How to Stop Gambling
Gambling is when you risk something of value to try and win more money or a prize by guessing the outcome of a game involving chance. It can involve betting on sports, fruit machines or scratchcards.
It’s a popular activity for many people, and can be an enjoyable diversion from everyday life. However, for others it can become an obsession that is harmful to their health, relationships and work performance. It can also lead to financial problems and possible homelessness.
The history of gambling goes back to ancient times, when the Chinese and other civilized nations used rudimentary games of chance to forecast the future and gain knowledge. These games were regulated and severely curtailed in the past, but today they are widely available at all levels of society and have grown more sophisticated.
There are a few things you can do to prevent your gambling from getting out of control. Firstly, you should create a fixed amount of money that you can comfortably lose and then stick to it. This will help you to avoid chasing losses and losing too much of your hard-earned cash.
If you have a gambling problem, it’s important to get treatment. This will help to tackle the underlying cause of your addiction and enable you to live a healthy, happy life.
You should also join a support group such as Gamblers Anonymous, which is a 12-step recovery program that aims to help people overcome their gambling addiction. This can include meeting with a sponsor who has been through the same experiences as you and can provide you with guidance and support.
A therapist may also recommend medication, such as antidepressants, to help relieve the symptoms of your addiction and reduce your urges to gamble. Alternatively, there are cognitive-behavioral therapies, which can help you to change unhealthy gambling behaviors and thoughts and learn to cope with urges to gamble.
Another form of therapy that can help you to combat your addiction is relapse prevention. This can include regular meetings with your therapist, a support group, and other strategies to help you to stop gambling and stay off it for good.
There are also self-help groups for problem gamblers and family members of those with a gambling addiction, such as Gamers Anonymous. These groups are usually run by ex-gamblers and can provide you with invaluable advice and support.
Those with a gambling addiction can find it difficult to control their behaviour, and they often make mistakes that could cost them more money than they win. They may impulsively spend money that they shouldn’t have, lie to their families and friends about their gambling habits, or spend their job’s salary on gambling instead of paying bills.
The latest version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) includes gambling as an addictive behavior. This is a significant development because it recognises a new mental health condition that is more serious than a compulsion and one that can be successfully treated by medical professionals.