Forming The Diagnosis
Statistics say that four to seven per cent of all people playing casino games are gambling addicts. But unfortunately only few of them understand the danger. And most of them have no idea their passion for gambling has become a disease.
So what are the real symptoms of poker addiction? There are people who play high stakes games for many hours every day but still remain relatively calm and cant be called compulsive gamblers. Even if one loses big sums of money at a casino once in a while he aint necessary a gambling addict.
You become addicted the day you stop drawing the line between your gambling money and money for living.
I lost all my gambling money and have just enough to pay the bills. But Ill borrow a small sum from a friend of mine and double it at a poker table tomorrow evening, as I feel that I will be lucky. Thats a usual gambling addict way of thinking. Gambling maniacs lie to their families and friends, borrow money from most undesirable persons and are able to do almost anything in order to find some more gambling money. However, they usually lose everything very quickly as they have no patience and are constantly on tilt.
What To Do?
Even in case you realize that your love for poker has become a mania, it is very difficult to cure it. The game is the only thing you care about, your only love. So, how to avoid the temptation of playing? There are some organization which boast recovering such people to life. But the most famous of them is the worldwide Gamblers Anonymous association. It was created in 1957 by two gambling addicts (we do not know their names, as you understand). They found out that communication, discussing of the problem and mutual support are keys to recovering.
If you feel that your passion for poker has become dangerous, immediately refer to the specialists from this organization.
And here are 20 questions taken from the official site of Gamblers Anonymous. These questions are provided to help the individual decide if he or she is a compulsive gambler and wants to stop gambling.
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?
If you answer yes to more than 7 of them you have serious problems. And remember its not a joke!
