In the previous chapter you learnt about your brain and how it can be altered by gambling. You are up against a ‘tricky brain’ that has been hijacked by gambling and needs to be retrained so you can stop gambling and stay abstinent. A good way to do this is to reward yourself when you don’t gamble; this is what this chapter will focus on.

Rewarding yourself for the days, weeks, and months that you don’t gamble is a critical part of successful recovery. Rewards reinforce the behaviour of not gambling as well as making a gambling-free life more enjoyable and therefore something you are more likely to sustain. If life without gambling doesn’t feel enjoyable then it will be much harder to maintain abstinence long term.