With more and more people gambling these days, there are
more reported cases of gambling addiction than ever before.
Gambling problems can manifest themselves in many different
ways. Some problem gamblers will have all of these signs of their gambling
problem and some others may only have one. Gambling addiction affects players
of all different forms of gambling like Blackjack, Poker and even Bingo
The most important thing to remember is just because their
life is not horrible because of their gambling does not mean there is not a problem,
many people can have serious gambling addictions and still hold down a job and
make it seem as if everything is fine. This just means that this person has not
hit a bottom yet, but eventually, it will catch up with them.
Most addicts will stop socializing with anyone not into
their addiction, so if suddenly someone you know cuts out all their friends
from their life and starts to isolate themselves this can be a sign.
A simple thing to look for is if they are overly interested
in the sports scores and if after reading them to they become ecstatic or
depressed. No one likes it when their favourite team loses, but a gambler will
have major mood swings depending on if they are winning or losing.
A big sign of gambling addiction is someone who is constantly
having money problems and asking to borrow money but never pays it back, but
sometimes out of nowhere, this person will seem to have large sums of cash.
Lying and stealing is another good clue to a gambling
addiction, they will make up all sorts of excuses for their odd behaviour, and
you may notice small, but expensive items missing from your home.
If when visiting this person if you notice that some of
their things are missing, or if they tell you they have had to sell some
things, then there is a good chance that what they sold either went to pay off
gambling debt or to make new bets.
There are many other signs but these are the most common
symptoms of gambling addiction according to addiction professionals. If you see
2 or more of these symptoms in someone you know you could try to get this
person to accept their problem and seek professional help.
Without help gambling addiction leads to the same place as
drug addiction or alcoholism, eventually they will be overcome by their addiction.
At this point, they will be fully cut off from friends and family.
Most gamblers with bad addictions usually wind up jobless and,
in many cases, homeless if their addiction is allowed to go unchecked for too
long, and studies have shown that people with gambling addictions are more
prone to illness because they allow their health to lapse.
For more information on gambling addiction talk to your
family doctor or look on the internet for the gambler’s anonymous web site, or
from one of the many internet web sites dedicated to helping addicts to locate
professional help in their area.
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