Problem gambling (and how to break the habbit)

[SweFjorod]

Hello everyone, my name is Patric "SweFjorod" Andersson.

As I'm not a native english speaker as I'm from Sweden I hope this post won't be missunderstood, and I'm sorry for spelling errors in this post.

I'm a gambling addict that don't have gambling problems..... and now to explain

I'm a gambling addict in the possetive mening that I have admitted to myself and others that I had a gambling problem (this was over 20 years ago).

When I went to GA (gamblers annonymous) meetings I introduced myself as hello, my name is Patric and I'm a gambling addict.

So for me saying that I'm a gambling addict is something possetive, I've had the self insight to admit that I had a gambling problem and could start my journey to heal.

 

20+ years ago when I came to the conclusion that I had a gambling problem and went to doctors etc and they just said, gambling problem? it's just to quit.

20+ years ago gambling addictions wasn't understood as a addiction as it is today. So I had to find other ways of geting the help I needed as doctors couldn't help me as 

they didn't understand the problem.

 

I finally found GA, where I could talk to other people that had the same problems I had, share experience and support each other. It took me about a year from where I

had admitted to myself and my former GF that I had gambling issues until I manged to stop gambling. Back then there wasn't any online gambling, the only gambling you could

do was at the pubs, playing black jack or machines.

 

So in the beginning of going to GA meetings I was still gambling (and lying about it), it took me about a year until I managed to stop, then I didn't gamble for 10 years and during that time I did alot of research on addictions, alot of reading and talking to people.

 

Gambling addiction is a behavior addiction and not a chemical one (like alcohol, drugs etc), a behavior addiction is something you can get rid of with training and help.

A behavior addiction gives the brain the same reward as a chemical addiction, the neurons in the brain reacts the same way, but with a chemical addiction you are allso addicted to the chemical and not just the behavior.

 

To explain abit, with a behavior addiction your brain rewards you when you act on your addiction (gambling, *****, food etc) yes, food addiction is a behavior addiction and not a chemical one even if you consume something with your addiction. The same way as a alcoholics brain rewards him when he/she is drinking alcohol.

However with behavior addictions you can train your brain to not reward yourself when you act on it.

Saying that a gambler addict never can gamble again is like saying that a food addict never can eat again or a ***** addict never can have ***** again.

It's all about training and geting your brain to understand that this behavior is something we shouldn't give a reward for.

 

For chemical addictions it's abit different as the chemical in itself often has a addiction in itself, but it is possible for an alcoholic to later in life have a drink alltho that takes alot more work and self dicipline but yes, it is possible. With hard drugs like cocaine and similar I can't say for sure as it's not something I have ever done (never have taken a drug in my entire life, never even smoked pot). Those chemical drugs are extremly addictive on their own so even if you manage to train your brain not to reward you for taking it, it's still extremly dangerous to try.

 

My theory in addictions is that 1 in 10 people have the addiction gene (in lack of a better word)

And 1 in 10 of those people have multiple addiction genes.

However, even if you have this gene, you might never act out on it as for example, in a poor village in africa and a person that has the gambling addiction gene might never experience gambling so the issue never arise.

 

So... like I started in this post, I'm a gambling addict, but today I'm not addicted to gambling, today I don't have any problem with gambling because I got the help I needed to break my addiction, but I prodly say that I'm a gambling addict in the fact that I know that I once had a gambling addiction.

I hope that made sence.

 

10 years ago (when I hadn't gambled for 10 years) I started to play poker (texas hold'em) at the casino in Sweden. Texas Hold'em wasn't and isn't gambling for me, it's all about math and psycology (the ability to read people and influence people). For example, get people to think you have a horrible hand when you have a monster hand so they call you, or to make them think you have a monster hand when you are bluffing so they fold.

 

This for me wasn't gambling and with my previous experience in being able to manipulate people (as a gambling addict you become a expert in manipulating people to lend you money for your gambling), I used that in my poker games to get people to do what I wanted them to do and not what they wanted to do (missunderstand me correctly).

