How to Quit Gambling
When trying to figure out how to quit gambling, knowing the signs of gambling addiction can be very important. Gambling addiction has been around for a long time, but the explosion of the internet over the past few decades has created a new type of gambling – online gambling. Gambling has become something that you can do without leaving your house, or your bed even.
The internet benefits us in more ways than we could count, but it can also be very detrimental. For someone who wants to stop gambling, the availability of it right from their own home can make recovery very difficult. In the United States alone, approximately 6 million people are problem gamblers. Online gambling has made it almost a certainty that this number will only continue to rise. The instant gratification and the ease of online gambling is part of the reason these numbers continue to increase.
Signs of Gambling Addiction
Just like any other addiction, gambling can be very destructive. When a person can’t stop gambling, it hurts them and everyone around them terribly, just like an addiction to drugs or alcohol does. The following are common signs of gambling addiction:
- Being unable to stop once you start
- Spending more money than you originally planned
- Being pre-occupied with gambling – always thinking of when you can gamble next and how to get more money to gamble with
- Needing to gamble more often or with more money to get the same rush/high
- Lying about your gambling
- Missing important work or family events due to your gambling
- Feeling angry/irritable/restless when you can’t gamble
- Stealing to get money for gambling
- Continuing to gamble despite negative consequences you suffer from gambling
- Trying to cut back on gambling but not being able to
A loss of control and continued gambling despite experiencing negative consequences are hallmark signs of gambling addiction.
When an alcoholic is told to stop drinking but they aren’t yet ready to do so, they will hide their drinking and do whatever it takes to continue drinking. A gambling addict will do the same – they will gamble despite what their family and loved ones say, and they will continue gambling even when they are in severe debt. Like most addicts, gamblers often engage in this behavior as a way to escape negative feelings.
Someone who is addicted to gambling may spend almost every waking moment thinking about it or doing it. They may start missing family and social events, or they may start having trouble at work due to their preoccupation with gambling or due to their actual gambling. At some point, what they’re doing isn’t enough. Like drug and alcohol users build up a tolerance, gamblers experience something very similar. As the gambling addiction progresses, the addict will spend significantly more money and time gambling to experience the same sort of ‘high’ that they did in the beginning.
A gambling addict may want to stop, but they don’t really know how to quit gambling. They often try to stop but end up slipping back into old habits and start gambling again. Like drug addicts and alcoholics, a gambling addict will experience cravings and may become extremely agitated if they cannot get their ‘fix.’
Gambling Addiction Help: How to Quit Gambling
Like any other addiction, there are ways to get help. Learning what kind of support is available when considering how to quit gambling will be very beneficial. One of the most important parts of recovering from gambling addiction is admitting that there is a problem. When a person recognizes that there is a problem, they can then receive the help that they need and deserve. One of the best options to stop gambling is to enter an inpatient gambling treatment center.
There aren’t as many gambling rehabs as there are for drug addiction and alcoholism, but they do exist and can be extremely beneficial. There are also 12 step programs, like Gamblers Anonymous, that can help people stop gambling. Abstinence is possible, and many people are in recovery from gambling. That doesn’t mean it’s easy, though. For someone who has a problem with drugs or alcohol, it is easy to monitor abstinence through drug testing. With gambling, it can be a bit more complicated.
There are certainly ways to help someone and monitor their gambling habits, though. One of the most obvious ways is keeping track of money. Another helpful tool can be to limit internet use. If you are gambling in person and not online, stay away from places that you normally go to gamble. Don’t go to casinos, don’t go to card games, etc.
It’s important to figure out what works best for you or your loved ones when trying to recover from gambling addiction.