Let's start with the healthy habits and get them out of the way. We will get to the fun activities soon.  Hopefully we all know that healthy habits are very important in our recovery and they should be at the top of the list.

1. Exercise- Go for a run in the morning or evening to get all the stress out. Do not turn to gambling for stress relief. I know you are thinking "go for a run?" Guess what? I thought the same thing....How can that help me from not gambling? Excersising is time consuming and when you quit gambling, you should have that extra time to workout. If you don't like to run and don't think it would help, then you need to find some way of working out to help with your stress relief. Join your local karate class, gym, basketball or soccer team. What ever it was that you liked doing actively before you started gambling.
2. Cutback or stop smoking- This may not be a fact but all the problem gamblers that I have met, they smoke cigarettes or cigars. This will slow you down on your first step, excersise. Also, I believe that smoking makes you feel good for the first couple of drags and then afterwards, you feel all sluggish again.
3. Layoff the caffeine as much as you can- Coffee, Soda and cigarettes seem to be in the same category as gambling. This is a healthy suggestion. I know we are all here to quit gambling not take away the caffeine and smokes. But this comes back to step one stress relief "exercise". We can't get all stoked up on caffeine and then feel like exercising. If so we will be all jittery and plus caffeine makes you gain weight. The more weight, the less likely you will want to exercise.
4. Have a well-balanced breakfast and continue to eat healthy- This will help with the grumpiness, irritation and frustration of quiting gambling. Having a full and healthy stomach helps everyone. It will probably help us gamblers much more though because we are not use to eating correctly with all the time we spend gambling.

By now you are probably thinking "one step at a time." You are right you do need to do your recovery one step at a time. If you need to, do it day by day, week by week.... however long it may take you....please try. You can always bookmark this website, or you can even print out the pages you need to help you.

Here are a list of basic and fun things to do to occupy your time, instead of gambling or thinking about gambling.

• Spend more time with your family and friends- This is pretty basic, but you will be surprised by how much information and enjoyment you can recieve by doing this. Plan picnics, family reunions, friendly gatherings or just spend quality time at home with your loved ones. Plan a game night, where you can prepare special, and silly games to play. Laugh, Joke and get reunited with the people that you have ignored and avoided all those times you spent gambling.
• Find new hobbies or pick back up on the ones you left behind- Was there something that you use to love doing that you no longer do? Some activities could be, scrapbooking, painting, drawing, or it can be as simple as reading a good mystery novel.
   

• Writing in a journal or diary- This is an important step to recovery. Please go buy yourself a journal, diary or even just a   . from amazon. Keep track of your daily activities. This will help you stay on track of your recovery. Write down anything you want. Some things that you can include are: Your feelings, your schedule and your progress. You may want to even write down where you spent your money and what did you spend it on. 

Try buying something for yourself or a loved one....You will be surprised how good you feel after having something to show for your money. Instead of losing your money....put it to use to better your life. Show your loved ones that you can spend your money on something else.

Things to do instead of gambling:  Motorcycle rides, shop online, spend time with your loved ones, buy a family or friend a gift, pick up your hobbies that you loved to do, scrapbooking, walking, drawing, writing, reading a good book, skiing, skateboard, camping, fishing, hunting, learn a new activity, walk on the beach, educate yourself, clean your house, go yard saleing, go to the mall, keep your self busy, fill up your schedule, learn a new language, spend time with your daughter, spend time with your family, write a book, build websites, open a savings account, learn yoga, go for a bike ride, ride horses, go to the fair, go to the carnival or festival, throw a  party, take a college class, jump rope, play free online games, throw a family game night, go bowling, go watch a movie at the theater, go window shopping, explore the world, take a vacation, travel to a new place, go for an airplane ride, learn a new subject, buy a new outfit, go out for dinner, get a new hairdo, play fun games, get a pet that you can take care of and keep your mind occupied.

Now for the question you have all been waiting to hear the answer for....How can I get the adrenaline rush that I get from gambling?

Please keep in mind that everyone is different and you may later find something else that works for you. But in the meantime, if you seek that adrenaline rush and the excitement you get from gambling try one or all of these activities:

• Motorcycle riding, skiing, bungee jumping, sky diving, racecar driving or any other advanced physical event.

If you are serious about quiting gambling click here! 

If you just want help slowing down and you want strategies to help you start winning. Then you need to gain knowledge about the game you are playing. To do this you need to educate yourself, just like a lawyer puts himself thru law school. There are a few books below that we recommend you reading before you go back to gambling. Pick your game and then study first!