I basicly only play poker live and not online as I loose my edge in the point I just made.

 

I'm a winning poker player and about 5 years into my poker career I started to play other games with my poker winnings, not all of my winnings but some of them at times.

I now play other games for fun, I don't play them as I feel forced to do so, I play them as I think it's a fun thing to do at times.

 

Do I play more than I intended to do?

Lets take an example, lets say I would win 1000 SEK in a poker session, I might then play roulette for 200 SEK.

Have I ever played for more than those 200 SEK ?

Yes I have, here I have played for more than I originally intended to do BUT, I would never EVER play for more than my session winnings.

I don't allow my fun gambling affect my finances in other areas, today I have a budget for everything, today I'm never late on my rent etc.

I allways have a budget to make sure my bills are payed, that I have money for food for the month, for cigarettes and coca cola (yes, I have those addictions as well).

I have my savings account (where I save up for vacations and other things that might pop up).

Today my gambling does not affect my life in a negative manner, today my gambling doesn't affect me financly in any way.

 

So, is there a risk that I might fall into the trap again ?

Ofcourse, there is allways a risk, but for me that risk is minimal, as I have been at rock bottom, I know how it was down there, I've climbed out of the hole so the risk of me having problems with gambling again is minimal.

I tell myself every morning that I'm a gambling addict, I praise myself for the strengh I had to beat it, I gladly tell strangers that I'm a gambling addict but I allso explain what it means to me that I am, that I have beaten my addiction and to talk about it to people helps, the more people know that I had this issue to stronger I get.

 

So, what is my point of making this post, well, I just said it in the last section, but allso, I'm offering my help to others that might be in the situation that I was 20+ years ago.

If you feel that you have a gambling problem, don't hecitate to send me a PM, I'll gladly talk to you about addictions and how you can beat it.

Gambling should be fun and not something that you feel forced to do.

If you ever feel that, I'm just in a downswing right now, I know it will turn, then you are in troubble, then you have gambled for more than you want to, you should never chase your losses, chasing that jackpot is a way to dig you deeper into the hole.

 

Well, this post is long enough, I wish you all a great day and again, feel free to PM me if you ever want to talk about anything.

 

/Patric "SweFjorod" Andersson

[pinnit2015]

Very interesting...

 

So, GA will still say today that ‘once an addict always an addict-in other words, you can’t even play on the lottery.

 

Are you saying that today’s more modern approach is that it can be self regulated by your behaviours?

 

Not questioning - just genuinely interested :-)

[SweFjorod]

Very interesting...

 

So, GA will still say today that ‘once an addict always an addict-in other words, you can’t even play on the lottery.

 

Are you saying that today’s more modern approach is that it can be self regulated by your behaviours?

 

Not questioning - just genuinely interested :-)

Yes, a behavior addiction is something you can break as in basicly train your brain not to reward yourself when you act on your previous addiction.

The problem is that many people still today think that if you have a previous addiction you can never try it again as it's a 100% chanse you will fall into it again.

[Afi4wins]

Thank you for sharing your addiction story Patric! It is really good to know that you don't suffer from the same addiction any longer. A success story that should give other gambling addicts incentive and new hopes of getting over it! 

 

I too have read a lot on addictions, all kinds of addictions, from gambling, to alcoholism, to drugs, as well as opioid addiction. Yes, gambling is a behaviorally induced addiction, but would still need help from others to overcome, but unlike the other addictions, it can be overcomed more easily and without the need for continuous long-term medical assistance or treatment. Nonetheless, everything would still depend on each individual's personal strength to stay 'clean' - weak individuals would tend to go back and become addicts again, as numerous researches have shown and proven. 

[ValDes]

Hey there Patric and a warm welcome to AskGamblers.

 

Thanks for sharing your story and for the extremely useful post! Really amazing one!