Signs that indicate you are not addicted to gambling

[Hispo]

While i agree with every other point you made this i disagree with:

• Non-Escape Mechanism
  You are facing your problems and challenges head-on without turning to gambling forget about them. When you experience stress, or any negative emotions, gambling is not used as a mechanism for coping.

And i tell you why. Because without getting too deep with concept of reality, people are escaping reality all the time. Art museums can be seen as form of escapism as well as netflix, partying, listening or composing music, jamming, day dreaming and painting. If you try to write a book you need to escape a reality to dream yourself in another one.

What i am saying that this isn't necessarily a symptom. There's only so much you can do dwelling in problems if you can't solve them. Sometimes we just need a vacation from our lives to relax. Gambling can be one of such escaping fun activities. It doesn't automatically check out as a problem.

I think that the key point in this matter is to realize that there is a difference between coping mechanisms and entertainment.
In my personal point of view, when we talk about coping there must be some factor or situation which cause stress and other undesirable feelings on us, so in order to face them we develop behavioral patterns to deal with them, if the stress is relatively high and gambling becomes our only coping mechanisms, then I would say there is a problem going on.

For example, I can watch Netflix whether I am stressed after a day of work and also if I am feeling relaxed during the weekend. in the first case it is a coping mechanism in the second one it is just leisure time being spend without a source of stress.

[kamvreto]

I think that the key point in this matter is to realize that there is a difference between coping mechanisms and entertainment.
In my personal point of view, when we talk about coping there must be some factor or situation which cause stress and other undesirable feelings on us, so in order to face them we develop behavioral patterns to deal with them, if the stress is relatively high and gambling becomes our only coping mechanisms, then I would say there is a problem going on.

For example, I can watch Netflix whether I am stressed after a day of work and also if I am feeling relaxed during the weekend. in the first case it is a coping mechanism in the second one it is just leisure time being spend without a source of stress.

In essence there is a coping mechanism when stress is happening, if gambling is a place to relieve stress it actually becomes a means of entertainment needed to reduce stress. There are no addictive effects that will occur as long as everything is well controlled. some people who start to get addicted to gambling will usually always have a desire to continue gambling and hope they will continue to win and achieve high income. when they will just spend a lot of money without them knowing it.

[Hispo]

I think that the key point in this matter is to realize that there is a difference between coping mechanisms and entertainment.
In my personal point of view, when we talk about coping there must be some factor or situation which cause stress and other undesirable feelings on us, so in order to face them we develop behavioral patterns to deal with them, if the stress is relatively high and gambling becomes our only coping mechanisms, then I would say there is a problem going on.

For example, I can watch Netflix whether I am stressed after a day of work and also if I am feeling relaxed during the weekend. in the first case it is a coping mechanism in the second one it is just leisure time being spend without a source of stress.

... will usually always have a desire to continue gambling and hope they will continue to win and achieve high income. when they will just spend a lot of money without them knowing it.

But in order for us to call it addiction the desire to continue gambling must remain even if there is no reasonable source of stress around the person; it would be gambling for the sake of it and the small chance of hitting a jackpot.

Even if there was some source of stress, I would even consider gambling not to be a healthy activity if it is the only activity, coping mechanism or way of entertainment the person has. Would you say a person who only finds stress-relief in gambling to be a mentally healthy one? I don't think I would. One needs to have balance in one's life and be able to afford losses, walk around in the park, listen to music and socialize; otherwise the losses will remain in one's mind and we will always try to chase then down the drain.

[ChiBitCTy]

I mean do people actually struggle to understand whether they are actually addicted to gambling or not? I feel like being addicted  to gambling is a pretty obvious thing.  If you bet too much, lose too much , and don't have the money to be able to do so, and end up neglecting your retirement plan monies as well as you monthly "dues" money (food/shelter etc), then I think you know that you're fine.

However I guess there's always some that need the extra help.

[goldkingcoiner]

Don't self diagnose, it's bad.

When you're not an addict, you will search about signs of gambling addict and there are few signs that same like your habit, you will diagnose if you're an addict and vice versa. It's better for someone visit a doctor and ask them if you're an addict or not, so you will get a proper answer since they more know about your problem.

while I do agree with you on the fact that it is not a good idea to self diagnose, since one is always biased for oneself, I think that visiting a doctor is unnecessary. Addictions are easy to spot, especially from the perspective of family and/or friends. I do not think that one necessarily has to visit a doctor to determine whether one has an addiction or not. Especially a gambling addiction. Not only would you be wasting a doctors precious time but you will probably be laughed out of his office.

