Addictions are a huge social problem, but when we think of addiction, we usually think of substance abuse. While dependencies on drugs and alcohol are the most common, there are other, equally detrimental addictions that are too often overlooked. Addictions can destroy your life, leaving you helpless and unsure of where to turn for help.
Gambling stimulates the reward center of the brain in much the same way drugs and alcohol do, which leads to addictive behavior. It involves the willingness to risk losing something of value in order to gain something of temporary value (the “buzz” derived from gaming) in its place. However, long-term gambling addiction is likely to have serious financial implications as the probability of losing far outweighs the odds of winning. A compulsive gambler will lose their ability to walk away when they start to lose. But a gambling addiction can be overcome, and here, we’ll address how to do that.
Those who struggle with compulsive gambling in Oklahoma or elsewhere may find themselves chasing their losses, accumulating serious debt, depleting their finances, hiding their behavior from loved ones, or even resorting to theft in order to feed their addiction. These behaviors are detrimental and can take a toll on your quality of life. Gambling addiction is as destructive as drugs and alcohol, and to stop is how the destruction ends and how you rebuild your life.
How to Stop a Gambling Addiction: Knowing the Symptoms
The Mayo Clinic describes some of the most common symptoms of gambling addiction as:
- Being preoccupied with gambling, such as constantly planning how to get more gambling money.
- Needing to gamble with increasing amounts of money to get the same thrill.
- Trying to control, cut back, or stop gambling, without success, no matter how badly you want to break the addiction.
- Feeling restless or irritable when you try to cut down on gambling.
- Gambling to escape problems or relieve feelings of helplessness, guilt, anxiety, or depression.
- Trying to get back lost money by gambling more (chasing losses).
- Lying to family members or others to hide the extent of your gambling.
- Jeopardizing or losing important relationships, a job, or school or work opportunities because of gambling.
- Resorting to theft or fraud to get money to feed a gambling addiction they can’t overcome (which is how many gamblers lose crucial social supports).
- Asking others to bail you out of financial trouble because you gambled money away.
Risk Factors
More men than women struggle with a gambling addiction, and many can’t overcome it because of how biological, genetic, and environmental factors conspire to make it seem impossible. It’s important to acknowledge that people with an addiction to gambling often have comorbid mental disorders to overcome, like drug or alcohol addiction, ADHD, OCD, or bipolar disorder, and how these comorbidities can complicate recovery.
It is also more common to see gambling addictions in men than women, and it’s seen more frequently in younger to middle-aged adults, particularly those who gambled during their childhood or teenage years. Other risk factors include influences from family or friends and personality characteristics such as being highly competitive, compulsive, restless, or easily bored. Next, let’s look at strategies to stop gambling addiction and how to activate them.
How to Overcome a Gambling Addiction
The most effective way to stop a gambling addiction is to seek professional advice on how to do it. But if you’re looking for a few tips to start you on the road to recovery, here are some ideas:
Wanting to Stop
As with most addictions, the first step to recovery is realizing you may have a problem and making the conscious decision to do something about it. Many people run into problems when they visit new places, as they may not have a casino or place to gamble that’s close to home, so do your best to stay away from looking for a “casino near me” in every new place you go. Breaking compulsive behaviors is how you commit to beating a gambling addiction and overcome it.
Overcoming Urges
How to stop gambling is to recognize that you have a serious addiction and learn your triggers for gaming. You’ll experience overwhelming urges to gamble on your journey to recovery. Every time you overcome an urge, you get stronger, and future urges become easier to beat. While staying away from casinos is the easiest way to avoid urges, you’ll inevitably come across an opportunity to gamble in the future, which is why learning how to deal with your urges in a healthy way is important. To overcome a gambling addiction, you must manage and understand how your urges and triggers affect your habits.
Let the Urges Pass
Distract yourself if you feel the urge to gamble. Telling yourself that “you won’t gamble today” is how to give yourself breathing room to overcome a gambling addiction. By allowing time for the urge to pass, you can give yourself more control over the compulsion. It’s wise to take some deep breaths and focus on a different activity, such as working outside or exercising. Not giving in to the urges provoked by a gambling addiction the moment they arise allows you time to stop and think about how to make better choices for a less chaotic way of living.
Seek Support
Having a good support system is a crucial part of how to overcome a gambling addiction. It’s much tougher to go it alone, so you could try joining a support group or calling trustworthy friends or family whenever you feel like you might gamble. By the same token, try to avoid other gamblers or people who won’t be sensitive to your situation, as they’re likely to encourage you to make poor choices. Having a reliable source of support is also a good distraction if you feel the urge to gamble. It’s helpful to have someone you can talk to or meet up with to help you distract yourself and overcome those urges.
How to Stop Gambling Addiction With Professional Help
It can be challenging to recover from a gambling addiction, but remember that how you approach the problem is pivotal to stopping it. And while at times it may seem hopeless, remember that plenty of people before you have done just that. If you think you might have a gambling problem and you want to quit, the most reliable and successful option is to seek professional treatment for your addiction. A step-by-step approach, supported by a professional, is how to overcome a gambling addiction.
If you think you are afflicted by a gambling addiction, get help before making your way to a casino again. Tonkawa Hotel & Casino and Native Lights Casino celebrate responsible gaming, and we want you to enjoy your time with us. Learn more about our amenities and plan your trip today!
