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Gambling Disease
Gambling Disease and Compulsive Gambling facts
Gambling disease affects everyone that has a disposition to compulsive and
addictive behaviors, whether you are a Bingo Player, casino gambler, or have
sports betting problems the solutions are the same.
All gambling produces adrenalin ( the fight or flight drug )and endorphins,
self produced by your own bodies reaction to the risk taken. The body in turn
becomes tolerant and familiar with the drug as it is repeated Therefore
compulsive gamblers need to experience a greater risk - higher bet - to
get the same high.
Nalmephene and other drugs may have some short term effect to slow
down a gambling disorder but it is simply a replacement drug for the adrenalin.
Root causes need to be addressed for long term success.
It is a well known and accepted fact that to recover fully from any
addiction, three specific areas need to be properly addressed and effectively
treated.
Chemical Abstinance
Firstly, chemical abstinence needs to occur.
- In the case of compulsive gamblers, the chemical is all produced by the
gamblers own body. Hence, adrenalin and endorphins produced by the action
addiction of gambling need to be avoided. Therefore, gambling is not case
sensitive, ie, all forms of gambling will produce some levels of these
substances.
- Gambling may be also be a means of escaping from other problems in a marriage
or at work, so it may go unnoticed as a significant problem itself. Compulsive
gambling affects the gambler, his or her family, employer, and the
community.
- As the gambler goes through the phases of addiction, less time is spent with
family, and more of the family money is spent on gambling until bank accounts
are depleted.
- Then the gambler may steal money from family members. At work, the
pathological gambler misuses time in order to gamble, has difficulty
concentrating and finishing projects, may engage in embezzlement, employee
theft, or other illegal activities - thus creating even more stress and
adrenalin adding to the progressive nature of the 'action drug addiction'.
- Withdrawal
from these substances will not decrease until the body stops producing them.
Attendance at GA meetings helps to place these normal withdrawal symptoms
in their true perspective.
- It is important to see the withdrawal symptoms as simply a natural part of
recovery, medicating these symptoms will only prolong the recovery
process.
- A good GA sponsor can also be invaluable to the recovering member in the area
of avoiding or dealing with the pitfalls of switching and/or other active
addictions.
Emotional roots
Secondly, all addictions are well understood to have emotional roots.
What's 'eating' us needs to be addressed.
- Again, attendance at GA meetings goes a long way toward rooting out fears
and resentments. As well good feelings may have been stuffed down for years,
and co-dependencies like 'people pleasing' and being a 'doormat' may have been
prevalent in the gambling addicts relationships with others.
- Also, many addicts righteously carry abuse issues with them.
- Although these issues may be very true and definitely inappropriate, they are
often embellished to provide a 'red
herring' excuse for the gambling addict to continue in their addictive
behaviors.
- To properly recover, these issues and feelings all need to be addressed and
put in perspective. A GA sponsor can be a great asset in dealing with these
issues. A good GA sponsor can also assist a GA member to work through the
financial recovery, however, they are careful not to "bailout" the
member, rather assisting by arranging for the 'pressure relief' formula as
prescribed by Gamblers Anonymous.
Spiritual Values
Thirdly, all addicts benefit greatly by adopting a better
understanding of spiritual
values. The Alcoholics
Anonymous Big Book, which is the grandfather of the GA program, defines a
spiritual experience as simply 'an attitude change' necessary to recover from
their addictive disease or disorder. According to some studies 44% of
compulsive gamblers also abuse alcohol or other drugs.
GA provides an atmosphere where such an attitude change can occur in it's own
time no matter what the individuals specific beliefs are.
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Regular attendance at GA meetings and using the GA 12 Recovery
Steps are the best treatment for recovering gamblers/
adrenalin addicts.
The GA recovery steps are adapted with permission from the AA twelve
steps, which were written in 1937 from an accumulation of spiritual
principles from various recovery and religious organizations.
These steps are non-denominational thereby opening
GA membership to all races, religions, professions and social
levels.
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