The safe bet is: if you start asking yourself if you have a gambling problem, the answer should be an automatic yes, based purely on the act of self-questioning. At that point, just walk away from the gambling world for a few weeks at the very least. Some would even need a longer time to get rid of the gambling addiction.

People who easily get addicted should not gamble at all.

[michellee]

Maybe they have difficulty knowing whether they are addicted or not. But I guess if a person keeps returning to the casino and playing some gambling games, he seems to have started getting addicted. And if he can't control himself, the addiction will only get bigger and become a gambling addiction.

And it seems that many people who return to casino do not realize this. Do they feel addicted to gambling or just like playing gambling again? But when there is a feeling of wanting to come back to experience a different experience from playing other gambling games, it seems that is the beginning of gambling addiction.

You have to control yourself so you don't get addicted to gambling. And it's okay if you keep going back to gambling as long as you can manage expenses and don't cross the line.

[Don Pedro Dinero]

That's too much, the simple way to indicate someone isn't a gambling addict is gamble only for fun and afford to lose.

It's funny, because I just read the OP and I was thinking: do we really need to know about all those signs to realise that we do NOT have a gambling addiction? Normally you have to watch out for signs to the contrary, by yourself or by someone around you, but I'm clear that I don't have a problem and I don't have to look at signs for it. However, some people, especially in the early stages of addiction, don't realise, or don't want to realise, that they are having a problem, and the signs that indicate that you DO have a problem with gambling can be useful.

[Strongkored]

• Financial Independence
  You have not ran into debts because of your gambling. Neither do you rely on other people for financial support. You haven't engaged in any illegal activity to get money to support your gambling.

This is not entirely true, because even if you are someone who is already financially independent, if you continue to gamble beyond the limit then you will become an addict, and this happens how someone who already has a big income but eventually goes bankrupt due to gambling addiction because he has never can stop gambling.

But it is quite certain that addiction will be experienced by a person not when he engages in these activities in the short term, he will experience addiction when playing for long enough and cannot stop these activities even when he has no money will look for ways to continue to fund his gambling. from the point that Op mentioned the point is self-control, when you can still control yourself properly gambling then you will be far from what is called addiction

[Fortify]

Today, let's shift our focus and discuss something different instead of constantly addressing gambling addiction. So, I've decided to bring up a new topic: signs that indicate you are not addicted to gambling. Let's explore it.

Here are some indicators that demonstrate a lack of gambling addiction:

• Absence of Gambling Preoccupation
  Do you don't find yourself constantly thinking over recent gambling losses. You do not get lost daydreaming of past wins. Your day is not spent thinking about gambling, or constantly laying plans on your next bet. You do not schemes ways to get more money to gamble with.
• Stable Tolerance
  You do not need to gamble larger amounts to feel the same level of thrill.  You are satisfied with regular bets and low stakes.  You do not pursue bigger wins, higher stakes, high gambling risks to feel "high" or happy.
• No Withdrawal Symptoms
  When stop gambling, you do not feel restless or irritable. When you are not gambling, you are having feelings of depression or anxiety. For you gambling more like hobby, something you do for fun.
• Non-Escape Mechanism
  You are facing your problems and challenges head-on without turning to gambling forget about them. When you experience stress, or any negative emotions, gambling is not used as a mechanism for coping.
• Lack of Loss Chasing
  When you lose, you do not attempt to bet more and more, with the mindset of winning back what you’ve lost. Rather you "leave" to bet another day.
• Honest and Accountable Behavior
  You are opened about your gambling behaviour and how much you have either won or lost while gambling. You see no reason to lie about it. Your family and friends know about how you gamble because you have made accountable to it.
• Unaffected Relationships and Opportunities
  Your life, career, relationships are in order. They are not being negatively affected by your gambling habits. You met you work target and deadlines, your education is not neglected, and you haven't lost any financial opportunities as a result of gambling.
• Financial Independence
  You have not ran into debts because of your gambling. Neither do you rely on other people for financial support. You haven't engaged in any illegal activity to get money to support your gambling.
• Avoidance of Illegal Activities
  You have never considered partaking in illegal actions like theft or fraud to finance your gambling activity.
• Demonstrates Self-Control
  You can go days without gambling because you have the will power and might to. You do not feel powerless and unable to control your desire to gamble.

