Movies and TV portray gambling as sophisticated games that payout huge amounts to the players. While there are jackpot games that payout insane amounts of cash, they are not meant to be so sophisticated. Casino gaming is intended to be a leisurely activity where you can stake a small amount out of your earnings for a good time. Today, very few people view it as such.
How do we know that? There has been an exponential rise in gambling addiction among players, who find it difficult to manage their finances. Gambling addiction, like all forms of addiction, can be self-assessed and nipped in the bud. You should look out for signs of gambling addiction to assess it at the earliest and take necessary action to curtail it.
Signs Of Gambling Addiction
Thinking About Gambling:
If you are constantly thinking about gambling and plan your day according to your gambling schedules, you might be addicted to gambling. If it is the case, you won’t get enough time to spend with your family or friends. Similarly, if you are constantly thinking about gambling strategies, it is also a precursor of gambling addiction.
Experiencing Heavy Highs and Lows:
If you ever experience a heavy high when you win in a casino game and experience a heavy low while losing, it might be a sign of gambling addiction. Also, if you don’t feel the same high as before after a series of gambles, you will tend to stake more money to achieve the same high that you once experienced. This is a clear sign of gambling addiction.
Compulsive Lying:
If you feel like you need to lie all the time to conceal your gambling activities, even to your most loved ones, it is a sign of gambling addiction. People addicted to gambling are compulsive liars. They lie the most when confronted about their gambling addiction.
Immense Urge to Gamble:
If you are faced with any difficult situation in life and you feel like you should gamble to hide from that situation instead of solving it, you are clearly addicted to gambling.
Financial Burden:
If you feel like money isn’t enough for your daily activities because you have diverted the money for funding your gambling, it could be a financial burden. If your savings are being depleted very easily, you could be addicted to gambling.
What To Do?
The first step to take if you are addicted to gambling is to acknowledge the ill effects of it. Accept that gambling has been deteriorating your mental and physical health. Then motivate yourself to stop gambling. However, it might not be possible in a single day. You will need constant motivation to give up a habit that controls you. If you feel that you are addicted to gambling, you should seek immediate help. Such as:
- Therapy: Addiction is a mental condition that can be completely cured with the help of a psychiatrist or a psychologist. These trained professionals can help you overcome gambling through therapies and counseling sessions. They try to help you understand the ill effects of such behavioral problems and persuade you to give it up.
- Help From Support Groups: Support groups are people who have previously fought their addictions. They provide insight into their journey of coming out of their addictions. The discussions and constant motivations of such peer groups or discussion groups can highly benefit you. Learning through their experiences can help you to pull yourself out of this addiction.
- Hotline Numbers: If you can’t access a physician or a psychologist in time, you can always call the gambling addiction hotline numbers. 1-800-GAMBLER or any similar hotline number on the internet will provide you with free telephone therapies to help you get on track. Even though it is not a permanent solution, a word of help at the right time can do wonders.
- Support Person: If you know you are addicted to gambling, tell your most dearest one about it. Ask them to be your support person who can help you regain your motivation and battle the addiction. There are responsible gaming tools where you can assign someone as a support person, who can monitor your finances and gambling activities.
How To Limit Gambling
If you have made up your mind to reform yourself and curtail your gambling, follow these simple steps to limit your gambling.
- Keep a tab on your spending.
- Limit the time spent on gambling.
- Keep your loss in check.
- Review your gambling.
- Take regular breaks from gambling.
- Restrain from gambling if you are sad or feeling low.
- Do not gamble under the influence of alcohol or recreational drugs.
- Never borrow any money to gamble.
Conclusion
Online gambling is one of the most popular forms of entertainment around the world. There are thousands of online casinos operating under legal licensing. Betting an amount on chance and predicting the outcome is rather a very entertaining activity. However, similar to liquor and drugs, gambling can also be highly addictive. If you are addicted to it, no amount of betting can satisfy your hunger for gambling.
If you ever feel like you are getting addicted to gambling, the first thing you should do is to acknowledge that it has started to affect your day-to-day life and other activities. Then, seek the methods to curtail your addiction. Most online casinos are equipped with responsible gambling tools to help you overcome your addiction. If it still continues, seek professional help. Online gambling is supposed to be a leisurely activity. You should control your gambling urge rather than allowing it to control you.