Gambling is Addictive...Pay Attention to your Gambling Habit!!!

[john_nautica]

I also think that your friend should seek professional medication. Since it is addiction, and based on your narrative, it seems that he has a severe level of gambling addiction. Try convincing him to ask for help. And if you could also influence him to refrain from gambling for the mean time and focus on fixing his personal problems like his family issues first.

[bitzizzix]

OP's problems are the same as my experiences with my close friends, and the best solutions I have found are with close friends like myself or other close friends who always hang out with her and ask her for good advice.
and all need a process and patience to be able to change it and besides good advice I also make diversions when there are signs of wanting to play gambling, I switch to playing music because we always play music when there is free time or divert it with the mutual assistance path that creates togetherness getting stronger and over time it will forget and continue when there is a sign towards gambling.
and good advice is put into practice first
continuously and besides that, invite him to be closer to God and always be reminded that excessive gambling is very dangerous for him, and there are many other ways to realize it and most importantly keep trying if you care about your friends.

[Fivestar4everMVP]

it would be best for him to be rehabilitated(his wife should have thought of that but I understand her anger) because if this continues it will get worse and will most likely lead to depression(if he still hasn't had it) at this time it would be great if you stay in contact with him giving him advice if he asks for it but I advise to refrain from lending him money so he won't rely on you every time he is out of money.

No, not anymore, I used to lend him money when he hadn't opened up to me, he usually lied to me that he needs the money for feeding or to buy other stuff, some times, I thought of asking why he can't ask his wife for money, but on a second thought, I shift my mind from that cus i know right from time we got to know each, he never depended on her.
But eventually the wife left, that was when he opened up to me, since then, I've stopped lending him money, what we do now is that when ever we get paid our salary, he sometimes gives me 70 percent of the money to keep for him, he keeps the rest for his feeding and up keep, when he finishes the 30 percent and ask me to give me some money out of the 70 percent, I always do my best to make sure he won't go gambling with it before giving him the money, to be sincere, he still gambles when am away but the extent to which he gambles have reduced significantly

that's great! he is trying to limit himself and it rare for someone to trust anyone when it involves most of their money, you two must be good friends. but I still think he needs medical attention for his gambling addiction since the way he is doing it right now is merely preventing himself from losing all of his money by entrusting majority of his salary to you to keep. also, since he trusts you why not talk about to him about rehabilitation or talk to someone with medical expertise about gambling addiction from time to time.

Man, to be sincere, we are more than friends, infact, i personally decided to name him as my friend here, in the outside world, we are more like brothers, weve been together since wey back 2005 , we met in each in primary school, putting his gambling habit aside, we both trust each other, i trust him just as much as he trust me , weve done alot of businesses together way before we got employed where we both work currently .

And speaking of rehab, i dare not make mention of that to him, he might perceive it the wrong way cus people in this part of the world believe that its only when someone is mentally ill (like Madness), that they are refered to rehab, but i get your point and i appreciate all the advice, ive been talking to him and he's been improving bit by bit, what i wanna do now is to make sure his wife reconciles with him, maybe that will even make him recover more quickly .

[ethereumhunter]

I am happy to know that you can change your time to gamble because you see what was happened with your friend. Finally, you realize that gambling can make someone's lives ruined, and it is hard to go back as before when we are at the bottom. It is good if you can playing gambling for fun because that is the right reason for gambling. We don't have to play gambling too often because that means we will use more money to gamble. Yes, we need to prevent the addicting because that is the biggest problem that all gamblers should avoid.

[Ridwan Fauzi]

I heard the story like this many times and yeah I just take it as a learning for my habitation. Gambling is not a good place and I'm aware of it, but everything need a proccess. Maybe I can't leave it now because I really enjoy when I gamble but who knows in the future, at least I always have a hope that I should leave gambling.

Although I always play with the entertaiment purpose, yeah you same with whl just play gambling once a week. I play when I got money that I can afford to lose and never use money that I will use to meet my daily life. With this thing maybe I can avoid to be an addict and actually this thread will also help the user here to avoid become an addict.

[Chrystora123]

Gambling often makes someone addicted to it all because they are constantly curious about the "easy money" that can be obtained..  This is my experience when I was in high school, I was very addicted to gambling and was even willing to make my school fees into the gambling capital.  control yourself and don't be too lustful with the "easy money" on the table..