These signs suggest a healthy relationship with gambling and indicate that you are not addicted. What other signs do you know of?

I think the major one is time control and how much you spend on any single activity. People can get addicted to all sorts of things like collecting or gaming, but when you start to put that ahead of regular life maintenance it crosses a line into unhealthy behavior. It can make you unstable as it becomes all consuming and using the gaming example - you may even get frustrated with team mates who are simply having fun but you have been playing so much you take a loss badly. Being able to detect changes in your own mood is super important to figure these things out.

[Mr. Magkaisa]

    -  Signs that you are not a gambling addict are that you rarely gamble, you can control yourself gambling in a casino. You just do it as a hobby really and you don't think of it as a main source of income.

You are only doing this to pass the time so that you can forget your problem for a while or if it is called in another term it is stress relief. And you didn't let gambling eat up your time here for a long time, of course. And you don't spend a lot of money just to lose the gamble.

[tusandii]

   -  Signs that you are not a gambling addict are that you rarely gamble, you can control yourself gambling in a casino. You just do it as a hobby really and you don't think of it as a main source of income.

You are only doing this to pass the time so that you can forget your problem for a while or if it is called in another term it is stress relief. And you didn't let gambling eat up your time here for a long time, of course. And you don't spend a lot of money just to lose the gamble.

True, but indirectly gambling can provide a high sense of curiosity and make someone addicted when they start gambling.
So even though we think of gambling as a hobby and having fun, we still have the opportunity to come back again and again, plus when we manage to get a big enough win, the desire to win again can appear suddenly which makes it difficult for to leave the game and finally addicted.

But on the other hand gambling addiction, I admit there are some gamblers who are not affected by winning and those in casinos are looking for pleasure, not defeat, it's just that there are very few gamblers like this.

[Cantsay]

There are things that we normally do that falls under those list of yours but that does not completely means that we are an addict.

Just as others have said, once a gambler realize that they are only gambling for fun or to spend their free time, then addiction is rarely seen in such a bettor. The sets of people that do come down with addiction are those that have decided to take gambling as a means to earn a living and if you take a quick survey you'll observe that 98% of addicts think this way. I am not of the idea for someone to just sit down and start to search and compare themselves to those characteristics, you will surely become what you think about and if all you think about is gambling addiction there's a high chance that you'll become an addict even without you knowing.

[Frankolala]

• Demonstrates Self-Control
  You can go days without gambling because you have the will power and might to. You do not feel powerless and unable to control your desire to gamble.

In whatever one does self-control is a necessity so that we don't over do it and cause us regrets. There is a say that too much of everything is bad. If you can be able to control yourself in your gambling activities I don't see why one will be a victim to addiction.

Set a time limit at a particular hour that should be used for gambling, so that if it is not yet your gambling time,you don't need to gamble. Also when you are gambling, immediately the time limit is over,you should stop gambling,even if you are winning or losing. Gambling is similar to alcohol and drugs that needs self-control.

[Youngkhngdiddy]

Today, let's shift our focus and discuss something different instead of constantly addressing gambling addiction. So, I've decided to bring up a new topic: signs that indicate you are not addicted to gambling. Let's explore bets and low stakes.  You do not pursue bigger wins, higher stakes, high gambling risks.

These signs suggest a healthy relationship with gambling and indicate that you are not addicted. What other signs do you know of?

OP I applaude your effort in creating this particular thread because to be honest there's been lost of threads relating to gambling addiction but this is different and I want include other features of non addicted gamblers
They Set Fnancial limits- a gambler who deposits a limited funds to casino and do not exceed his limits is not likely to be addicted, because they already set a standard and living by it.
they Avoid chasing losses- it is very wise to know when to quit and the more you continue to try to recover your loss there's a great tendency that you'll be likely to loss more, thereby betting more and gradually becoming addicted.
They're time conscious- most gamblers with the quest to earn more lose track of time thereby making them spend most of their time, but a non addicted gamblers is time conscious and focus on other activities asides gambling.
See gambling as a form of entertainment- most gamblers that come into the world of gambling with this motive have a low tendency of being addicted because they take it as an agenda to have fun and gain pleasure.
gamble at the right state of mind- most gamblers gamble when they're stressed, depressed or having a poor mental health, which in turn could make them lost focus thereby loosing more and becoming addicted because they're try to recover their loss and bet more.

