Does refusal to play (deprivation) help cure gambling addiction?

[michellee]

Refusal to play contributes to recovery from gambling addiction but that is only if that person really wants to cure his addiction. Without having the intention to cure, he will just return to casinos someday because he sees that he cured his addiction so he can playing gambling again. It needs a strong mind to refuse to play gambling and have strong self-control.

He should have positive activities that can distract his mind from gambling. That is the important thing he can do so he will slowly refuse to playing gambling because that is just a waste his money. He should realize the bad effects he gets from gambling so he will say no to playing gambling.

[bubilas]

I used to watch a lot of video interviews with addicted gamblers. They told me how they went through treatment and one thing struck me. More precisely, this thing is quite natural in relation to addiction treatment, as I understood later, but I did not immediately understand the logic. We are talking about weaning from gaming. I thought that weaning from gaming would most likely only work in very advanced cases, when the player is at the bottom of a financial crisis or on the verge of suicide. Then weaning from gaming would most likely work well. But if this is not the case, then what is the benefit of weaning from gaming? Perhaps the logic is to create positive habits in a person. But, in my opinion, this does not allow us to identify the main reason for gaming and work on it. In my opinion, the real reason is that a person has a naive desire to get rich on gambling (, but he does not have even the slightest competence for this and it is more than likely that they will not appear. This is if we are talking about sports betting. If a person wants to get rich on casino games, such as roulette, and does not want to know anything about risk management and money management, then weaning from games is really necessary. And what do you think, does refusal to play (deprivation) contribute to recovery from addiction or is it useless?

I agree with everything you mentioned, but the only thing I would like to add is that gamblers are not always attracted by the naive desire to get rich quickly, but also by the desire to simply escape from reality in gambling and eventually money ceases to excite them completely.
They like this state, similar to a trance, in a world where there are no worries. This world of gambling is colorful and welcoming, and of course they like it when the lines on the screen line up to form a profitable match, indicating that this gambler is lucky.

[pancelot]

I used to watch a lot of video interviews with addicted gamblers. They told me how they went through treatment and one thing struck me. More precisely, this thing is quite natural in relation to addiction treatment, as I understood later, but I did not immediately understand the logic. We are talking about weaning from gaming. I thought that weaning from gaming would most likely only work in very advanced cases, when the player is at the bottom of a financial crisis or on the verge of suicide. Then weaning from gaming would most likely work well. But if this is not the case, then what is the benefit of weaning from gaming? Perhaps the logic is to create positive habits in a person. But, in my opinion, this does not allow us to identify the main reason for gaming and work on it. In my opinion, the real reason is that a person has a naive desire to get rich on gambling (, but he does not have even the slightest competence for this and it is more than likely that they will not appear. This is if we are talking about sports betting. If a person wants to get rich on casino games, such as roulette, and does not want to know anything about risk management and money management, then weaning from games is really necessary. And what do you think, does refusal to play (deprivation) contribute to recovery from addiction or is it useless?

Yes, that's absolutely true. Technically, I believe weaning, or limiting access to games, is designed to cut off exposure to addictive stimuli that trigger dopamine pathways in the brain. This will reduce the risk of relapse and allow for other therapies, such as cognitive therapy. I once read a study showing that voluntary self-exclusion is indeed effective, and the results showed that participants who participated in this program gambled less frequently and spent less money. You can see the discussion in this article: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214782920301202

However, this system isn't perfect in my opinion—for example, I've seen data and news from Sweden that showed that up to 49% of participants in the national Spelpaus program were still able to gamble through foreign websites. The research paper can be read here: https://harmreductionjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12954-023-00822-w
Furthermore, global data shows that the use of self-exclusion is much higher among problem gamblers (15%) than among the general population (0.26%). https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40429-023-00510-6
So, in my opinion, weaning isn't the final solution, but it remains important as an "emergency brake" that greatly supports everyone's recovery process.

[Dr.Bitcoin_Strange]

Can it help to prevent addiction? The answer is yes, it can and has already help prevent addiction in some people but it might not work for everyone.
I have said something before about how there are different methods to cure addiction and how some of the methods might not produce a positive results on some persons but if you apply a different method, it will work.

The most important factor is the willingness and the willpower to fight addiction. Except that the individual shows seriousness in controlling his gambling activity, no strategy will work.   

