Gambling Addiction is a type of impulse-control disorder. People with a gambling addiction are unable to control their need to gamble, and they continue gambling despite knowing their gambling is hurting themselves or their loved ones. People can have a problem with gambling without actually being out of control, and many gamblers suffer great distress from the risks they take, leading to a full-blown addiction.
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.
Gladstones private addiction rehab clinic offers tailored treatment programmes for anyone courageous enough to admit that they have an issue with compulsive gambling and is ready to seek treatment. Any underlying unpleasant feelings such as stress, depression, loneliness, fear and anxiety that are triggering your compulsive gambling
or making it worse will be addressed by our intensive care team at Gladstones, who will put a recovery plan in place to aid your recovery from gambling addiction.
It is important to seek professional support for compulsive gambling, as the financial and emotional devastation caused by the addiction can be overwhelming and the risk of suicide in gambling addicts is high. It’s very important to take any thoughts or talk of suicide seriously.
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If you are worried about yourself or a loved one with a gambling problem do not hesitate to call us.
