The first step – admitting you have
a problem
When you loose control of your gambling you reach
a stage where gambling not only disrupts your
life, but completely rules it. The need for that
elusive ‘buzz’ or ‘rush’
that gambling provides overrides everything else.
Concerns about time, money and other commitments
are forgotten.
If this is a state of mind that you recognise
in yourself, then now is the time to do something
about it. Do not wait until it is too late; help
yourself to control your gambling now.
As with all types of compulsive behaviour the
first step is admitting you have a problem. Unfortunately
this is not the same as recognising that you have
a problem. It takes that extra little step to
face up to the fact that, yes, your impulses are
out of control, and only you can do something
about it. Recognising the problem is easy. You
can read up on the subject, absorb and understand
the information given. For an intelligent person
it will all make sense – in fact it is little
more that common sense when you are presented
with the cold hard facts. Yet that final step
of admitting that you are experiencing the problems
you have heard or read about is phenomenally difficult.
This applies to problem gamblers more than those
suffering from other kinds of addictions, for
example alcohol or substance abuse. The reason
being that part and parcel of being a problem
gambler is an overriding belief that you are different
or special. A problem gambler believes that they
can judge which card will be dealt next, outsmart
the bookmaker or the roulette wheel, influence
the outcome of bet, beat the odds, and be a winner.
In order for gambling to develop into a problem
there must be this momentary suspension of logic.
You must genuinely believe that your system is
sophisticated enough, that you are unique among
millions like you, that lady luck is more than
a figment of desperate imagination…
Looked at rationally it is easy to see that this
cannot possibly be the case. Unfortunately detached,
rational thought is often not possible until you
are able to admit that you have problem. Money
worries, strained relationships, loss of employment
and possessions – any one, or a combination
of these may be the deciding factor that forces
you to admit your loss of control and seek help.
It is often said that a problem gambler must reach
crisis point before he or she will actively seek
help. This can be misleading because everybody
has a different crisis point. What to one person
is rock bottom, to another it is just the first
rung on the ladder. If you think you have a problem
with gambling the important thing is not to compare
yourself to others. Do not try to fit yourself
into a category or compare your financial situation
with other peoples. Your decision to take action
should be based on recognising the situation described
above. If it helps you should think about it in
the form of three simple questions:
1. Have you lost control of
your gambling?
2. Is gambling disrupting your
life?
3. Do you constantly crave the
‘buzz’ that you get from gambling?
If the answer is yes then it is time to admit
that you have a problem with gambling.
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