u/Temporary-Tear-1372

This week marks 3 years since I last gambled in any shape or form.

I haven’t posted here in a long time but I felt I needed to because this place helped me a a lot in the initial months when I was very vulnerable.

To be clear, I don’t consider myself cured of gambling addiction. I am in remission and while I feel much more confident I have the tools to remain so, I have no illusions about the need to stay vigilant in order not to fall back into the abyss.

My gambling addiction raged for a little over a decade.

During that time, I estimate I spent hundreds of thousands of dollars and more importantly, wasted years of my life during which I could have spent time with my family or been more productive at work or life in general.

There was no specific event that led me to stop. I am convinced that being started on a medicine called Mounjaro for diabetes was a very big part of it. Right around the same time, I also stopped drinking alcohol completely (was never an issue) and smoking.

There is strong evidence that this medicine is very effective at treating addictions although it is not yet approved for this purpose.

But to be fair, I also did a bunch of things at the same time. I self excluded from my home state and every state around me. I put credit card blocks on all gambling spends and I limited my debit card withdrawal limit (I changed that a year ago since I felt that was no longer necessary).

My life has been infinitely better. I’m a better husband and parent. My finances are almost back on track to where I would have expected them to. I no longer eat shitty casino food so I lost all my excess body weight and no longer have high blood sugar (the Mounjaro of course helped). I exercise regularly and volunteer at a food bank many days of the week and love it.

I also have a ton more disposable income to spend on vacations with my family, a nicer car and just a better life in general.

I consider myself lucky. I didn’t have debt when I stopped but I suspect that even if I did, I probably would have paid it off by now.

I am not telling you any of this to brag or pat myself on the back.

I still feel guilty every day mostly for all the time wasted and the compulsive lying that I perfected to hide my addiction from my family.

I am telling you all this to let you know there is a way. This is an illness you can treat and overcome and be rid of as long as you keep your guard up and do everything possible to treat it.

Before I quit, I tried a bunch of times and failed because I wasn’t prepared or ready.

Make a plan. Seek treatment especially if you have or think you might have a mental illness like anxiety or depression.

Remember that recovery is not linear. You don’t wake up one day and you’re “cured”. If you’re limiting your gambling time, you’re on your way to success.

Don’t give up because salvation is right around the corner.

A recent post sent me down a rabbit hole of looking up attempts at faking GS. None of them are even remotely convincing even to my non expert eyes.

A few things I didn’t necessarily appreciate are how hard it would be to come up with a dial that looks close to many signature watches (the ones a faker would want to make) and of course the movement (spring drive in particular).

I guess technically, it would be somewhat doable but economically, the cost would be a deterrent.

For the GS fanboys (all of us?) I guess this is further validation of how much work and craftsmanship goes into your $3000-10000 watch compared to the “holy trinity” and other watches that sell for several fold over this price point.

I’m not interested in R/S/F or even price point (although please feel free to express any strong options)

Let’s say, within the heritage collection which has lots of different watches, why do 90% of posts revolve around shunbuns, snowflakes, burches and taisetsus?

I am a total fanboy and love all these but just curious if what ultimately made you pull the trigger was wrist wear, some emotional or sentimental connection or just what is trending.

I have a business trip to Barcelona this month and was thinking of visiting the Loewe outlet at La Roca Village.

I have found the few US Loewe outlets to be very underwhelming in terms of inventory. Do you think it would be worth it to take a 40 minute ride to visit? I have a rental so it shouldn’t be an issue other than waste of time.

Any personal experiences would be appreciated

I have not had the best of luck with denim in the past. Isaia jeans tend to be awkwardly tailored around the crotch and never fit right. Attolini tends to be perfect except the waist tends to sit low.

I finally took the plunge and purchased a pair of brioni chamonix jeans in black after much reluctance and I have to say they fit perfectly. The cut is simple yet elegant. almost un brioni in the sense that they feel modern and not fussy.

Highly recommended.