I
have been working as many double shifts as I can. I also can use the
money to try repair all the damage I have done.

Best wishes to you and all those that are reaching out to so many, it
is comforting to know that when I get home from work there are places
for me to go where I will not feel alone.

Alexandra


--- In GettingPastGambling@yahoogroups.com, absolute_aussie_f@y...
wrote:
> Hi Alexandra,Barry,Lori,Peter,Rans and Teri
>
> Welcome to GPG and thankyou for joining us here. I am looking
forward
> to hearing more from all of you and experiencing your abundance of
> knowledge and your support and in turn being here as a source of
> support for you all.Hope to see you again here soon. Take care
>
> Sharyn

Well, well, well = three holes in the ground :-)   (old joke).

We'll catch up eventually in chat Teri, but I'm glad you paid a visit
and hope you come back as often as you can, as you (we) really can't
share our stories often enough with others who are just new to
finding on-line help.

I'm going to try and organize a link where people can post
their "Stories/Experiences" as I feel this would be of great benefit
to others.

I recall the first time I found these resources, I was awestruck to
read that others were or had experienced the same feelings and
thoughts as myself.....for such a long time I felt like I was the
only one going through this.

So until we catch up again....thinking of you and thank you for all
the help and support you have offered me.

LindaH.





--- In GettingPastGambling@yahoogroups.com, "teri5310"
<teri5310@y...> wrote:
> So this is what you've been up to!  Congratulations!
>
> I'm delighted for you.  You must have been very busy with getting
> this up and running, and I'm sorry I keep missing you on line.
>
> I hope this turns out to be everything you hope for it.  I know you
> have a lot to give to others, and give freely of your time, your
> compassion and your support.
>
> So far I see a lot of familiar names on here - hi all.  I won't
> bother going into my story, since most of you already know it.
> Linda and I are within a few days of our "last day gambled", and
> have shared much over the last nine months.
>
> Wishing everyone a safe, gamble-free day.
>
> Teri
> 9+ months

Hello Rans,

2 weeks and 72 hours already....that's great....it doesn't seem that
long ago you were checking in every hour on the hour....

It does get better and easier, if we just keep on keeping on.

Thinking of you and always here (or there) for you.

LindaH.

--- In GettingPastGambling@yahoogroups.com, "Rahnee" <rans913@y...>
wrote:
> Congratulations on setting up your site.
>
> I thought i might just let you know that I am doing ok and am still
> gamble free.
>
> rans 2 weeks 72 hours of gamblefreenes

Linda :
Thank you for the welcome................I will slowly work my way into it
I'm sure..

Congrats on establishing your own CG site...............It will help fend
off the demon for many folks who like using the computer......Folks like us
eh

Stay well Linda,
Jim


>From: "tearlessgerty2004" <tearlessgerty2004@...>
>Reply-To: GettingPastGambling@yahoogroups.com
>To: GettingPastGambling@yahoogroups.com
>Subject: [GettingPastGambling] WELCOME JIM
>Date: Wed, 15 Sep 2004 00:39:48 -0000
>

_________________________________________________________________
Express yourself instantly with MSN Messenger! Download today - it's FREE!
hthttp://messenger.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200471ave/direct/01/

Hi Alexandra,Barry,Lori,Peter,Rans and Teri

Welcome to GPG and thankyou for joining us here. I am looking forward
to hearing more from all of you and experiencing your abundance of
knowledge and your support and in turn being here as a source of
support for you all.Hope to see you again here soon. Take care

Sharyn

Hi Barb

Thankyou for the congrats and encouragement. I hope to see your
wonderful words of support and encouragement here when you can make
it.Take care

Sharyn 139

--- In GettingPastGambling@yahoogroups.com, <bandgro@y...> wrote:
> Hi Sharyn and Gerty,
> Congratulations to you Sharyn.  How wonderful.  I know you two make
a wonderful team.
> Need to get back to the site and check it out again!
> Take Care
> Love Ya's
> Barb
>
>
> ---------------------------------
> Do you Yahoo!?
> vote.yahoo.com - Register online to vote today!

Congratulations on setting up your site.

I thought i might just let you know that I am doing ok and am still
gamble free.

rans 2 weeks 72 hours of gamblefreenes

Hi Linda

Thankyou, and thankyou for considering me as a moderator.I am
honoured to be part of this new exciting journey for you. I have seen
the effort you have put into other boards and i know you will do your
best with this one as well.Take care

Sharyn 139

   GettingPastGambling@yahoogroups.com, "tearlessgerty2004"
<tearlessgerty2004@y...> wrote:
> Hello to you all.....I just wanted to take the opportunity to thank
> Sharyn for joining me here as moderator.
>
> Sharyn I appreciate you giving of your time to share this with me.
>
> LindaH.

