- What Is A Gambling Addiction
- How To Overcome A Gambling Addiction Training
- How To Overcome A Gambling Addiction
- How To Overcome A Gambling Addiction
So, what does it really take to beat a gambling addiction?
Stopping problem gambling can be extremely difficult, but once stopped, the ongoing task is to stay stopped. Ex-problem gamblers find it extremely difficult to engage in recreational gambling again. For most problem gamblers, if not all, an abstinence-based approach to recovery is needed in order to enjoy a full and wholesome life. If gambling filled a huge void in your life, was an escape for your problems, and the only thing you really did for recreation, then it may more difficult for you to overcome a compulsive gambling addiction. There is no easy fix or easy way for said self help for gambling. If I that there was, I would not be telling you the truth.
Two basic requirements for quitting gambling
It’s quite simple, really, when you get to the essence of what it takes to quit a gambling addiction. The problem or compulsive gambler first has to genuinely want to quit gambling. That’s easier said than done. Many problem gamblers go for years without coming to that realization. When and if they do, it’s often only a fleeting desire and not compelling enough for them to take action. That’s the second basic requirement to quitting gambling: you have to go through the difficult work it will take to overcome your addiction. But the excuses can come up quickly:
- “I don’t have the time. I can’t take off work.”
- “I don’t really have that big a problem.”
- “I can quit anytime I want.”
- “My gambling isn’t hurting anyone.”
- “What I do is my own business.”
- “I don’t need shrinks prying into my affairs.”
- “No way am I going to some rehab clinic filled with addicts.”
- “I don’t have the money to pay for treatment and my insurance won’t cover it.”
There are many more reasons people tell themselves and others about why they can’t or won’t go into treatment to overcome their gambling addiction. Maybe you’ve even used one or more of these. The point is, until you are ready to say honestly to yourself that you genuinely want to quit gambling forever and you’re willing to do whatever work it takes to do so, you’ll never overcome your addiction. Period.
What’s needed to beat a gambling addiction?
What are the kinds of things that you have to do and that have to change in your life for your gambling recovery to be successful?
Get rid of these assumptions. This won’t be easy to accept. Some popular assumptions about gambling are merely traps. By buying into them, you’re only defeating your ultimate goal – to quit gambling.
- Willpower isn’t enough — Many well-meaning self-help gurus may tell you that with strength of willpower, anything is possible. For a problem or compulsive gambler, willpower may only last until the next urge pops into their mind — and won’t leave. Tell a starving man that willpower will make the hunger go away and see how good that does. Same principle applies with the gambling addict. You can’t tell yourself that you’re strong enough to stay away from gambling and expect that it will do anything other than reinforce your feelings of worthlessness, remorse, guilt and shame when you go right back to gambling.
- You can’t manage your gambling — Another assumption gambling addicts and problem gamblers make is that they can somehow manage their gambling. The person may say they’ll only gamble on every other day, or once a week, or limit themselves to a specific amount of money or block of time. The truth is that any gambling at all is like pouring gasoline on a flame. Once it starts, it’s not going to stop anytime soon. The problem gambler and the gambling addict have long since passed the point of turning their back on the tables. Their compulsion to gamble has taken over their lives, often to the point of complete ruin — financial, family relationships, social, loss of job/home/personal possessions, physical, psychological and legal. There isn’t any managing of gambling possible for the gambling addict.
- You’re not sick — While opinions are divided on whether or not addiction is a disease, get out of the mindset that you’re sick. You’re not dying of cancer — that’s a disease. Gambling addiction is a type of impulse-control disorder — and it’s completely treatable. People who look upon themselves as sick have a built-in excuse: “It’s not my fault. I can’t help it.” Ditch that assumption right now. It won’t do you any good, and will probably derail your efforts to overcome your gambling addiction.
Successfully overcoming your gambling addiction
The following strategies, techniques and beliefs are essential to successfully overcoming your gambling addiction. You learn them and incorporate them into your life through counseling, treatment, behavioral therapy, support meetings – and practice.
- Take back the power in your life — You’ve relinquished power to your gambling addiction. Through treatment, you will learn how to take back the power to make your own decisions, instead of having your addiction control you.
- Learn how to deal with stress — For many gambling addicts, the only way to deal with stress is to escape through gambling. Learn effective techniques to minimize everyday stress and how to cope with unavoidable stress when it occurs.
- Stop labeling yourself an addict — Negative labels are self-perpetuating. Yes, you have an addiction, but you are doing something constructive about it. Learn to think of yourself in recovery.
- Envision a future full of possibilities — free of an addictive lifestyle. Everyone needs to have goals, something they strive for. Learn to envision your life free of addictions, a life that is full of possibilities.