[TedMosby]

Gambling addiction is a complex thing.
some people love gambling because they love the feeling and excitement when they win.
some people love gambling because it gives them chance to rich instantly.
some people love gambling because it's entertainment.
gambling addiction combines all of it excessively.

I personally, only gamble for fun, not for living.
I love to feel the excitement when I win a bet.
I've never place a bet more than $5.
my averages for a bet this month? around 30 DOGE per bet 

Myth: Problem gambling is not really a problem if the gambler can afford it.
Fact: Problems caused by excessive gambling are not just financial. Too much time spent on gambling can also lead to relationship and legal problems, job loss, mental health problems including depression and anxiety, and even suicide.

Source: https://www.helpguide.org/articles/addictions/gambling-addiction-and-problem-gambling.htm

[Ayiranorea]

What has happened with his friend Bassey is very rare to happen with most of the gamblers. Gambling is all about fun, but very few understand it and move accordingly. When a person himself isn't able to have control even after months and months of same suffering then he is affected by the addiction. The only way to get out of addiction is through de-addiction centre or through regular medication.

[jrrsparkles]

Gambling is addictive, social media as well highly addictive and lot other things so its all upto the tolerance level of the users, once they passed it and don't know how to come back will get addicted to it.Unfortunately most of the people won't hear or agree with our words when we say them about gambling because they are already addicted to it, so we need to help them in the professional way like with the help of medicine and counselling.

[matchi2011]

People like that, who's so into gambling will never listen to anybody. Its only after he losses everything then he'll realize what his mistakes are. Probably, let him be for now, because his mindset right now is focused on recovering his losses. That's why he'll never stop until he wages the last money he has. When that time comes never give him anything, even if he begs you. You can always help him by giving food.

Most of time it happened. Gamblers who are very drunk to this activities will never listen to anyone. They rather lose more than to think of  stop doing it. Lots of addicted gamblers suffered from heavy
depressions after realizing that they've losses a lot.

Amount that they can't afford to think back, some takes their own life can't accept this huge mistakes in life.

[AicecreaME]

Your friend will always says that gambling thoughts are irresistible because of one thing, in his mind he always thought that if he tries to gamble his money, he is going to win and that what hypes him up. He is already counting the chicks even though it's still eggs, that's why the expectation is high and the disappointment is much higher resulting to a emotional and mental breakdown.

It might help if you'll suggest to him and to his family to visit a psychologist to start his therapy before he waste all of his money including to his family.

[Reid]

Great story.
It's good that you are helping him.
Just be sure he is really accepting the help or he is just keeping the gambling addiction from you so you won't feel bad for him.

Ever since I started gambling I have never been to the point of addiction.
The secret is always enjoy it.
Now, if you are getting stressed out of it then you are near the bad habit. You need to stop it at that point or else it will be nasty in the end.
Gamble to pump your excitement from watching and if you lose, leave it there. Don't bring it home.

[Rifmax]

The story Bassey is going through is actually very sad, I think that he will recover from addiction if he finds someone who stands with him and guides him to the right path, you can do that. You have a great reward for that. Try to try many ways that will enable your friend to recover his wife and children. You can use real stories about people whose lives have been ruined by gambling, to realize that if he continues to gamble, he will be like the characters in the story, and this may make him hold back, and the important thing is that you must support your friend.

[kamadazje]

Without limitation or self control then you will surely become addict in gambling in just a short period of time especially if you have enough money to gamble and plenty of spare time.

But if you will keep yourself busy then you can avoid it to happen like you will only gamble in your day of or when you have nothing to do.

[Twentyonepaylots]

Everything is addictive when you keep drowning every day in doing it, but for some they don't notice it as it will become part of their routine however it is noticeable in such stuff like gambling. Losing is part of the game, but losing every single day is part of decisions made and trust me it gets addictive when you can't accept the fact that you lost. On the other hand, people gets addicted to gambling because they keep on winning, that's another story.

[Lanatsa]

So am urging everyone out there playing to play, but try not to make it a lifestyle, try to always play with only money youve decided to loose, play for the fun and don't expect anything back... Play and don't get addicted.

Even you do say that it shouldn't make as a lifestyle but there are people whom do really actually make this as their living or making money with this one to support their needs.

