Gambling Addiction: The Risks
Problems with gambling can interfere with every aspect of your life. It can produce problems at home and difficulties at work, due to the amount of time spent on gambling and associated activities. It can strain personal and family relationships, and cause financial disaster. It can even lead you to steal or neglect and starve your children. Even if you have enough money and believe you can afford to gamble, issues resulting from the excessive amount of time you allocate to gambling may cause breakdowns in marriages and loss of important relationships.
Gambling addicts can be hard to spot because there are usually no obvious signs of an addiction such as with drugs and alcohol, and often the gambler takes considerable care to hide their addiction from their loved ones; they sneak around, withdraw from friends and family, lie about where they’ve been and what they’ve been up to. It is for this reason many choose to deny they have a problem and are reluctant to seek treatment. Do not despair, compulsive gambling is treatable and effective solutions are available.