- Mend relationships — Often problem and compulsive gamblers have hurt those they love most, family members and close friends. It’s time to repair that rift, and rebuild close relationships. Remember that those who love and care about you want you to be part of their lives again. Work on making that happen.
- Find a deep life purpose — Why are you here? What deeper purpose does your life hold? Through envisioning, meditation, counseling and discussion you will discover what truly holds meaning for you. This will serve as a foundation upon which to build your future. Reconnect to your values — or form new ones.
- Change your mindset — Learn to stop thinking that you’re doomed to forever be a gambling addict, or that it’s too late to change. Instead, learn to recognize the positive attributes that you possess and work on developing and fostering them.
- Use your mind’s power — Give yourself credit, which means using the power of your mind to help you work through often contradictory emotions and thoughts. Biofeedback and cognitive behavioral therapy will help you channel your energies in the right direction. This will help you remain on track with your goals.
- No more lying — This simple practice has to become embedded. You must learn to tell the truth in all situations. Practice being truthful — and this will be difficult for gambling addicts so used to telling falsehoods. Start with small things like if you’re hungry or thirsty or if you want to discuss a certain topic or not. The more you tell the truth, the easier it will become.
- Be in control — Related to taking back the power, being in control means that you make this an inner belief. Learn self-management techniques.
- Understand why you’ve been stuck — What caused you to begin gambling in the first place? What perpetuated the habit until it became an addiction. Once you’ve identified the reasons, you will learn new behaviors to change your life.
- Quash your urge to gamble — This is critical to your successful recovery, as urges and cravings will pop up at every opportunity. You will learn tried-and-true techniques to quash these urges.
- Rebuild your self-esteem — Gambling addicts have extremely low self-esteem. Through counseling, discussions, lectures, group exercises, meditation and other therapies you will rebuild your sense of self — self-confidence and self-esteem.
- Eliminate guilt, shame and deprivation — All these are negative constructs that have no place in your life in recovery. You will learn to recognize them when they seek to take over your mind and how to banish them forever.
- Learn to manage your money — Maybe you’ve left a swath of financial ruin in your wake. Perhaps you’ve lost everything, including home and personal possessions. You probably owe a great deal of money to many creditors, including personal loans from family and friends. You will learn how to manage your money and put your finances back on track through practical techniques.
- Identify bad habits and learn how to change them — Habits are rooted in repetitive behavior. Not all habits are bad, and you will learn to differentiate between the bad and the good. Time to ditch your old bad habits and replace them with constructive new ones.
- Take responsibility for your problems — Being honest and in control of your circumstances means that you take full responsibility for your problems, and not just your gambling addiction. Once you take ownership of your problems, you can work on solving them.
- Learn to live on your own terms, free of dependencies — You may not be able to see this as a reality until you are many months past treatment and into recovery. But it is a goal to strive for. In fact, you probably can’t even imagine being free of your gambling addiction. You will, if you choose to keep to the two basic requirements: sincerely want to quit gambling and do whatever hard work it takes to make that happen. In fact, related to bad habits are other dependencies that you may also choose to relinquish, such as drinking, smoking, overeating, etc.
- Look at recovery a rewarding and exciting — A future of limitless possibilities, a regained sense of self-esteem and self-confidence, fully in control, accepting of responsibilities, loving and close relationships — and the ability to pursue your dreams — these are what you have to look forward to in recovery. In short, your life in recovery will be every bit as rewarding and exciting as you want it to be.
What Is A Gambling Addiction
Remember, you are in control of your life. Make it what you truly want.
In summary, what does it take to beat your gambling addiction? The answer is: all of the above. And, yes you can do it. So, if you’re ready, why not start now?
View the original article:
https://www.addiction.com/3200/overcome-gambling-addiction/
Related
Has the game become the main concern of your life? Have you forgotten other aspects such as family, work or social relationships? As you can imagine, none of that is going to bring something positive to your life.
In this article, I will explain to you 7 steps to overcome and get out of gambling, return to your previous life and stop wasting your money. On the other hand, you have to keep in mind that you can do it, although you will have to persevere and be strong.
What is Pathological Gambling (addiction to gambling)?
Gambling addiction or gambling addiction is the psychopathological tendency to play, in which the affected cannot resist the impulse to continue playing.
Normally, this addiction developed in three stages:
- Stage 1: earnings that seem easy are generated
- Stage 2: money is lost and you try to win it with an unrealistic optimism.
- Stage 3: destabilization of the game behavior, frustration.
Often, this addiction occurs along with mental disorders such as anxiety, depression or alcoholism and has now increased due to technology; the boom of smartphones and the internet.
