Gambling Can Be Addictive to Many

Gambling is a problem in many states so much so that there are churches joining the ranks of extending counseling to compulsive gamblers. According to www.medicinenetonhealth.com written by Roxanne Edward, two to five percent of Americans are compulsive gamblers. That the equivalent of millions of people in the United states and one percent international. When you think about it that is an amazing statistic.

Television shows society that is okay to gamble you can become rich quick by playing lottery or going to the casino. So when you look at this you think how fun or how cool when what you should be thinking of saying to yourself "what is the impact that living this type of lifestyle make land me at?" To much is put into keeping people in there seats at the casino from the flashing lights to the ching ching of money dropping out of the slots machines to the screaming of the winning cards even down to the way they pump the air through the vents.

What they don't show is the people in the background that when finally run out money go home to an empty house because they have lost their family, money and sometimes dignity because the have become addicted to slot, blackjack, roulette, bingo, lottery or whatever you poison is that you prefer to choose that day. Many people even commit suicide.

Gambling can be traumatic in life. Many people that have gambling problems most of the time has some sort of mental disability and/or have had something traumatic happen to them in there lifetime. They are just looking for an escape a reason to escape.

1. Gamblers must admit that gambling has taken over their lives, and that it has become unmanageable.
2. Gamblers should believe that a power greater than themselves is needed to overcome their addiction.
3. The gamblers will turn their lives over to this greater power.
4. Gamblers will take a complete moral inventory of their behavior and lives up to the point they come to the organization.
5. They will admit to themselves and another person everything they have done wrong.
6. Believe they are ready to let their character defects go.
7. Ask their higher power to help them overcome their shortcomings.
8. Make a list of everyone whom they have harmed as a result of their addictions and make amends to those people.
9. They must make direct amends to the people whom they have hurt unless doing so would put those people or others at risk or in danger.
10. Take inventory of their lives. If they are wrong about something, they must admit it.
11. Use the power of prayer in order to stay in constant contact with their higher power. They will use prayer to maintain power over their deficiencies.
12. Gamblers will take everything they've learned from the 12-step program and use it to help other people who are struggling with compulsive gambling issues.

Hopefully from these steps people can start to put there life back on track. This addiction can be help. I believe this disease can be controlled.

Utah and Tennessee

Tennessee and Utah has no casinos but they do have help for gamblers. You can visit www.gambleranonymous.org or call 626-960-3500 for assistance. They will tell you when and where the meetings and assistance is for you.

When I was living in the military I started going to Lutheran Social Services to get help for gambling. My life had become unmanageable. There were casinos on almost every block in Minot ND and they even had a casino not much farther that 2 1/2 away. Minot was a small town in North Dakota that had a population of about 34,000 people. More that 21000 sq. ft. of Minot is covered by gambling tables. Whenever I would get to embarrassed to hang out at a lounge I would just hop in my car and ride about a mile or two to the next one. I lost thousands of dollars a the lounges but I didn't care because it wasn't about the money to me. It was about the excited I felt in my body when I would place a bet or when I would win the game. It was all about chance with me. I wanted to feel carefree and numb. No one was in the room with me or so I felt that way. I was all alone. I suffer for mental depression and whenever I'm feeling sad or violated in anyway I go in hide in the casino where I feel most safe.

I am a bad gambler because I have hurt so many people in the past. Out of the people I hurt my sister the most. I got her kicked out of house so I could get my deposit back from the apartment complex so I could gamble.

I took her van from her that I bought for her so I could sell it for money and go and gamble.

I would steal money or borrow money from family and friends that I had no intensions on paying back. I would walk up to complete strangers and ask them for money.

My restaurant took me away from gambling because I had to save time to manage it so I sold it without telling the employees and the left the cook (my sister) to fend for herself.

However I did make amends to her, when I got help for gambling and went through steps of healing I gave her back everything I had taken from her and I put it in her own name so I couldn't take it back if I relapsed.

My husband left me because I caused him to be forced to retire early. I lost so much and I went into a deeper depression but refused I refused to let gambling win. There is help out there it's just hard to find.

I went to gamblers anonymous at a local church and there I saw a lot more people there that have had it worse than me so they understood me and didn't judge me.

Gambling is addictive whether you want to believe it or not. People are losing their paychecks. Casinos are just about in every state, as well lottery tickets. Slot machines are the most prevalent gambling tool in todays society. Slot machines are so pretty and the noises that they make sound so good especially when you win. Listening to the machine when the wheels are turning feels good. Slot machine arcade are popping up everywhere and people of flocking to them. Its not really about the money, its the feeling, sound and smell. There are numbers you can call that are placed at the ATM machine so you could look at them before you take your last dollar out of it. I can tell myself that I can stop at anytime but it isn't so. All I need is something to go wrong in my life or receive some extra money and away I go to the nearest casino, lounge or arcade.

Some casinos have a programs set into place where you can fill out a form and allow the casino to take a picture of you and they will escort you out of the casino whenever you come by. Don't get excited about this idea because it doesn't work in every casino. You can always cancel at anytime.

Gamblersanoymous.com has questions you can ask yourself when in doubt.

Are you a compulsive gambler?

1. Did you ever lose time from work or school due to gambling?

2. Has gambling ever made your home life unhappy?

3. Did gambling affect your reputation?

4. Have you ever felt remorse after gambling?

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

6. Did gambling cause a decrease in your ambition or efficiency?

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

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

9. Did you often gamble until your last dollar was gone?

10. Did you ever borrow to finance your gambling?

11. Have you ever sold anything to finance gambling?

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

13. Did gambling make you careless of the welfare of yourself or your family?

14. Did you ever gamble longer than you had planned? Have you ever gambled to escape worry, trouble, boredom or loneliness?

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

17. Did gambling cause you to have difficulty in sleeping?

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

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

20. Have you ever considered self-destruction or suicide as a result of your gambling?