Gambling Addiction

According to GA, compulsive gamblers typically:

Persist in the belief that they can control their gambling-depite a total lack of evidence for this idea.

Feel discomfort when they are not "in action"--at the poker table, slot machines, the racetrack, or another place where they can gamble.

Remain emotionally immature, fueled by the belief that they can achieve a life of material abundance without work or effort.

The latter characteristic sends compulsive gamblers into a dream world--one where mansions, luxury cars, servants, yachts and social prestige flow inevitably from a highly individualized system for placing and winning bets.

More often, the consequences for compulsive gamblers include mounting debt, a repossessed home, time lost from work or school to gamble, a pattern of lying to family and friends, illegal activity to finance gambling, and even thoughts of suicide.

For all these reasons, GA members see gambling as more than a financial issue. It is an emotional disorder paired with a pattern of self-defeating behavior.

Compulsive Gambling / Gambling Addiction - Self Diagnosis

Gamblers Anonymous offers the following questions to anyone who may have a gambling problem. These questions are provided to help the individual decide if he or she is a compulsive gambler and wants to stop gambling.

TWENTY QUESTIONS

Ø       Did you every lose time from work or school due to gambling?

Ø       Has gambling ever made your home life unhappy?

Ø       Did gambling affect your reputation?

Ø       Have you ever felt remorse after gambling?

Ø       Did you ever gamble to get money with which to pay debts or otherwise solve financial difficulties?

Ø       Did gambling cause a decrease in your ambition or efficiency?

Ø       After losing did you feel you must return as soon as possible and win back your losses?

Ø       After a win did you have a strong urge to return and win more?

Ø       Did you often gamble until your last dollar was gone?

Ø       Did you ever borrow to finance your gambling?

Ø       Have you ever sold anything to finance gambling?

Ø       Were you reluctant to use "gambling money" for normal expenditures?

Ø       Did gambling make you careless of the welfare of your family?

Ø       Did you ever gamble longer than you had planned?

Ø       Have you ever gambled to escape worry or trouble?

Ø       Have you ever committed, or considered committing, an illegal act to finance gambling?

Ø       Did gambling cause you to have difficulty in sleeping?

Ø       Do arguments, disappointments or frustrations create within you an urge to gamble?

Ø       Did you ever have an urge to celebrate any good fortune by a few hours of gambling?

Ø       Have you ever considered self destruction as a result of your gambling?

Most compulsive gamblers will answer yes to at least seven of these questions.