Dream racing las vegas review. Some doubts about gambling
I would like to clarify some doubts that you usually have with the problem of the game.
-You do not have to play every day to have problems with the game. You have problems with the game if that causes you problems.
-The problem is not only economic. The game can cause a relationship to break or lose important personal relationships.
-The cause of playing is not of others. Some gambling addicts blame their partners for behaving like that. Doing that is avoiding responsibility for your actions, including doing what is necessary to overcome the problem.
-The problem with the game is not overcome by paying the debts, but by overcoming the addictive behavior.
Symptoms of pathological gambling
In gambling addiction, there are no obvious physical signs, as there are in drug or alcohol addiction. In addition, gaming addicts often hide their addiction to others: they travel long distances to play and hide it from their nearby people.
You may have a problem with the game if:
– You play even when you do not have money: bets until you have lost all the money, later you want to recover using money from cards or borrowed money.
-Your family or friends care about you: it’s because the game is affecting your life.
-You want to hide it: bets in secret and lie about what you bet or what you earn.
-You lose control: you are not able to leave the playing area when you lose.
How to get out of gambling?
Accept that you have problems with the game
The biggest step to take in the treatment of pathological gambling is to accept that you have problems with the game.
It takes courage and strength to do so, especially when a large amount of money has been lost or relationships have been lost along the way.
However, it is a necessary step, and many people who have overcome this problem have had to give it.
Overcoming the problem is not easy, although you can if you seek support and continue the treatment.
Make decisions and resist the temptation
Before starting the game, the decision has been made to do so.
If you have the urge to bet, stop doing what you are doing and call someone or think about the consequences of your actions. Do not pay attention to thoughts about the game and do something else immediately.
On the other hand, remember that the odds are against you. The normal thing is that you lose. Do not see the game as an opportunity to get out of your financial problems.
Some ways to control the impulse are:
- Ask the casino to stop you from entering.
- If you are addicted to online games, install a webpage blocker of this type. In extreme case, temporarily get rid of laptop/computer or smartphone, until you get over the problem.
- Postpone the game: Tell yourself that you will play 5, 15 or 60 minutes later, depending on the time you think you can control. As you wait, the urge to play can happen
- Find support: call family, friends or go to groups of people with the same problem
- Do something else: clean, go to the gym, watch a movie …
- Avoid isolation: look for new ways to build personal relationships
- Think about the consequences and how you will feel if you fall into temptation
![Addiction Addiction](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51LAAzfVCSL._SY445_QL70_.jpg)
Control your money
You can not play without money: get rid of credit cards, save and do not borrow money.
Let other people take charge of your money, have the bank make automatic payments and limit the amount of cash you can get.
Plan your time
If not times to play you will not.
Plan healthy leisure activities that have nothing to do with the game.
Avoid places related to the game
Minimize to the maximum the possibility of playing avoiding the places nearby or that remind you of the places where you play.
You can also tell the establishment that you have problems with the game and ask them to restrict your entry.
Also, block your entry to betting websites. In google extensions, you have extensions that do it.
Look for other activities instead of the game
It is worth reflecting on the different ways in which you try to deal with stressful or irritating situations.
Stress,depression,loneliness or anxiety can trigger the game or make it worse.
To get rid of work or family life there are many other activities that you can have fun with.
Much healthier activities that will have positive consequences on your health are.
- Spend time with friends
- Search for new hobbies
- Exercise
- Relaxation techniques
- Read books
Practice cognitive-behavioral therapy
This therapy focuses on changing thoughts and unhealthy behaviors related to the game, such as rationalizations or limiting beliefs.
It also helps gamblers to:
- Combat the impulses that they have to play
- Treat relational problems arising after addiction
- Deal with financial or labor problems
Visiting a psychologist does not mean that you are weak or that you can not control your problems, but that you are intelligent and responsible enough to realize that you need help.
Keep the recovery
When you overcome the addiction, you may relapse again.
For this, it is essential that you establish certain healthy habits that replace the game:
- To relax sports, relaxation techniques, meditation or massages.
- To socialize: learn social skills, find new friends, go to an NGO, sign up for classes in some activity …
- Loneliness or boredom: finding a new passion like sports, music, art, books …
Seek help from associations or organizations in your country
It is very likely that in your country or city there are organizations specialized in helping people who have problems with the game. They have experience and they will know how to advise.
How To Overcome A Gambling Addiction Training
Do not be ashamed to call them, they have hundreds of cases like yours and their will is to help people overcome gambling and rebuild their lives.
How To Overcome A Gambling Addiction
What are your problems with the game? Are you a gambler or do you want to help someone? I’m interested in your opinion to Thank you!
How To Overcome A Gambling Addiction
Related Posts: