Very very surprised it has not been mentioned here. I had a problem with this. GA did not do anything for me. I did not believe in their mantra of "stopping completely" or else you will keep going back. Gambling addiction is different from other addictions because it draws you back to it (ie when you win big on the rare occasion) you are convinced everything is good again and continue to do it. While it may not affect your body like a cigarette or cocaine, it can leave you destitute and cause you to do things you would never do such as steal, borrow money and in severe cases get beat up and mangled or end up in jail. People don't give gambling addiction the recognition it deserves I suppose because it affects a smaller percentage of hte population than drug addiction. And who here has not placed a bet on a game or played a cash poker game. Very few go on to become addicted to it. For me it gave me that high in an otherwise mundane 9-5 job and boring life. And of course the money. But initially it was about the money and then it just became "wanting to have action" otherwise I would feel restless.
All addictions affect a human by stimulating one's pleasure hormones, and it does not necessarily have to involve drugs. Gambling in moderation is okay, but gambling to the point of financial bankruptcy is crazy. I've seen people go broke and having to beg for money to gamble more, after he/she lost their playing money with one hand of a card game. The way I handle my gambling leisure, is to only use the money I have in my pocket, meaning no using debit or credit cards ever, and my limit is under $100 if I'm playing card games or roulette. If I don't win anything or double, I quit and simply go home. It's called currency for a reason, because money comes and go like the currents of a river.
Well said valiantx. I like that statement "It's called currency for a reason, because money comes and go like the currents of a river." I never heard that before.
My mom, aunt, and other family members have problem with this. Every since those casinos came to town, it's been hurting some people. It's a very nasty addiction. You really go through the highs and lows just like with any drug.
My problem was never the casino though. I was betting big on sports when I was addicted. I cannot tell you how many times my car ran out of gas on the highway and I had to walk to a station fill a container with gas and put it in my car to get a few more miles home. All because I used whatever I had for gambling. I was sending money abroad at whim. I was sending 20 dollar western unions for 10 dollar fees. It was insane. The counter people used to look at me strangely. I skipped meals to gamble and when I did eat it was some 2.50 cent burrito at Taco Bell. I sold most of the stuff I owned. And other things that were precious to me I pawned and never got back.
Gambling addiction is a psychological addiction. I have not researched it much, but I do know it can destroy people's finances, their family, their whole life really because of debts and unpaid bills due to gambling. But at the same time there are little to know outward signs of the addiction unless the person talks about gambling a lot of talks about their financial woes. It can be hard for friends or family to see that someone is developing this addiction until they are so far into it that their life is a wreck.
It is believed that gambling can be an addition more dangerous than being addicted to drugs. A gambler who loses money consistently [and that's the norm for most gamblers] ends up getting depressed. Now since gamblers don't have a bank account which doesn't go into the negative, once borrowing money doesn't work, depression sets in. The realization that their money was wasted for nothing stings. When someone gets to that point, either they'll turn to substance abuse to cope or they'll try to kill themselves to get away from it all.
It can indeed, imagine watching your spouse gamble away the money that you worked hard to save so that you can put you children through college, something like that can completely destroy a relationship that took years to flourish.
Yes at one GA meeting I went to there was a lady who said she felt she was financially raped by her husband who gambled all their money away that they had saved up over the years. She went on to say it was worse than rape which I do not agree with but I think she was just having a moment.
Very few cases where they end up taking their own lives statistically. You are still better off being broke and at a homeless shelter versus a drug addict who will sell themselves or kill someone for a hit. Gambling addiction is not chemical abuse where your body becomes dependent on it and if you don't get that chemical in your body you go berserk. There are exceptions but this is not the norm for gamblers. They just go broke and homeless. Even stealing is considered extreme for gambling addicts. The addiction is not that bad that they will become prostitutes or hurt someone to get their fix. Again there are always exceptions but very very few.
I never had a case of this among the people I know, but I am aware that people snap and can lose all they have. I don't get this addiction, what's the point in losing all we have?
Gambling addiction , is rarely mentioned, yet it is causing havock in peoples lifes, some people even become great robbers because of this problem, some can gamble all the money they have up to the jewelry they have they always have hope that, they are going to win in the next round, but it never works that way, I wish people could pay attention to theis gambling addiction
Admittedly, I like to gamble, but on a very small scale. I never invest more than I can lose. I go by my hunches which are usually fruitful. But I have rarely experienced anything like a rush that went to my head, where I felt that I needed to continue and risk more. I can only imagine how much damage a gambling addict can cause not just to him/herself but to his entire family. It's simply terrible if you can't control your gambling urges and take big risks that might create a financial disaster for those who depend on you.
Some people lose it all, they are able to steal just to go back to the gambling tables, but what's the thrill, what's the rush, those people are sick indeed and need help.
In my case it was more that I became cognizant of the damage I was doing to my family and my own finances. I was basically selling my own stuff off although I loathe to admit I did pawn some of my parent's stuff to gamble. Most of it was bought back. The stuff that I pawned that belong to me was lost because I proceeded to lose the money gambling and then was not able to make the payment in time to get the item back.
As a hobby I still do it but very very sparingly. For example because it is Thanksgiving I will put a $10 bet on a 3 team parlay in the NFL games just for some action. Even as a parlay the payout will not be more than $100 so it is not about money. Just that little action. Some of you will say I am crazy for still doing it even a little after the havoc it caused in my life but I set certain rules about when and how much to gamble after I came to terms with my addiction and have stuck to all of them for the past 5 years+. I would say I have bet less than $1000 every year for the last 5+ years. Before that it was ... well that is personal but not even in the same ballpark as a $1000.
It's the *chance* of winning big and making all of your losses back with profit, but of course they just keep chasing their losses and losing more and more. People need to realize that if they had any real chance of winning, there wouldn't be any big luxurious casinos, they pay for themselves.
Yes, I also understand that Strykstar, we can change our life in one minute, we just need to keep in mind that we can do it for the better and for the worse.
Exactly, I guess people start falling into a spiral when they think their life is already bad, so it can't get much worse but can get MUCH better, sadly this logic makes sense to them.