So this is what you've been up to!  Congratulations!

I'm delighted for you.  You must have been very busy with getting
this up and running, and I'm sorry I keep missing you on line.

I hope this turns out to be everything you hope for it.  I know you
have a lot to give to others, and give freely of your time, your
compassion and your support.

So far I see a lot of familiar names on here - hi all.  I won't
bother going into my story, since most of you already know it.
Linda and I are within a few days of our "last day gambled", and
have shared much over the last nine months.

Wishing everyone a safe, gamble-free day.

Teri
9+ months

Hello to you all.....I just wanted to take the opportunity to thank
Sharyn for joining me here as moderator.

Sharyn I appreciate you giving of your time to share this with me.

LindaH.

Hello Dotti and thank you.

As you know, on Kaz's I use the chat format much more than posting
and I certainly intend to still join the "chat parties" that have
become one of the many trade marks of Kaz's.

I hope you will have time to share yourself with us here as well
Dotti.

LindaH.

--- In GettingPastGambling@yahoogroups.com, "mylastrecovery1"
<mylastrecovery1@y...> wrote:
> Linda,
>
> I just want to take this opportunity to congratulate you again on
> this beautiful site!  Your caring, compassion and understanding
have
> been of very real value to me and I just know that you will succeed
> in your quest to help others with this addiction.
>
> Not sure I will be able to access this from home - but since
Gamebloc
> is not installed on my work computer, I will be able to stay
abreast
> of how your site is doing from there.
>
> All my best to you and your new endeavor.
>
> Dotti

Hi Jane....and thank you for joining us here at GPG.

I haven't had a chance to "talk" to you much, but hope we get to know
you and be able to share our experiences, support each other as best
we can and there by get to know each other better.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

LindaH.

Linda,

I just want to take this opportunity to congratulate you again on
this beautiful site!  Your caring, compassion and understanding have
been of very real value to me and I just know that you will succeed
in your quest to help others with this addiction.

Not sure I will be able to access this from home - but since Gamebloc
is not installed on my work computer, I will be able to stay abreast
of how your site is doing from there.

All my best to you and your new endeavor.

Dotti

Hello and Welcome to you Dotti,

Your new name is certainly a powerful statement you are making and I
am honoured to be among those to be there with you and for you as you
keep working on your recovery.

Thank you for joining me here and together we will make progress in
the most positive way we can, one day at a time.

LindaH.

Good morning Linda,

Thanks for the welcome aboard. I am definitely excited for you and
this chance to reach out to others. It gives a sense of purpose
doesn't it? Well, for me it has for sure.

The board looks great!

Katrina

--- In GettingPastGambling@yahoogroups.com, "tearlessgerty2004"
<tearlessgerty2004@y...> wrote:
> Hello Katrina
>
> I want to welcome you to GettingPastGambling and thank you for your
> encouragement and look forward to working with you.
>
> LindaH

Hello Katrina

I want to welcome you to GettingPastGambling and thank you for your
encouragement and look forward to working with you.

LindaH

Hello Jim,

Great to see you here.

I look forward to you sharing your experiences and wise words (which
I know you have plenty of) with us.

LindaH.

Hi Sharyn,

Feel free to ramble anytime, about anything you like, as a lot of the
time we keep so much inside, feeling we shouldnt be thinking or
feeling certain ways.  In fact, when was the last time we were
encouraged to speak our minds and felt comfortable doing
so....hopefully here this can be achieved, and also perhaps new light
shed on things.

Certainly don't pretend to have all the answers, but who knows what
we may discover by exchanging ideas and feelings.

With all the different thoughts and feelings we experience every
single day, in what is laughingly called "normal life", it is
difficult enought to get by feeling contentment with our lot.

Add, working at trying to overcome an addiction which is soul
destroying, coming to terms with how we lived our lives for whatever
period of time we were actively gambling, it makes perfect sense to
take it slowly, find peace and acceptance with where we are right now.

When the time is right, if it ever is, we then go the next step, if
that's what we need.

Perfection?  Who defines it and what does it really mean?

Just accepting the improvement of things that you are experiencing
and feeling right now is enough, Sharyn, as each one of us progresses
in their own way.

When is the last time you felt these benefits in your everyday life?
That in and of itself is progress.

Don't be too hard on yourself Sharyn and definitely don't think you
are not perfect right now, as you are.
You're personal situation may not be what you desire, yet I know from
talking to you, you have come to a "calm" understanding of it and
undoubtedly will make the right decisions, when the time is right.

Until then just learn to enjoy each day, with all it ups and
downs....damn those downs sometimes.

LindaH.