That's very true, there's no method of curing addiction that can work unless the addict (him or she) is willing to accept the change to happen with them, matter of fact, I have seen someone that was battling addiction and was being restrained from gambling for a long time, the purpose of doing that was to let him forget about gambling but immediately he was given the freedom again, he even became worse and we can believe that he didn't change because he was not ready for it.

[Questat]

Deprivation from gambling will seriously make you a better person. You don’t need to wait for the worst scenario to decide weaning from gambling, but as long as you’ve seen something unhealthy for yourself, then the best remedy is to immediately wean from gambling.

Gambling addiction is not new for gamblers. In fact, majority of the gamblers have turn addicted into it, some are just in denial even if they know deeply they are already battling with their gambling urges and high emotions. With this, weaning from gambling is always the best option. It’ll definitely work once you allow yourself to wean, but it won’t if you insist to continue gambling regardless of your personal reasons.

[Russlenat]

For me, it’s really hard to refuse playing because it has already become part of my routine, especially gambling on sports. I think the only time I’d actually stop is if I get discouraged like when I feel I’m not winning anymore, when my skills aren’t enough to stay profitable or if I ever suspect that the casinos are cheating me. But so far, I haven’t reached that point yet, sometimes the thought crosses my mind, but in the end I still end up playing.

I was addicted before, to the point that I really needed to stop gambling for a while.
Now, I still think I’m addicted, but not as bad as before since I have more control over myself compared to the past.

[mirakal]

The goal of gambling addiction treatment is to stop the person from playing often or at all, goes without saying that there will be an attempt to slowly take the person away from their source of addiction and replace that activity with a different one that gives same levels of dopamine but one they can manage effectively and not get hooked on.

Exactly, you need to divert your attention to different things or habits. If you’re only restraining yourself without finding distractions, you’ll just keep thinking about playing and eventually fail in your attempt to recover. You should do other things you enjoy the most, and if that’s not enough, add more activities so you can avoid thinking about gambling. It’s important to do things you genuinely like so you won’t get bored or lose interest.

Know your priority and stick to it. You don’t have to leave gambling in an abrupt way, but take one step at a time until you get used to it and find yourself not fond anymore of gambling, and you can peacefully live already even without gambling in a week. Once you made it happen, rest assured that you can recover from gambling addiction if you consistently avoid gambling.

Find another productive hobby and spend your time on it which you usually spend in gambling. It will be effective if you are determined to leave from gambling for good.

[AbuBhakar]

For me, it’s really hard to refuse playing because it has already become part of my routine, especially gambling on sports. I think the only time I’d actually stop is if I get discouraged like when I feel I’m not winning anymore, when my skills aren’t enough to stay profitable or if I ever suspect that the casinos are cheating me. But so far, I haven’t reached that point yet, sometimes the thought crosses my mind, but in the end I still end up playing.

I was addicted before, to the point that I really needed to stop gambling for a while.
Now, I still think I’m addicted, but not as bad as before since I have more control over myself compared to the past.

I have same experience before. It’s hard to resist if you are also active on discussion here in the forum related to gambling because we frequently casino promotion and other user profit that can encourage us to play.

I manage to snap out of my gambling habits when I become busy at work that gives me a lot of break on gambling. I do prioritize my responsibility at work that helps me forgot gambling.

Until now, I don’t gamble frequently because I always consider a stop and schedule my game on weekends only.

[sompitonov]

The goal of gambling addiction treatment is to stop the person from playing often or at all, goes without saying that there will be an attempt to slowly take the person away from their source of addiction and replace that activity with a different one that gives same levels of dopamine but one they can manage effectively and not get hooked on.

Exactly, you need to divert your attention to different things or habits. If you’re only restraining yourself without finding distractions, you’ll just keep thinking about playing and eventually fail in your attempt to recover. You should do other things you enjoy the most, and if that’s not enough, add more activities so you can avoid thinking about gambling. It’s important to do things you genuinely like so you won’t get bored or lose interest.

Know your priority and stick to it. You don’t have to leave gambling in an abrupt way, but take one step at a time until you get used to it and find yourself not fond anymore of gambling, and you can peacefully live already even without gambling in a week. Once you made it happen, rest assured that you can recover from gambling addiction if you consistently avoid gambling.

Find another productive hobby and spend your time on it which you usually spend in gambling. It will be effective if you are determined to leave from gambling for good.

I also think that new hobbies help to get rid of addiction and gambling. At least it helped me once, because I began to devote more time to sports. By the way, I just do not believe that a player will not be able to find a suitable sport for himself, because there are team sports, tennis, water sports and many more. Even if a person has contraindications to physical sports, he can do chess, billiards and others. I want to say that you do not need to concentrate only on gambling, there are a lot of interesting and exciting things, players just might not have tried something that can captivate them with more pleasure than gambling.

