Alright, it is hard to stop gambling and it IS a problem. I Was once able to stop gambling by not really giving it much thought and just going with the flow. But, not even I can stop gambling on every game I play now. I still go to the Casino to have fun and when I have a few dollars left, I stop for a few spins. But that’s yesterday. Today I have a problem.
Gambling is not a problem for me because I am still able to have fun. I have monthly expenses and I am not gambling. It IS a problem for me because that money doesn’t go to the things I enjoy. I see it as a way to get cash then spend it back immediately. It completely revolves around that thought process. “It will be so easy money!” I hear myself say.
This thought process is what has plagued my life. The deeper I dug, the deeper I found problems. Today I am addicted to gambling and if I did not have a gambling problem, I would not have become so broke.
When I think about the money that has been spent on gambling, I want to stop thinking about that. I want to recognize that it was a bad think and stop thinking about it. I want to replace that thought with something else and just think about the fact that I have to pay bills instead of thinking about money.
It is a ritual of mine to start thinking about money when I start having a bad streak of gambling. That way I can distract myself from it and not be stuck in the middle of that thought process. It works for a while but then I start thinking about the next trip to the casino and the gambling habit that I have developed and start beating my self up for not going to the casino. It doesn’t work anymore though and every time I think about that I start gambling more and more.
If I go on vacation and someone there suggests that I should get in touch with my gambling problem, I am sure that I will ignore them. It is a very easy to do and it doesn’t seem as if I am going to wake up one day and not be able to stop gambling.
I think that people that have a gambling problem should see gambling as a problem that is taking over their life and not as a way to be entertained. Someone needs to tell me about all the things that are causing my problems to spiral the way that they are and I should probably listen to them. I might end up getting gambling addiction treatment for my problem, I might not. I hope that I do not because at this point, it is making my life hellacious. I am sure that I will end up getting that gambling addiction treatment, but I hope that I do not because at this point, there is no treatment for it and I have no business wasting my money chasing it.
I just needed to stop gambling at the beginning of this year to have a normal life again. I tried to break free from the control of gambling by consciously stopping all my gambling though I was only partly successful. I think that I was just too far gone at that time to turn back the tide.
Maybe it is better that I stopped my gambling because I was living a lie and I needed to come out of it to have a normal life again. I think that is what I needed to do to get back on my life and to regain my mental health.
Maybe I should have Gamblers Anonymous or Gamblers Anonymous groups in our city. That is how I am currently dealing with my problem. You know the old saying “You have to treat the patient, not the problem”.
You have to find yourself a comfortable seat at the Poker Room and get out of your house, quite a few times. You need to tell people “I have a problem with gambling” not “I have a problem with gambling”. You have to mention the gambling addiction in the same breath as you are getting ready to lose money and not “feel guilty” for having a gambling addiction.
If you have “coping” strategies for your gamblers Anonymous group, you could use them, but you need to promise not to gloat or talk about your gambling addiction while you are having a bad streak of cards. If you can’t say anything positive about your current streak of cards, than you are not ready to have a discussion about your gambling addiction. Do not say that you are quitting because you are bored. Say you are quitting because you are scared to lose your money.
And finally, if you are a pretty girl that likes to dress sexy but you are a hard working girl that likes her job, you need to speak up. You don’t need to say it loud and proud at work. You need to do it in moderation.