Meet Sara

A mental health advocate, sharing personal experiences and insights on overcoming compulsive gambling and nurturing complicated family relationships.

I share my journey to inspire others and provide a safe space for genuine conversations about recovery. Join me in crafting a better life together.

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Welcome to my digital diary, where I tackle compulsive gambling, untangle family ties, and grow daily. Join me for quirky reflections and genuine recovery insights in this journey to craft a better life. Buckle up it’s a bumpy, beautiful ride!

Recovery Reflection

Welcome to My Digital Diary

Chapter 12: Stormer in a World That Praises Jem

I knew who I was at six years old and it wasn’t the person the world rewards. This might sound abstract, but stay with me. When I was six or seven, I used to watch an old cartoon called Jem and the Holograms . It was about two rival bands. One was polished, admired, everything the world celebrates. The other, The Misfits; were louder, rougher, a little chaotic. And in that second group, there was one character who didn’t quite fit. Her name was Stormer. Stormer was in the “b

4 days ago

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Latest Entries

Chapter 12: Stormer in a World That Praises Jem

I knew who I was at six years old and it wasn’t the person the world rewards. This might sound abstract, but stay with me. When I was six or seven, I used to watch an old cartoon called Jem and the Holograms . It was about two rival bands. One was polished, admired, everything the world celebrates. The other, The Misfits; were louder, rougher, a little chaotic. And in that second group, there was one character who didn’t quite fit. Her name was Stormer. Stormer was in the “b

4 days ago2 min read

Chapter 11: The Night I Did the Impossible

Last night, I did something I had been avoiding for a long time, I reached out to a friend I met in Gamblers Anonymous in 2024. On the surface, it may not sound like much, but for me it felt enormous, because what I was really doing was beginning to release something that no longer served me. For a long time, I had carried the weight of my gambling quietly the financial damage, the emotional toll, the frustration of trying to untangle everything after the fact. When I reached

Apr 42 min read

Chapter 10: Some Things Don’t Stay Buried

Disclaimer: This post references sexual assault, trauma responses, medical triggering, and gambling relapse/urges. I do not always add content warnings, but I believe in taking a gender-based violence-informed approach and understand that these topics may be difficult for some readers. All 10 of you :) I don’t want to go into every detail. But years ago, in a back room of a restaurant, an older man sexually assaulted me. I never told anyone. Not my friends, not my family. I

Mar 314 min read

Chapter 9: Do No Harm

Do No Harm And after the dust settles, what remains? The brain. Do you remember that commercial from way back when? “This is your brain. This is your brain on drugs.” The fried egg. The pan. The warning. Now ask the harder question, What happens when the thing acting on the brain is not a drug in the usual sense? What happens when it is gambling? I live in Ontario, which apparently makes me something of a rare gem: someone willing to say out loud that gambling addiction is no

Mar 293 min read

Chapter 8: Hello, I’m Sara. And I’m a compulsive gambler

It’s been 6 hours and 32 minutes since I placed my last bet. Call it alcohol. Call it the machine. Maybe it was both. My body couldn’t handle the booze, and the machine won. I’m not a robot, but for a brief moment, I became one. Numb. Automatic. Programmed by impulse. Moving without thinking, like I had handed myself over to something cold and mechanical. A moment of silence for the compulsive gambler who suffers in silence. For the one who smiles in public and breaks in priv

Mar 291 min read

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