[iv4n]

Maybe they have difficulty knowing whether they are addicted or not. But I guess if a person keeps returning to the casino and playing some gambling games, he seems to have started getting addicted...

And I keep returning to casinos and some games I love! As I said many times, we are all addicted to something... so we are all addicts in many ways. It's just a question do we control our addiction (and how we do it) or addiction controls us?

These signs suggest a healthy relationship with gambling and indicate that you are not addicted.

That's something we should all strive for, healthy relationships. It's when we are honest with ourselves and others. When we know our possibilities and that our actions have consequences.

When it comes to gambling, it's all fun and games as long as we know our priorities and we spend what we can afford to lose. So the thing is not about whether is anyone addicted or not, the question is does gambling affect your life in general?! If you don't neglect important things in life (family, work, everything else) because of gambling and you don't have financial difficulties, then you don't have any problems.

[KTChampions]

A good list, however, I should note that in most cases, addiction is a dynamic process - it does not occur in one second (just like one does not become alcoholics from one glass of wine) and even in an addicted person it manifests itself stronger or weaker.
Therefore, if you are concerned about the question of whether you are addicted, then you should check such lists/signs regularly and not just once.

[bitbollo]

Interesting list/advice thanks for share and for opening such discussion.

I would also add to this list (as  add-on to the last point)
absence of compulsive betting on events of which one has a no real knowledge.

have no fixed appointments with the games like setting limits for betting in a certain time/days

[Jody.Drummer]

Identifying whether we are a gambling addict or not can actually be done by ourselves, as long as we can be in a calm state and are willing to self-introspect. But usually an addict will not want to say that he is an addict, because maybe they also realize that there are negative connotations in the word addiction.
We can realize that we are an addict if we are doing something that should be done, for example spending time gambling when there is work that has not been completed and so on. The points made by Op are also criteria where we are not categorized as addicts, but don't let it happen that when we feel we are not addicts we actually do things that go beyond the limit.

I know that person, he is my friend, who does gambling where work or other things that he should do first are completed, instead choosing to take the time to do gambling, but he says that he does not feel like a gambling addict, and what he did what I noticed was excessive, so he used the money from selling his own motorbike, saying if I won I would buy a motorbike twice as luxurious as the one he was selling for capital in gambling.

Well it's exactly what I said, they won't want to be told they're an addict, or they'll even react more than they should, for example they'll get offended and angry when we say they've become a gambling addict.
In such a situation we will actually be completely wrong in acting, if we let them be our friends who should as friends should remind each other, if we remind them, they will react which will make us also upset because our good intentions are actually rewarded with an unexpected response.
If I may suggest, you should not let your friend, because if you let it, it might be even worse. I'm afraid that if you don't care, you will be blamed for not reminding them, even though you tried but gave up.
There are many experiences about this, but some people can accept it consciously, while others find it very difficult and respond negatively.
It's funny sometimes if you think about it, we are the ones who have to remind, we are also the ones who have to be patient with people like that. But this is life. It wouldn't be fun if there weren't people like that, Lol.

[Webetcoins]

Well, though all your points are true and on point about the indications of when someone isn't addicted to gambling, I believe one can just determine if they are addicted to gambling or not if they are not chasing their losses and are gambling with discipline which means they have a fixed budget or time for their gambling activities and they strictly follow that, they might not gamble some days but if they do, they do it according to their discipline.

But that can only be done by a specific group of people with a lot of self-control and not everyone can have that much self-control when it comes to gambling, and being impatient will make you gamble without following any discipline but do it whenever you feel the urge or have money.

[Botnake]

You're not that much affected with your losses and you're the type of person that just enjoys everything in gambling. That's my indication that I am not an addicted gambler.

Too much gambling can make you an addicted gambler because having too much attention and activity in gambling makes you one.

I think you're just describing me mate just kidding!

I agree, because I personally gamble when I only feel the urge to gamble (not that often) especially during the times where I need to keep myself entertained while I'm trying to relax myself from all the day's work from my main job. I know that this type of entertainment that I've chose is quite expensive but I can manage because I only bring some funds that I can afford to lose so that I will not be forced by any factor that will try to make me deposit more.