How To Help Someone With A Gambling Addiction?

Gambling can be dated back thousands of years ago where people would play with hand-made dices and bet on a bunch of different things such as food, drinks or maybe even humans (slaves). It shows just how much humans love the adrenaline of the risk and beating the odds. It can be a really fun activity, especially when you have set aside a certain amount of cash that you can freely spend. So, it doesn’t really matter whether you are going to purchase super expensive clothing or if you are going to lose it on a bet.

However, this activity can become very dangerous in a short amount of time. It can damage one’s financial stability and may even risk losing multiple friendships and family relationships. This article by The Doe states that losing a best friend can be the hardest breakup, so make sure you don’t let gambling become an addiction that tears apart your relationships. This problem can be spotted all over the world, not just in places like Las Vegas in the US. This shows just how easy one can develop such an addiction.

According to recent studies, the effects this addiction has on a human’s brain is very similar to substance abuse such as alcohol or drugs. It gives us a real perspective on how damaging this activity can be. It alters how a person thinks, it alters the important things in their life making gambling always be the number one priority. They would rather lose their money on a bet than pay their bills and that really shows how far addiction can take a certain person.

Unfortunately, just like with substance abuse, people can also develop a gambling tolerance. So, the more money they invest and the more money they lose over time, the more bets they will have to do in the future to satisfy their needs.

So, if you are in a situation where you notice that your friend shows some signs that they may have some kind of a problem that is related to gambling, you probably feel like you should help them. And yes, you definitely should. However, to help them you will first how to analyze their situation and read all the signs which show that they have a gambling problem.

According to fherehab.com, there are several signs of gambling addiction that you will be able to use to come to the conclusion of whether your friend has such a problem.

7 Signs Of Gambling Addiction

1. Their obsession

One of the first and most obvious signs is the obsession with this problem. Someone who is an addict to gambling will constantly be busy betting. Whether this is online or lives in a casino, you will have to come to the conclusion if they simply spend too much time with this activity.

2. They start having money related issues

If you notice that your friend constantly asks for money these last couple of months, they complain about their expensive bills or if they have started taking up seriously big loans, it is time to start wondering whether they have a problem with gambling. One of the biggest signs that someone has some kind of an addiction is when they start seeling their own possessions and even the most valuable ones. In other words, if you notice that your friend is missing his wedding ring from his finger, I think it is definitely time to take action.

3. Emotional instability

A lot of people who have this kind of problem are in a bad mood most of the time because they have probably lost huge amounts of cash. So, if you notice that your friend is not very happy or his mood is constantly changing, they are probably suffering from emotional instability which is common in any kind of addictions.

4. Withdrawing

This is also a very noticeable sign. When a person starts having addiction-related problems, they usually avoid any kind of social interaction. So, if you believe that your friend has such an issue, you will notice that they will avoid going out to the regular places you are going out. And if you do manage to convince him to go out with you, you will notice that they do not feel chatty because they are probably thinking about how to satisfy their next betting needs. Thinking about how to get more money so they can spend it at the casino and so on.

5. Spending ridiculous amounts of cash

Gambling addiction does not always relate to “bad” emotions. Sometimes, it can make people very happy which is probably why a lot of us can get easily hooked to it. Earning hundreds of thousands of dollars with one little bet is what baits people to fuel this addiction. It seems like winning money is so easy, they start looking for that satisfaction.

So, if you feel like your friend has been spending too much money on useless and expensive things, or if he/she feels a bit too generous, it may be because they have a problem with gambling. You might be a good friend to them, but getting a thousand dollar phone as a gift is a bit too much, especially if you know they cannot afford it.

6. Losing weight

This is one of the few physical changes that happen during this kind of psychological addiction. Weight loss is quite normal considering how much people start stressing about the money they are constantly losing through their bets. The money they should have used to pay back their house debts or electricity bills is now completely gone to a poker game or on spin the wheel game.

This huge amount of stress can force your friend to avoid eating which you will probably notice through their weight loss.

7. They avoid working

When people are under such stress they also lose any kind of motivation or concentration. This means that if your friend is constantly gambling, they probably are avoiding their job and refusing to work. So, if you are suspicious that your friend is a compulsive gambler, give a quick call to their boss to check whether they have been going to work or not.