--- In GettingPastGambling@yahoogroups.com, absolute_aussie_f@y...
wrote:
> Hi Linda
>
> Thankyou for the welcome. I haven't gambled for about 137 days now
> and although i realise thats not such a long time i keep hearing
> people say how after a certain amount of time one should be working
> on oneself or otherwise you really can't call it recovery.I am not
> disputing this idea but i am feeling a little frustrated, because i
> don't want to strive for perfection.
>
>  I am always going to have faults and i need to accept this now. i
> have always been my own worst critic and set almost impossible
> expectations of myself, i thought i had to be perfect even though i
> know i am far from it.
>
> To be honest with you I do feel that i want it to be enough for me
> right now to just be not gambling, thats it, nothing more and no
more
> expectations.Why can't my mind accept this?
>
> I know that by doing just that...abstaining from gambling....is
> bringing it's own improvements to my life with it, for instance,
>
> No lying (well no biggies)
> Less stressful
> Higher self esteem (well some progress)
> The ability to empathise
> Community work
> More supportive of others
> More self awareness, although i believe i gained a lot of that
> throughout the last 8/9 years of not drinking.
>
> These things and probably others i have not given much thought to,
> have come with ease, nothing really that took any real effort and
for
> now, maybe forever, this will have to suffice for me.
>
> Sorry for rambling, Take care
>
> Sharyn LDG 31st April 2004
>
>
>
>
>  --- In GettingPastGambling@yahoogroups.com, "tearlessgerty2004"
> <tearlessgerty2004@y...> wrote:
> > Hi Sharyn and Welcome.
> >
> > Thank you for joining GPG, if you feel like posting about
anything
> at
> > all at any time - please do so.
> >
> > Hope you have a great recovery and a wonderful life ahead of you
> with
> > much happiness.
> >
> >
> > LindaH.

Hi Linda

Thankyou for the welcome. I haven't gambled for about 137 days now
and although i realise thats not such a long time i keep hearing
people say how after a certain amount of time one should be working
on oneself or otherwise you really can't call it recovery.I am not
disputing this idea but i am feeling a little frustrated, because i
don't want to strive for perfection.

  I am always going to have faults and i need to accept this now. i
have always been my own worst critic and set almost impossible
expectations of myself, i thought i had to be perfect even though i
know i am far from it.

To be honest with you I do feel that i want it to be enough for me
right now to just be not gambling, thats it, nothing more and no more
expectations.Why can't my mind accept this?

I know that by doing just that...abstaining from gambling....is
bringing it's own improvements to my life with it, for instance,

No lying (well no biggies)
Less stressful
Higher self esteem (well some progress)
The ability to empathise
Community work
More supportive of others
More self awareness, although i believe i gained a lot of that
throughout the last 8/9 years of not drinking.

These things and probably others i have not given much thought to,
have come with ease, nothing really that took any real effort and for
now, maybe forever, this will have to suffice for me.

Sorry for rambling, Take care

Sharyn LDG 31st April 2004




  --- In GettingPastGambling@yahoogroups.com, "tearlessgerty2004"
<tearlessgerty2004@y...> wrote:
> Hi Sharyn and Welcome.
>
> Thank you for joining GPG, if you feel like posting about anything
at
> all at any time - please do so.
>
> Hope you have a great recovery and a wonderful life ahead of you
with
> much happiness.
>
>
> LindaH.

Hello,

This email message is a notification to let you know that
a file has been uploaded to the Files area of the GettingPastGambling
group.

   File        : /GA 20 Questions.doc
   Uploaded by : tearlessgerty2004 <tearlessgerty2004@...>
   Description : GA 20 QUESTIONS

You can access this file at the URL:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/GettingPastGambling/files/GA%2020%20Questions.doc

To learn more about file sharing for your group, please visit:
http://help.yahoo.com/help/us/groups/files

Regards,

tearlessgerty2004 <tearlessgerty2004@...>

Hello,

This email message is a notification to let you know that
a file has been uploaded to the Files area of the GettingPastGambling
group.

   File        : /The Twelve Steps.doc
   Uploaded by : tearlessgerty2004 <tearlessgerty2004@...>
   Description : THE 12 STEPS

You can access this file at the URL:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/GettingPastGambling/files/The%20Twelve%20Steps.doc

To learn more about file sharing for your group, please visit:
http://help.yahoo.com/help/us/groups/files

Regards,

tearlessgerty2004 <tearlessgerty2004@...>

Thank you so much for joining me here at Getting Past Gambling, and I
so look forward to your input and support.

I would like to thank you both for your encouragement both in my
recovery and in taking on this venture.  It is a work in progress and
I am so happy that you are here to share it with me.

Love,
LindaH.

Hi Sharyn and Welcome.

Thank you for joining GPG, if you feel like posting about anything at
all at any time - please do so.

Hope you have a great recovery and a wonderful life ahead of you with
much happiness.


LindaH.