Effective Strategies for Overcoming Gambling Urges

Maybe it goes without saying that all of my writings about gambling addiction are a combination of my personal experience, what I have learn while doing volunteer work and what I have got through education on the topic.

Today I am about to tell you what are gambling urges, why it's important to detect them and what kind of strategies to use for overcoming them.

What Are Gambling Urges?

At the cash register you see catalog of scratchcards, lottery tickets and odds for the NHL game being played incoming night. If not all, I believe that at least one of these raises a thougth of making some extra money - or if you are already in the tentacles of an full blown gambling addiction, you don't think you just act.

If you are used to bet on NHL games or do lottery once a week or buy a scratchcard on pay day or each time you go to get groceries - odds are that you don't think it that much, you just act and purchase one or more of the games.

It's payday and you paid all the bills, money is tight and won't last for the rest of the month - or you are just used to play everytime you get money from somewhere.

These are some level of triggers I have described here. So what are the urges?

Seemingly out of the blue you get an idea that "now, RIGHT NOW, I need to get money from somewhere", or more like "When I get home I'll go to online casino and play my favorite game" - FOMO "If I don't play today, my odds to win gets less likely". Here some kind of examples what it could be. Sometimes there is a thought, sometimes not - actually it's very common that there is absolutely no thought process. You just feel the urge to "play some games" - and that idea might be extremely powerful.

Urge to Gamble can be described as an compulsive thought, or automatic action, that doesn't leave you to be before completed.

Triggers

So, if we got a hunch about gambling urges, then what triggers are? While organizing support groups and helping people in support phone it has got pretty clear to me that most people have no idea why they keep gambling. Why they do what they do. People getting help for gambling addiction are not dumb. They have said many times to themselves and maybe even for their spouse or therapist that they won't gamble anymore - they still do.

When you do something long enough, it becomes an routine which means that you run somewhat on an autopilot - and trying to break the routine or habbit feels bad in mind and in the body - to minimize the bad and hard feelings, we keep doing our routine, we try not to break the habbit. Remember this is still not just an routine or an habbit, on top of that this is an complex addiction.

Okay, now, to the triggers. Eventhough we might not recognize the triggers, it doesn't mean that there isn't one.

When there is an action, there is a trigger.

• You wake up -> you brush your teeth and drink coffee.
• Phone vibrates -> you pick it up to check why is it vibrating.

You get it, right? Well, let's think about the situation before a gambling session. What happened, what did you think, what did you feel that day?

For the sake of an example here are mine:

• I had a payday -> everytime I gambled
• I had an argument with my spouse -> I went to a local casino
• I was desperate to get money for bills -> I went to online casino
• I had a bad day at work -> I went to gas station to do bets and play slot machine

There, do you relate? I bet you d.. I mean, I know you do. As we can see together here, triggers can be something you see, something you smell, something you think, something you feel, pretty much anything.

More obvious triggers could be:

• seeing an advert of a new casino with generous deposit bonus -> register to get free money
• watching a NHL game and seeing odds or a name of an casino -> let's make this game more interesting
• favorit casino sending email "we miss you" -> that's nice let's be together
• walking at the mall and seeing slot machines -> feeling the pockets for change

Avoiding Triggers

What tha hell man?! - first you introduce us to triggers and now we should avoid them -_- That's correct!

If you don't know your triggers, how could you ever avoid them? Well, only by an accident. When you get to know your triggers, you can start to think of ways to avoid them.

For me it meant following:

• make an email filter to trash without reading all emails with a word: casino
• while walking at the mall trying to plan the path so I won't bypass any slot machines or casinos - if not possible then knowingly watch to other direction
• if watching sports, like NHL games, is a trigger, like it was for me -> you have to say goodbye for NHL, at least for a while
• if seeing a slot machine was a trigger to collect coins from the bottom of pocket -> no cash anymore

How about if having an argument with friends and family or a bad day at work? It's a triggier one, but manageable. Let's think, what could we do here? Imagine that you are my friend and I come to tell you that I had a bad day at work and I had a fight with my spouse, what should I do to feel better? Think about it, would you say, from your experience, that it's a good idea to go gamble? Don't cheat, I know you know that I know that.. Yes, the answer is to go do sports, maybe a walk with a dog, or a friend. Talk to someone, get sleep, etc dull and boring stuff. That's the way it should be. Next time you have the very same situation, remember this, casino is not there for you after you lose your money, it won't make you feel better, it's not it's purpose.

If you can't avoid all the triggers, restrict them.

Delay Techniques

I know.. It's rather impossible to fight against all triggers nor to detect all of them. So maestro, what you can do for us now? Delay Techniques sounds like a national post office intentionally trying not to deliver our orders on time. Excatly! You are the post office, your brain is the one waiting the order and you are the one trying to intentionally delay the dopamine rush of gambling to reach your brain. Bear with me. Roar..

Now, again you are having an urge to gamble. You are not sure what is the trigger, but you know that if something suprising isn't going to happen you will act on it.

One way of thinking it is to think about what happens if I wait for an hour before acting on it? Take it as an personal challenge. After hour goes by, congratulate yourself, and if you still want to act on it, how about another one hour challenge? It sounds wague and nonsense, but it is examined thing that this technique will reduce the urge to act on your thoughts. Longer the time, better the result.

Another thing you could try is injecting a alternative action to that trigger or urge. Everytime you feel the urge to gamble after work, call to someone. Call to friend, parent or support line. NO! You don't have tell them why you are calling right now. You can if you want, I encourage you to do so, but no, you don't have to. Ask how they are doing, talk about that irritating new coworker you have, or whatever you usually talk about.

The latter one is effective, because instead of just delaying the action, you have replaced the action and if all goes well, you will distract yourself from thinking taking on action at all. And it's good for you and your relationships to talk with your friends and family.

Healthy Alternatives

Being a sneaky writer like I am, I have already been suggesting healthy alternatives from the beginning. BUT! Here are some more. When you are sad, cry, talk to a friend, sleep, eat, take it easy. If you are bored, go for a walk, listen to a podcast. Start a new hobby, or return to old one, do sports, badminton, football, what ever, move it!

Start taking care of your nutrition and sleep. By being on constant sleep deficit and unhealthy diet you are just making it easier for an addiction to thrive. This is a boxing match, you need to be at your best, train physically and mentally, eat your greens and don't quit trying to get better. I'm not going to lie to you - there won't be a one huge knockout, but you can AND will get good hits through and you will win rounds. Consistency is the key, and you will get the neck loop of this.

Professional Help

I have been talking a lot about self care techniques, but it's because that is so important, I can't even emphasize enough how important it is with this addiction.

Still, get professional help too. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is a well known form of a therapy that helps with people suffering gambling problem. It helps you to change your thought patterns and change your behaviour on certain situations.

Support groups and peer support in general is a powerful tool in solving the thought patterns which got you here.

Educate yourself about the odds and how gambling addiction affects on you and people in general.

Knowledge is the key to success!