How to Get Rid of Gambling Addiction?
Gambling has existed for quite a while. We don’t know when exactly this phenomenon formed, but what we know well since its appearance has stayed with us, and surely we don’t want to lose it completely, but to educate ourselves on how to cooperate with it mindfully. Before we dive into the pitfall of gambling, we recommend you educate yourself on one of the best resources about online sports betting in Nigeria.
With technological progress, gambling has become even more convenient for us to do whenever possible. You don’t have to go to ventures like betting shops or casinos; the only requirement is a mobile phone. If you’re of legal age, you can easily create an account on an online betting platform and start wagering and gambling. Time and space are not the limits anymore.
However, due to different personal, social, and financial factors, in some cases, it can turn out to be a real tragedy with dreadful complications not only in the life of a gambler but in the life of her inner circle. But what are those traits that cause gambling addiction? How do you detect them, and what should you do afterward to fight this addiction?
How Does It Work?
If we study the brain of the person who gambles, we may find certain patterns that resemble chemical addictions like nicotine, alcohol, and drugs. It can stimulate the brain’s reward system, making a person crave more for wagering and getting hooked on an adrenaline rush. A person cannot build resilience against those moments of weakness because the biochemistry of his or her brain has changed dramatically. And what worked out previously when gambling was just a funny pastime may not be applied anymore when a person mortgages the house to win back. However, we want to assure you that it is not forever. Due to certain techniques, internal cleaning, and honesty with yourself, you can get out of this vicious cycle of gambling, debts, lapses, and depression.
Symptoms and Factors of Gambling
Before we start to help you build new neural connections that can help you fight against your addiction, we want you to take a look at the symptoms of gambling addiction and honestly ask yourself whether or not this can be applied to you:
- You are preoccupied with gambling; you plan it and manage your time to do it.
- You increase the amount of money you place stakes with.
- You get irritable when you cut down on gambling.
- You chase losses to win back the money you lost.
- You get into debt to continue gambling.
- You lie about your hobby and try to hide the truth about it.
- You ask people to bail you out of financial issues to get the money back.
How did it make you feel when you read this list? Were there a lot of moments that resonated with your gambling experience? We want to assure you that there are a lot of risk factors that contribute to the development of this addiction. The key points are:
- Age;
- Gender;
- Mental health issues (for example, obsessive-compulsive disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder);
- Certain personality traits (competitiveness, impulsiveness).
Women are less likely to become addicted to gambling than men, and people of younger age and middle age are in the risk group. However, in general, it is not completely understood why we gamble compulsively. Like in many problems, there is a cluster of biological, genetic, and environmental factors.
But we do understand that gambling addiction is extremely corrosive to our society. It leads to difficulties in relationships and financial problems, it causes poor work performance and even suicides. Undoubtedly, this must be solved.
Tips to Stop Gambling a Lot
Let us step a little aside from the main theme of the article. When it comes to ADHD, people get more vulnerable to being carried away in the gambling world due to certain thinking patterns. Nevertheless, it doesn’t necessarily mean that if you have this disorder, you will get addiction problems. This disorder has a lot of disadvantages, but there is also a bright side to it. People with ADHD are more passionate, creative, and energetic, they have a great sense of humor. It means that if you are aware of your problem, you can turn it upside down; every cloud has a silver lining. And you may use your gambling addiction as a tool to develop self-awareness and self-knowledge. These traits are the key factors in addiction recovery.
So, if you are ready to admit that you have issues with gambling, we are here to help you solve this problem with a bunch of advice.
Prevent
First of all, you have to prevent others and yourself from developing this issue. Encourage your relatives that you used to spend time gambling and betting to be involved in other positive social activities. And if you start to notice that there is a shift in your mind about gambling and you take it a bit more seriously, take a step back and gather your thoughts. Pinpoint what triggers you to think about gambling.
Set Goals
Quite often, people gamble because of social isolation and leisure substitution. In rural Africa, there is a lack of places to spend time with benefits, like cinemas and amusement parks, but there are a lot of betting shops. And the least of all evils would be to go on these ventures to socialize and have fun. But we recommend you get a fuller picture of yourself and set short- and long-term goals. This may help you focus on other crucial aspects of your life and, consequently, move the center of gravity away from your addiction.
Avoid High-Risk Situations
We encourage you to go cold turkey if you feel like you have a huge problem with gambling. And one of the best pieces of advice is to avoid high-risk situations when you can relapse into gambling again. The environment plays a huge role in your gambling addiction. If you build it so that you’re less likely to place bets, there will be less temptation to start gambling again.
Talk About Your Addiction
Sure, you have friends and family; you can rely on them to discuss your problems. Explain to them your current situation and confess anything that you lied to them about. We know that this step may seem a bit hard, but it relieves a lot. Their feedback would have a therapeutic effect.
Relax in a Good Way
Breaking bad habits is hard; however, you can always find a better replacement for that, like doing sports, yoga, meditation, etc. You have trained your brain to get pleasure out of placing stakes; by making some effort, you may do the same with beneficial habits.
Control Your Cash
If you don’t want to go cold turkey, you should at least have harm reduction therapy. One of the ways to do so is to manage your funds. By setting a clear budget, you have to negotiate with yourself to control yourself and not break the rules.
Delay in Deciding to Gamble
If you compelled yourself to gamble, try to compel yourself to do that later. Most likely, your desire would fade, and you would crave it less. This technique is a great tool to reduce the harm of quitting a bad habit, as it releases the internal tension of controlling yourself.
Recognize the Benefits of Stopping Gambling
As you stop gambling and the urge to gamble dissipates, you realize that many improvements come to your life after you break your habit. Slow down the pace and concentrate on them; it will make you appreciate more what you have done on this journey.
Prepare for a Lapse
Even if you place stakes again, don’t worry because it is absolutely fine. Use it to dive deep inside yourself and track what happened to you and what triggered you. By using this information, you may find a solution to your problem. One of the great ways to manage this internal audit is to keep a diary where you write everything you feel. Surely, you can kick this destructive habit; just stay fair to yourself.
Conclusion
As with every phenomenon, gambling is neither good nor bad; it takes these characteristics when we abuse it or benefit from it. But if you feel like you have developed an addiction, you may take a deep look inside yourself and try to figure out why this has happened to you. We hope that with the help of the tools that we have listed above, it will be easier for you!
