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...
I know i have a gambling problem its not so much with the casinos anymore (it used to be really bad) as it is with online poker. I am not a horrible player when it comes to poker i have won big and lost big and it can become and issue. At times i want to stop and never want to be able to think about it again but other times i just want to try and keep it under control because i do enjoy the game and am not all that bad at it when im under control and not playing just to try and win big. Does anyone have any advice if they have went through something similar and have you found anyway to control yourself or do you just try to force yourself to stop all together? Ive gambled on and off for the last 5 years and at times it has become a very serious issue
Welcome! I had to force myself to just not go to the casino .. and I have been here on a very regular basis to gain strength from the nice Folks here that have been trying to help me.
I too am from Michigan and actually not to awful far from where you are ... I believe there are some GA meetings in your area or not far from you. ( the closest one for me is over an hour away ).
Please keep coming back here ... I am sure someone who knows more about the internet gambling will come along and advice you on how to block yourself from it. ( I don't have any experience with internet gambling ).
Ask yourself have you won $ overall playing poker? How much time have to spent playing? What have you given up to play poker? Can you do more productive things with your time?
Very few make $ playing. Someone wins a big tournie but you rarely hear about the losses these guys have in high stakes cash games. It's a rollercoaster ride just like any type of gambling. You can't control the cards.
You said it has become an serious issue. Doesn't sound like you can be the guy who plays a poker game once a month or so with your buddies with a small by in and have a good time.
I wish you the best and hope you can stop this serious problem that has developed.
There is an invisible line, that once crossed, there is no turning back, once you start gambling compulsively. Gambling compulsively includes gambling for more time than you wanted, spending more than you wanted and feeling withdrawals when you stop.
Most the people that regularly come here to D/S know we are addicted compulsive gamblers. Most of us have been completely financially, mentally, emotionally and spiritually bankrupted by gambling and our lives became miserable, isolated, robotic, trance-like motions that were not life at all.
If you don't spend the rent money, and you take care of all your obligations, and if you are spending quality time with your loved ones, and are taking good care of yourself in every other way, then you can probably be okay with controlled gambling. For me it would be playing with a deadly fire.