Like the treatment of other addictions, Pathological Gambling Therapy is based on the Twelve Step Program. Treatment begins with a decision to abstain completely. As part of the program, help may also be provided to relatives of people addicted to gambling.
The worst is the beginning. You have to come face to face with other people. You have to start talking about yourself and your addictive behavior. You have to recognize your failure. And recognizing failure is the most difficult forgambler . - In my life I have bet on almost everything I could. Three cards at the bazaar and the colors of the roulette in the Monte Carlo casino - says Piotr, a businessman from the West Pomeranian Voivodeship. Specifically: a bankrupt businessman. - In addition, life bankruptcy - he adds. The wife took the children and left. The extended family does not want to know him either, not to mention his former business partners. It was only when he hit the bottom that he started to fight. He has been in therapy for half a year.
Phases of addiction to gambling
- There are four phases inaddictionfromgambling , and I'm a textbook example - he says. At first he played occasional. This is the entertainment of a rich young man. He often won, and "the appetite grew with eating." It was the phase of victories. Big wins causing more and more stimulation, more and more frequent bets and higher and higher stakes - a person begins to believe that he will always win and in the case of achieving a "big win" he strives to repeat it (unjustified optimism), risking more and more amounts. - I feel sorry for those around me that nobody then tried to stop me. As long as I had money, I paid for everyone in the bar, and I bought jewelry for my wife, everything was fine - he recalls.
ImportantTreatment of gambling addiction, like all addictions, begins with a decision to remain completely abstinent. From games - both gambling and social. So no ping-pong, no game of chess pieces! Abstinence also means not taking part in playing the role of an observer. It is therefore forbidden to watch programs such as game shows on TV. All this to stop your daily compulsive thinking training and free yourself from focusing your attention on any aspect of gaming. Gamblers are also advised to abstain from alcohol as a precautionary measurerelapses.
The final phase of gambling addiction
So-called The "loss phase" apparently came unexpectedly. "At the time, it seemed to me that I suddenly lost my luck," he says. - Now I know that I was just playing more and more risky, I started to borrow. And that was the effect. For a few more years Piotr managed to hide his addiction. Before his family, he pretended that it was a collapse of the market, he borrowed money from his partners, he extorted money from almost strangers, deceiving them with some sensational business. - There was only one thing that really interested me: the game. I could not eat, sleep, see my family, if only I could bet - he says. The third phase of desperation came when he was accused of cheating. Court case, suspended sentence. Divorce. He was still hanging out in casinos, though the security guards looked askance. He drank a lot and took psychotropics. The creditors harassed him. - And so a miracle that nobody sent any Ukrainians on me - he says. Sometimes he thought about ending himself. At other times, dreams of a big win came back. It all ended when he was left completely destitute. But he didn't stop playing. He felt that he was at the bottom when he took the last PLN 400 from his mother's wallet - a retired midwife and lost three cards. It was only then that he realized it was an addiction. He was treated, like most compulsive gamblers, in a hopeless phase.
Gambling addiction treatment
Treatment of pathological gambling is very similar to the treatment of other addictions. In Poland, following the example of the first group of Gamblers Anonymous established in 1957 in California (USA), based on the Twelve Step Program, are being created. The gamblers' relatives can also get help from this program. In many centers, people treated for gambling participate in the same addiction psychotherapy program, but they have separate classes devoted to problems specific to this addiction. According to Małgorzata Sieczkowska, the addiction therapist gives very good results because the mechanism of addiction is the same. It is easier, however, to see it on the example of another addiction. - From my ten years of experience working with gamblers, it appears that they take psychotherapy and all psychological help very well. They learn quickly and are largely susceptible to corrective influences - says Sieczkowska.