Gambling Addiction & Recovery Support Group
Compulsive gambling is an urge or addiction to gamble despite harmful negative consequences or a desire to stop. A preferred term among many professionals is problem gambling, as few people described by the term experience true compulsions in the clinical sense of the word. Problem gambling often is defined by whether harm is experienced by the gambler or others rather...
Did anyone watch The Dr Phil Show yesterday? He had a women on the show that was addicted to gambling. There were times during the show that people laughed at her. Her pain was clear to see, or did I just see it knowing the feelings she was trying to express?
He started out the show buy asking, "Who wants to win Four Hundred Thousand Dollars?" After asking this question he then proceeds to let people know all the things this money could have bought, but instead his guest blew it at a casino.
This disease is not taken seriously. This women reaches out for help and get ridiculed and laughed at. What an ass Dr Phil is.
That being said, she agreed to be sent off for help.
So much Dr Phil could have done to educate people on the addiction. He treated her as Stupid women get your act together. When she told him of her past on how she lost a child, he then has some what of a "Lets look and see if this is a bigger issue." Of course there is a bigger issue and he knew it, but first he had to put her down!
Guess I am still mad.
He started out the show buy asking, "Who wants to win Four Hundred Thousand Dollars?" After asking this question he then proceeds to let people know all the things this money could have bought, but instead his guest blew it at a casino.
This disease is not taken seriously. This women reaches out for help and get ridiculed and laughed at. What an ass Dr Phil is.
That being said, she agreed to be sent off for help.
So much Dr Phil could have done to educate people on the addiction. He treated her as Stupid women get your act together. When she told him of her past on how she lost a child, he then has some what of a "Lets look and see if this is a bigger issue." Of course there is a bigger issue and he knew it, but first he had to put her down!
Guess I am still mad.
Most ppl don't take addiction seriously .. no matter what it is .. gambling, booze, drugs. Its a HUGE epidemic in this country and little is done for the sufferer.
But as the saying goes " You cant help someone who doesn't want to help themself".
I know from my own experience how sad and unhappy I have been from the effects of gambling. I also know Im the only one who can change that .... and it will take a lot of work on my part and the biggest biggy of them all, is that I have to be willing to ask for help.
That somehow gamblers are spineless, amoral and shameful. They treat heroin addicts and alcoholics with more compassion.
The TV show is only a reflection of the public attitude and usually 5-10 years behind the times.
Attitudes are changing because there are more and more casinos and more and more compulsive gamblers. Most people now, know at least one problem or compulsive gambler. Each time we in recovery, tell our story to an outsider we educate a little more. We are the trailblazers that will eventually help to smooth the way for others just starting on their journey of recovery.
We can best get even by living well and proving there is life after gambling.
I remember a couple of years ago that there was a news report about a woman who had won over 20 million dollars in the lottery. She promptly went to a casino and lost all that PLUS 2 million more. The reader comments made me cry. I saw it as a tragic example of how devastating this addiction could be, while the vast majority of commenters just trashed her as stupid and crazy.
My therapist was very experienced in treating gambling addiction, it is her specialty, and unfortunately her clientele has grown exponentially since they opened a casino here. I wish Dr. Phil had devoted an entire program to gambling addiction with certified therapists who could have educated the public. Or maybe he could have at least visited this page and learned a little before opening his big mouth!
Even with my addiction, I am sometimes pained that friends and family who know don't fully give me empathy at times. One even said, "Well, it's not like that's a real addiction, that's a behavior. You can just, like, stop." I recognize that one of the reasons I became an addict in the first place was out of a cry for help. Because I wanted someone else to recognize my pain. Because I didn't know what else to do in order to feel better and manage my life and deal with some of the underlying emotions I experience in my daily life.
Gambling addicts often experience similar withdrawal symptoms to alcoholics or drug users, especially in the beginning, while dopamine levels start to regulate. Even after the initial period, gambling addicts (like alcoholics and drug users) need to find ways to cope with stress, self-soothe, and manage their lives without gambling.
This is a real disease, and I know someday it will be recognized as such. In the meantime, be strong. Know you are sick, and do whatever it takes to heal.