Ollie, I'm 18 from reading,
been gambling for five months now.
Yeah, everyday for five
months I've got put forward.
I've referred this by Epic management.
And yeah, so came here on Friday.
Everyone really welcoming lots of
met loads of nice people and then
got into the workshop on Saturday.
Talking about prevention techniques.
That kind of stuff really,
really good, really helpful.
Lots of stuff that.
I'll put in place already.
Yeah, and then today it could feed as well.
Good meal last night, lunch as well.
Breakfast obviously as a
pool table behind us.
Stuff to do TV in the evening.
Sort of helped everyone bond.
And yeah,
today final day sort of same again workshop.
Prevention techniques sort of what you
do if you're in a position where you
feel like you're going to gamble again.
And yeah,
so it's been an amazing
weekend life changing one,
hopefully because at the moment I was
on a path I didn't really want to be on.
Flock of now taking control of
my life and I'm looking forward
to going back home and hopefully.
Not gambling anymore and you know,
start the well in my A levels and hopefully.
Have a successful life.
What? Just talk a little bit more
about what you actually doing in life.
That's what, yeah, so they've with
there's been 456 different therapists
psychologists here or with different.
I guess different fields of expertise.
You know doing different things like
watching videos about addictions to you,
know a lot of group work,
partner work about sort of
opening up about discussing what?
How what you what you doing gambling
and also we've been going through
different ways that we can prevent.
Gamma ourselves gambling the given us a
load of contact such like Gamstop Gang
ban all the others that the Samaritans
as well just to enable us to. You know,
prevent us from gambling ever again.
Yes, they encourage great work a lot.
A lot of partner work.
And they're never really ever
put on the spot, ever.
You know never.
You know, but always encouraged
to speak up if you want to.
You know the floor is always
open for questions and they've.
You know they've sort of the questions
have led on to good discussions.
You know we had one earlier about sort of
the fantasies of you know about roulette
and how it's perceived to be that you have a.
You know that there's a mathematical way
of working out when really it's never.
It's all of chance or games of chance.
An yeah how we've all been,
you know,
living our lives thinking that
it's we've always got a chance.
When really is a game of luck and it's
always tipped in the House's favour.
See I spend.
It's been really sort of insightful as
well as helpful into how other people,
and knowing that you're not alone as well,
that everyone knows,
is that we're all the same in the
same way that we think you know,
some of us have had,
you know,
some of them been gambling for 14 years.
I mean,
I've only been gambling for five months,
but we all think the same,
and for me it's more about early prevention.
You know,
I don't want to be in the same
position that they the other
guys are in 14 years time.
Well,
as you know I'm already in a bad enough
situation at the moment where it's
had a big enough effect on me that I
feel that if I stop, suck, seeked help here.
Yeah I would.
I would be able to get my life back.
The most.
What's been the one thing that
you'll take away from this time?
Okay,
so for me the breathing they did
mindfulness and mindful breathing
because a big side effect of
my gambling has been added.
Stress and anxiety.
You know, especially at night time,
when I'm not doing anything
and I can never really put my
finger on to what the anxiety is,
I just get really anxious and stressed.
Whereas before I was a real relaxed person
didn't have a care in the world. So.
The mindful breathing was a great technique.
You know, breathing in for seven,
holding and breathing out for 9
and you can actually feel yourself
getting relaxed while you're doing it.
I think that's the one thing I'm
going to take away with me the most,
because that's probably what's had.
The biggest effect on me.
We have also looked at the different
parts of the brain.
Where you have your one side which is,
you know, almost like the Angel on your
shoulder telling you not to gamble,
and then you have the other part
which is called the monkey,
which is like the devil on your shoulder.
You know, telling you to gamble and
different ways of controlling the monkey.
And yeah,
I found that really interesting,
because obviously for all of us
in there monkey was more dominant
than the human side of the brain.
So I found that. You know, very helpful.
You know ways of, you know,
curving the monkey,
making sure he stays because
you need the monkey to survive.
But obviously the monkey too
much of the monkey is, you know,
bad cause you to gamble, so yeah.