Twenty Questions About Gambling Addiction.

 

 

For most people a night out to the local casino can be an exciting way to spend the evening. If you enter any casino, you can bet that the players have all come to the venue for different reasons; some want to learn new skills needed to play with the primary intention of winning money; others just play for the entertainment value.

 

Gambling is an enjoyable pastime for most people, the lure of a win simply adds to the excitement for most. Many people get an adrenaline rush when they gamble; they often experience a high that correlates with the amount of money they wager, the greater the risks, the better the rush. For a large minority of players the feeling of gambling can be seductive, and the allure can be too great to walk away- sometimes these feelings twist out of control, and what was once fun becomes dark, as the two faces of compulsion and addiction take over.

 

Addictions are compulsive feelings leading to specific behaviours. An activity can start as a pleasurable pastime, but over time becomes an uncontrollable and destructive craving. People can become addicted to many things, alcohol, drugs, washing their hands, gambling...

 

What starts as a little bit of entertainment can soon tip over into full-blown addiction, and when the thrill of gambling outweighs other life priorities, and then the likelihood is that the person has crossed from played into addict. In addition, as with all forms of addiction, gambling addiction can have a devastating affect on the person’s life as well as that of their family’s.

 

 

Gambling Anonymous provides a list of 20 questions, which a person who believes they may have a gambling problem can answer in order to ascertain how severe an addiction they may or may not have. If you are worried that you may be succumbing to a gambling addiction, then consider carefully the following questions; answer each one honestly:

 

 

20 Questions:

 

“1.Did you ever lose time from work or school due to gambling?

2. has gambling ever made your home life unhappy?

3. Did gambling affect your reputation?

4. Have you ever felt remorse after gambling?

5. Did you ever gamble to get money with which to pay debts or otherwise solve financial difficulties?

6. Did gambling cause a decrease in your ambition or efficiency? 7. After losing did you feel you must return as soon as possible and win back your losses?

8. After a win did you have a strong urge to return and win more?

9. Did you often gamble until your last dollar was gone?

10. Did you ever borrow to finance your gambling?

11. Have you ever sold anything to finance gambling?

12. Were you reluctant to use "gambling money" for normal expenditures?

13. Did gambling make you careless of the welfare of yourself or your family?

14. Did you ever gamble longer than you had planned?

15. Have you ever gambled to escape worry or trouble?

16. Have you ever committed, or considered committing, an illegal act to finance gambling?

17. Did gambling cause you to have difficulty in sleeping?

18. Do arguments, disappointments, or frustrations create within you an urge to gamble?

19. Did you ever have an urge to celebrate any good fortune by a few hours of gambling?

20. Have you ever considered self destruction or suicide as a result of your gambling?”

 

Often a person who has a problem with gambling will have answered yes to as few as seven of the above questions.

 

Occasionally, a person may believe that they have a gambling issue and upon answering the above questions come to realise that they do. If you find that you or someone you know seems to have a gambling problem then there are many resources available to help, to begin with you should look at the Gambling Anonymous website as they have many useful articles on the problem of gambling, they also run meetings throughout the UK where people with a gambling addiction can meet fellow sufferers and discuss their problems with people who will genuinely understand the problem and be able to offer useful advice.

 

As with any form of addiction, the first port of call for the sufferer is to acknowledge that they have a problem that is interfering with their everyday lives. Many people who suffer from an addiction will be in denial regarding their problem, but there are organisations that can help to overcome these problems.

 

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