A simple gambling urge journal

Start here: One hour at a time also counts.

Urges can feel like they come out of nowhere. Writing a few words each time one shows up can help you see the pattern: the time of day, the game, the feeling, the place. Once you can see it, you can plan for it.

It takes about a minute. Nobody else has to read it.

What to write

After each urge, whether you bet or not, write four short lines:

1. When. Day and time. "Thursday, 9:40 pm."
2. What was happening. "Game on TV, ad break." "Payday." "Just lost." "Bored on my break."
3. What it felt like. One or two words: restless, stressed, lonely, flat, buzzing.
4. What you did. "Put the phone down and texted my brother." Or "I bet." Both are worth writing down.

That is the whole journal. Keep it short so you keep doing it.

Where to keep it

• Your phone's notes app. One note, newest entry at the top.
• A small notebook. Paper by the bed works well for late nights.
• A message to yourself. Some people send it to their own chat thread.

Keep it private if you want to. If you share it with someone you trust, that is your choice.

Reading it back

Once a week, read the last seven days. Look for:

1. The times that repeat. Late at night, kickoff, payday, the drive home.
2. The feelings that repeat. Stress after work, boredom on a quiet shift, a high after a win.
3. What helped. The things you did on the nights the urge passed.

Then make one small plan for the most common moment. If it is late at night, read urge to gamble at night. If it is payday, read gambling urges on payday. If it is boredom, read gambling out of boredom.

When you bet

Write that line too, without judging it. "I bet" is information, not a verdict. If it happened, read what to do after a slip. The next entry is a fresh line.

In the moment

The journal is for after. During the urge itself, use the next ten minutes.

Pause before the next bet

Hold The Bet is free with no account. It shows your own number and reason and holds a 30 second pause before you bet.