Gambler's Notes

A gambling addiction occurs when an individual obsessively and uncontrollably gambles, even when gambling would cause negative consequences to himself and his family. Online gambling sites have made gambling easier than ever before, and gambling addictions can become worse when the addict has the opportunity to gamble from the comfort of his home.

If your family member or loved one is suffering from an online gambling addiction, it can be extremely difficult. It’s important to remember that recovery is a difficult—yet not impossible—process. And, as your loved one is recovering from the addiction, it’s important that you take the time to deal with your feelings too. Here are a few ways to cope with living with a gambling addict.

Avoid supporting the addiction. You may be supporting the addiction in ways you don’t even know. Never give the addict money to further his gambling habit. Avoid lying or giving excuses for his behavior.

Advocate for addiction recovery. This can be difficult, because many addicts are in denial of the problem. Nevertheless, be fervent in your efforts to push the addict toward recovery. Offer to help him on his road to recovery, and direct him to groups like Gambler’s Anonymous.

Take care of yourself. You may be caught up in the addict’s problems, but never forget to take care of yourself as well. This includes avoiding the impulse to blame yourself for your loved one’s gambling habit. You may also want to read up on gambling addictions to be sure you fully understand the disease. Seek help from GamAnon, a group that assists the loved ones of gambling addicts.

A gambling addiction, also called compulsive gambling or pathological gambling, is an impulse control problem in which a person is addicted to betting on sports, buying lottery tickets, playing slot machines, playing poker, roulette or another activity that involves winning and losing money. Gambling addicts’ venues of choice vary; while some prefer to gamble in a casino, others choose to gamble on the Internet.

Gambling addictions affect roughly 2 to 5 percent of individuals in the United States. Although the addiction is typically affiliated with men, women are developing gambling addictions at increasingly higher rates; some statistics indicate that as many as 25 percent of individuals with the disorder are women. Those with schizophrenia, antisocial personality disorder, alcohol or cocaine addiction and mood problems are the most at risk for developing a gambling addiction.

Symptoms of gambling addictions include having a preoccupation with gambling—like reliving past gambling experiences—needing more money to fulfill a gambling habit, gambling to alleviate stress and sadness, lying to friends and family to hide how often the sufferer is gambling and repeatedly failing to alleviate a gambling problem.

General gambling addictions mean that individuals engage in excessive gambling behavior to point that it affects their livelihood. There are, however, subsets of the disorder. For instance, binge gambling involves excessive gambling for brief periods of time.

There is no standardized treatment for gambling addictions, and interventions only produce a disappointing 8 percent one-year abstinence rate on average. Nevertheless, gamblers and loved ones of gamblers should seek help from the group Gamblers’ Anonymous. When combined with psychotherapy—specifically cognitive behavioral treatment—from a professional, the success rates improve drastically.

The best thing that you can do for yourself and your family is admit that you have a gambling addiction. If you have made the step and admitted that you have a problem, you have already fought a large battle. The next step is to seek help. There are several ways that you can get help but the one that will help the most is joining a support group.

There is a support group that is specifically designed to help with gambling addiction and that is Gamblers Anonymous. The group is made of a twelve-step recovery plan which is very similar to Alcoholics Anonymous. For many people, coping with their addiction is possible because they have chosen the best sponsor themselves. Their sponsor is a person who has been through the program and was once and compulsive gambler themselves. They understand the trails and how hard it is to give up gambling. They are available for to you call anytime day or night.

Another option for treatment is getting therapy. The type of therapy for gambling is called cognitive behavioral therapy. This therapy focuses on changing the habits that are associated with gambling like urges to gamble, the way you rationalize your behavior to allow yourself to gamble, and false beliefs about your gambling. The therapy will help you to fight the urge to gamble and teach you how to avoid getting into a situation where you could be tempted to gamble again. The focus of the therapy is to help you manage you life without gambling. It teaches you to continue living without the urge to gamble.

The last part of any recovery program is maintaining recovery for life. Many people find that quitting gambling or any addictive behavior is easier than never doing it against. It is important to surround yourself with people who support your decision to not gamble and say goodbye to anyone who tempts you to lose control.