Whether you are struggling with a drug addiction, compulsive eating, or a gambling addiction, the symptoms are generally all about the same. Let’s look at a few of them.
Warning Signs of Compulsive Gambling
- An obsession with gambling to the point where you are frequently thinking about it.
- Unable to stop gambling, even when you recognize it’s a problem.
- Continuing to gamble, even if there are negative consequences of it.
- Psychological withdrawal symptoms, when you’re not gambling. This could include depression, irritability, or mood swings.
- Gambling is used as a tool to improve happiness.
- Stealing in order to have money to gamble.
- Denial that you have a gambling problem.
- Financial problems as a result of your gambling.
- Leading a double life with many in your regular life unaware of your gambling or how much you gamble. Many people with a gambling addiction appear to lead a normal life. This makes it much harder for friends and family to spot a problem.
Finding the Root
Gambling, like other compulsions, is often a side effect of some other issue. You can try to hide from it with cards or lottery tickets, but the longer you resist tackling the core problem, the harder it will be. You may be using gambling to self-medicate for depression, or perhaps it’s the thrill of the dopamine release, or a side effect of bipolarity. There are many reasons why an addiction may exist, and there are many people who understand what you are experiencing. Help and support groups are available to help you recover and deal with this compulsive behavior. Gambling addiction help exists to work with you to confront your addiction, to create new coping strategies to resist it, and to tackle the root causes of your addiction.
Gambling addiction affects you, it affects your family, and has general societal consequences. But it is something that can be defeated. Please call us at (855) 441-2449 to learn more about what options exist to help you build the tools necessary to defeat an addiction to gambling.