Preventing Gambling Addictions

If you or someone you know loves gambling, and loves it a little too much, you should take steps to help prevent a gambling addiction from forming, or getting out of hand.  Here is some advice to help you prevent gambling for fun turn into a gambling addiction, for yourself, and the ones around you that you love.

• Never gamble without the means to do so.  If you have money that you cannot afford to lose, then do not gamble.  If you gamble with the hopes of winning to get ahead, you are setting yourself up for loss and failure.  Gambling should always be a fun, recreational activity, and never a means of dependency for income.
• Remember that gambling comes in more forms than just casinos.  State lotteries are gambling too.  Do not spend too much time, or money vesting in something as simple as the state lottery without the means to do so. 
• If you have a bit of money to spare that you can risk losing and still meet all your other financial obligations, (and yes, we mean all of them, down to gas, groceries, and other vices like cigarettes and alcohol), then by all means gamble with it if you want to.  However, if you lose it, do not spend more trying to win it back.  Walk away immediately.  If you win, do not spend it trying to win more.  Walk away immediately and vest your winnings into something more worth while, such as a meal out with your family, or a movie.

 

The four phases of gambling addiction are listed below:

• Winning Phase: This begins with a big win, and problem gamblers begin to think they have a talent for gambling.  They believe that the more they play, the more they will win, and therefore, they begin to spend more time and money on gambling.
• Losing Phase: These gamblers are the ones that start gambling alone, and skip work to gamble.  They start to gamble to chase their money, for a chance to win back what they have lost.
• Desperation Phase: All control is lost here.  They recognize what they are doing, and feel shame over it, along with the money they have wasted.  They cannot stop gambling, and it furthers they cycle of shame... thinking that if they can win one more time to compensate for the losses, they will stop and all will be well.
• Hopeless Phase: This is the rock bottom.  These are the ones that do not care if they live or die, get help or do not get help.  Sometimes these gamblers will abuse drugs and alcohol to rid themselves of the pain and shame from gambling.