Hi, my name is Deb and I started gambling when I was only 10 years old while on holiday as a child. Gambling became a real problem for me when I was in my late teens and continued right through my adult life until I was 46 years old when I found Gordon Moody and tried rehab for the first time. I remained clear of gambling for around 6 months and then became what I termed as a binge gambler. I would abstain for 2-3 months and then go ‘off radar’ as my husband described it and only return home when the arcade closed or I ran out of money, whichever happened first.

It took until I was 51 to fully enter into what I called for myself committed recovery and this was after a second stay in rehab at Gordon Moody’s but once I had decided for myself that I no longer wanted to live in such chaos and torment I went into recovery full throttle and began to live my life surrounded by a fantastic support network, as many barriers as I could find and my own commitment and determination to stop gambling.

I’m currently 2 years and 9 months clear of gambling and in that time have trained to help others to reclaim control of their lives. I support others through Betknowmore’s  Peer Aid service and worked for 6 months with a Women only organisation supporting Women wherever they were on their recovery journey. I am a member of the advisory panel for Gamlearn and attend GA sessions in my local area to support my recovery.

I live in North West Durham area with my husband, teenage daughter and my beautiful Rottweiler dog who we rescued 18 months ago. I have a grown son, a very supportive extended family and have made some amazing friends while going through recovery. I am truly thankful for the life I live now and am dedicated to helping others as much as I can in recovery.