[Bitcoin_people]

I used to watch a lot of video interviews with addicted gamblers. They told me how they went through treatment and one thing struck me. More precisely, this thing is quite natural in relation to addiction treatment, as I understood later, but I did not immediately understand the logic. We are talking about weaning from gaming. I thought that weaning from gaming would most likely only work in very advanced cases, when the player is at the bottom of a financial crisis or on the verge of suicide. Then weaning from gaming would most likely work well. But if this is not the case, then what is the benefit of weaning from gaming? Perhaps the logic is to create positive habits in a person. But, in my opinion, this does not allow us to identify the main reason for gaming and work on it. In my opinion, the real reason is that a person has a naive desire to get rich on gambling (, but he does not have even the slightest competence for this and it is more than likely that they will not appear. This is if we are talking about sports betting. If a person wants to get rich on casino games, such as roulette, and does not want to know anything about risk management and money management, then weaning from games is really necessary. And what do you think, does refusal to play (deprivation) contribute to recovery from addiction or is it useless?

Yes I think refusal go play or gamble will contribute to recovery from addiction if actually the refusal is totally or wholly because if a gambler doesn't gamble for a period of time or long time, the zeal, the urge, the feeling and some kind of mindset will reduce and it will also change. The truth is that most gambler will find it difficult to even think of refusing to play because then have been sinked inside gambling and so taking this decision is sometimes almost impossible. Anyone who gamble without knowing how to manage risk and his finance will definitely turn an addict because if they make any loss they will press to get it back which can lead to losing more and from there addiction is developing.

Of course, if a person who is addicted to gambling stays away from gambling for a long time and does not play, then gradually his mind and mentality will change a lot. When a person is addicted to winning, the feeling of gambling awakens in him and if he does not do it, he does not like it at all, just as we often do not like it when we are immersed in games, we do not like it if we do not play games, just as they do not like it if we do not buy gambling.
Although it will be very difficult for a person addicted to gambling to quit, if he does not enter gambling platforms for a long time, hang out with friends and socialize with people, then he will gradually return to mental balance. A family is always at risk with a person addicted to gambling, so if the addicted person is to be returned from gambling, he must be enrolled in various types of encouraging activities, only then will it be possible.

[Accardo]

Directly distancing oneself can be very risky. I don't know what the risks are, but for me, when I felt addicted, the steps I took were to gradually distance myself from it, such as setting firm limits and restraining myself as much as possible when gambling, and it worked. As long as we have strong intentions and determination, direct withdrawal can also be successful.
Someone who is already addicted might be better off in a rehabilitation center, if even if their condition is already dire, they still haven't realized it.

Specialists in the rehabilitation center also recommend that addicts take the withdrawal slowly. Mental disorder requires step by step approach at quitting it entirely. Stopping it all at once, might end up healing the person for a moment, after sometimes when tempted they'll fall back to the habit. They is a famous saying that 'you're only tempted by what you think about'. It's also true for compulsive gamers who wish to stop, it's of no essence quitting when the addict go ahead thinking about gambling. But, if taken gradually, they'll be able to lower the rate at which they see gaming, and begin to adjust towards limiting the activity.

[Davidvictorson]

And what do you think, does refusal to play (deprivation) contribute to recovery from addiction or is it useless?

If you want you quit gambling addiction and recover quickly you will have to separate yourself from the object that triggers the addiction. This separate could be physical or mental. It could also be both. And it is helpful because once the triggering stimuli is weakened so does the addiction urge. There will be strong withdrawal syndrome for the first few days and weeks but once the person can stay strong with good emotional and physical support around them, they'll overcome it.

[libert19]

... And what do you think, does refusal to play (deprivation) contribute to recovery from addiction or is it useless?

Useless. I am not fan of resisting anything, it makes no sense with desire to do the act is still burning in your head. Imo you are better off doing things that makes you completely immersed in them, so you forget to gamble naturally (don't quote me on this though).

[AVE5]

If a person wants to get rich on casino games, such as roulette, and does not want to know anything about risk management and money management, then weaning from games is really necessary. And what do you think, does refusal to play (deprivation) contribute to recovery from addiction or is it useless?

