Dangers of Gambling

Dangers of gambling

As we all know there are many negative effects of hazard. People can get addicted. Those who got into the hands of hazard lose all their money, savings and all of their possessions. When entering a casino we have to remember that from this moment our lives can change dramatically. If do not have strong will we may become gamblers very fast. It always starts with small bets and small money and we think we have everything under control, but before we realize that we are betting all of our savings or we have huge debts it is already to late. The more we lose the more we play, because we think we can win back what we lost already, but that usually backfires and we end up losing even more.

Gambling is like any other addiction. People stop controlling how much money they lose and how much time they spend playing. They stop caring about their families and friends. The only hope for them is therapy and make them realize how much trouble they are in. There are many portals and therapy groups for people addicted to gambling.

There are 4 phases when talking about gambling problems. First is the victory phase in which player is winging big bets what makes him want to play more and increase wagers. He plays occasionally and he is fantasizing about winning big money, he starts to believe that he will always win and in case of victory he wants to repeat it by betting big amounts all the time.

Then comes the second, which is quite obvious, losing phase. Player is still betting big which exposes him to big losses. Even if he wins occasionally he needs this money to pay off his debts. Gambler is playing at the expense of his work and family. He is lying and starts to hide his addiction still counting on big win.

Third phase of depression is when gambler loses his job and friends. He starts to panic because of his debts. Pressure from creditors pushes him to commit felonies.

At the end comes phase loss of hope. Feeling helpless and suicidal tendencies are appearing in this phase. There are 5 ways out of this: getaway, addiction to drugs or alcohol, jail, death, by his own hand or by his creditors, and finally call for help.

Here are twenty questions made by Gamblers Anonymous for anyone who feels they may have a gambling problem.

Twenty Questions

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?
15.Have you ever gambled to escape worry or trouble?
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?

Most compulsive gamblers will answer yes to at least seven of these questions.

Here are some questions for you:

1. Would you play for money?

2. When you lose do you try to win your money back making huge bets?

3. Have you ever had any problems with gambling? If so, how did it affect your life?