A
compulsive gambler woke up one morning and realized they have a
gambling problem. The signs of their gambling addiction have been
there all along. As their mind begins to race they look at all the
signs that were apparent, but few people around them ever gave it a
second thought.
The
gambler looks back and realizes the following signs were there for
them and their family and friend:
They
spent a significant amount of time gambling. At first it was one
day a week then it became five days week. Family and friends
noticed they weren’t around as much anymore.
Their
money was dwindling fast and available cash flow was almost
nonexistent. Family and friends notice they weren’t going out to
eat as much, was becoming very frugal (only bought one box of girl
scout cookies even though they bought at least twenty boxes a year
for the past five years), didn’t take a vacation in over two years
when they normally would go away at the minimum two times a year and
cut spending more then in half when it came time for birthday and
holiday gifts.
Coming
into work late, not completing assignments and getting written up
for not following procedures.
They
became very neglectful of their family. The told them they would be
home by dinner time only to show up three hours later with no real
excuse but would tell them they won big at the casino.
They lost
money and felt bad about it, but didn’t do anything to stop this
self destructive behavior.
As their
problems increased, going to the casino was away of reducing my
stress when in reality it only increased it. The short time there
they remember feeling good.
They
borrowed money from friends and family to keep up with their habit.
The family and friends knew basically the amount of money they
earned. They now also realize that they should have looked a little
deeper into what was really going on and why did they really needed
this money?
The signs
were there but nobody was willing to step up and help them face this
addiction before it was too late and they lost everything.
Now that
this gambler has woken up they have taken the first step on their
road to recovery. The next move is to seek help and go forward with
their life.