Sounds impossible? but its possible but only limited to those players who had been on this industry for too long.Gambling is indeed addictive and if you do let yourself fall into greed

and aims on making yourself rich with it then you'll suffer wreckage until you do realize in the end that gambling doesn't work on that way.

Its just really for entertainment but majority do go overboard on that one.

[dimonstration]

Everything is addictive when you keep drowning every day in doing it, but for some they don't notice it as it will become part of their routine however it is noticeable in such stuff like gambling. Losing is part of the game, but losing every single day is part of decisions made and trust me it gets addictive when you can't accept the fact that you lost. On the other hand, people gets addicted to gambling because they keep on winning, that's another story.

In every winning story there is some losses, this can also be the reason why his friend keeps gambling hoping that somehow his turn of winning will come, or he's just to eager to win back he's loses without realising that he loses more in what he is doing.

His friends needs medical attention or support from family now to stay way from his addiction, there should be someone who can guide and inspire him to move out from gambling and start some new habit that can make him look decent as well makes him feel alive.

[MFahad]

I also think that your friend should seek professional medication. Since it is addiction, and based on your narrative, it seems that he has a severe level of gambling addiction. Try convincing him to ask for help. And if you could also influence him to refrain from gambling for the mean time and focus on fixing his personal problems like his family issues first.

It will not be easy for him to quit gambling all at once. Maybe you have to tell him to spent less time on gambling initially and try to find other activities which are of his interest and keep him busy. It is not easy to come out of gambling addiction and perhaps he needs a long meditation before things get normalized with him.

[laycon]

Greetings to ya all

First, am not a gambler, I ones was but didn't play for long, but i have many friends who are into it and it's because of one of them I quit gambling (not quit like never play again, but quit like I no longer play it frequently like before).

I have this friend named Bassey, he needs help, his problem is that he's addicted to gambling, we both work in the same company, but when you see this guy, he looks so homeless, he's gone out of style, he no longer dresses well, feed well, sleep well, he's always looking like he's sick every minute of the day.

Our salaries are ways paid on the 28th of every month, but before 5th of the next month, Bassey is already out of cash and asking me to lend him some money so he could feed till he gets his next salary,
At first, I didnt know what was going on, cus we are both young and married, i always wondered what he uses all his money for cus both of our wife's are working too.

After asking him severally without an answer, he called me one day and opened up to me that he feels like he's loosing his mind, i asked him how, he said he's addicted to gambling, betting on football, horse and dog races, he siad that he doesn't keep money without ending up gambling with it, that the temptation is just irresistible, it has gotten so bad that when ever he's out of cash to play, is either he ask me to lend him or he goes and withdraw money from his wife's account without her permission, the woman complained and complained, got tired, took their only son and left him alone.

Sometimes, I have the feeling that maybe my friend is cursed, but sincerely, I can't say for sure, I personally used to gamble like three to four times in a week, but after I discovered what my friend is going through, I reduced to once or twice in a month, I no longer gamble for money, I gamble whenever I feel like throwing some money away for fun, and if in the process I win, I never let that win over cloud my sense of reasoning, this is different with Bassey, if he plays and wins, he still ends up spending every penny of his winnings on betting on other games on that very spot right there, good thing that with my help, he trying his best to break free from the habit.

So am urging everyone out there playing to play, but try not to make it a lifestyle, try to always play with only money youve decided to loose, play for the fun and don't expect anything back... Play and don't get addicted.

I was also moving in this direction before I strategised by mode of betting. Betting is very addictive.

[tippytoes]

I also think that your friend should seek professional medication. Since it is addiction, and based on your narrative, it seems that he has a severe level of gambling addiction. Try convincing him to ask for help. And if you could also influence him to refrain from gambling for the mean time and focus on fixing his personal problems like his family issues first.

It will not be easy for him to quit gambling all at once. Maybe you have to tell him to spent less time on gambling initially and try to find other activities which are of his interest and keep him busy. It is not easy to come out of gambling addiction and perhaps he needs a long meditation before things get normalized with him.

He needs professional help because him alone will not resolve his addiction. He will always go back to his habit. Even advice from friends will be futile. It is easy to give piece of advice, but when it comes to actual implementation, his friend will go crazy. His level of addiction really needs a professional one to address his problem. Need to know the root cause of his habit and start from there.