I want to say that everyone is aware that they can loose beyond their expectations if they're not in control of their anxieties and bank roll managements. Those who falls victim are strictly those who're of greeds hoping they'd be richein gambling despites the risks. So they just ignores the threats behind the urge of gambling for fun and profits.
So in fight of addiction, those who intentionally ignores these fact (threats) and are already addicted victims will find It more difficult to consider fighting their addiction out because, their minds has been made up desperately that they must be rich on gambling. So, these set of people if after trying the weaning method and didn't work out, I think depriving them from gambling will be best solution. As the case maybe, some addiction has surged deep to their veins that they can't just gamble responsibly.

[Bitcoin Smith]

Addiction is not always about the financial crisis, it's is one of the important factor but there other things involved too like mental health of the addicted ones, they are still rich but probably lost custody to their kids because of their addiction or lost his wife due to misunderstanding, domestic violence and much more. Recovery is not cheap either so only a few can afford it but if they hit their rock bottom then it's obvious that they have no other choice than give up their gambling but the fact is it's better to make them while they are in a better financial position.

[tvplus006]

...And what do you think, does refusal to play (deprivation) contribute to recovery from addiction or is it useless?

Giving up games will only contribute to recovery if the game is replaced by a new hobby, job, or sport. But considering that gambling attracts players by giving them a surge of dopamine, I think that at the first stage it can be replaced by roller coasters or, as a last resort, skydiving.

[Obim34]

That's very true, there's no method of curing addiction that can work unless the addict (him or she) is willing to accept the change to happen with them, matter of fact, I have seen someone that was battling addiction and was being restrained from gambling for a long time, the purpose of doing that was to let him forget about gambling but immediately he was given the freedom again, he even became worse and we can believe that he didn't change because he was not ready for it.

Some gamblers knows about their addiction, willing to quit but don't know what to do to quit. There are many things that comes with quitting addiction, determining mindset, channeling time and resource into something else, the process has to be both mentally and physical.

All these methods are what to be applied together, determination can correct addiction but what happens to an idle gambler, the urge must return, why not be determined, deprive oneself from gambling and then make use of the time to carry out other entertaining activity. The mind alone can't cure addiction.

[acroman08]

I've read several articles in the past about weaning addicts from things that they are addicted to, I'd assume it works almost the same with gambling addicts. Anyway, I think the logic of "weaning from gambling" is to slowly reduce the gambler's gambling activity. From what I have read, it could help them cope and get used to not being able to gamble and have a better reaction when they completely stop gambling.

[Su-asa]

And what do you think, does refusal to play (deprivation) contribute to recovery from addiction or is it useless?

If you want you quit gambling addiction and recover quickly you will have to separate yourself from the object that triggers the addiction. This separate could be physical or mental. It could also be both. And it is helpful because once the triggering stimuli is weakened so does the addiction urge. There will be strong withdrawal syndrome for the first few days and weeks but once the person can stay strong with good emotional and physical support around them, they'll overcome it.

Most things that makes addicted gamblers not stop gambling is because sometimes they go to a particular place, so because they normally go around bthe environment were they gamble, they still see themselves gambling when they have said to stop gambling. Another thing is friends, when a gambler keeps friends that can't help him stop gamble it becomes worse for the person to stop gambling, so you are right some reason why people find it difficult to stop gambling is physically and mentally issues.

[HONDACD125]

For me, it’s really hard to refuse playing because it has already become part of my routine, especially gambling on sports. I think the only time I’d actually stop is if I get discouraged like when I feel I’m not winning anymore, when my skills aren’t enough to stay profitable or if I ever suspect that the casinos are cheating me. But so far, I haven’t reached that point yet, sometimes the thought crosses my mind, but in the end I still end up playing.

I was addicted before, to the point that I really needed to stop gambling for a while.
Now, I still think I’m addicted, but not as bad as before since I have more control over myself compared to the past.

You are not addicted if you think you can stop gambling if you feel you are not winning anymore or get discouraged, because an addicted gambler wouldn't be able to do that. Someone who is addicted to gambling won't stop only because they are losing, it's because the urge to gamble for them is too strong that they can't control themselves, and everytime they lose, their mind tells them that they are going to win this time if they gamble again, and they do it, because they are unable to say no to the urge.

Also, you say that you were addicted but then you had to stop gambling for a while, that is also another thing that says that you weren't really too addicted, because someone who is addicted to the point that they gamble too much recklessly, they can't stop gambling themselves, and they will need some help with it, and one can only get help if they acknowledge the fact that they are addicted and ask people around them to help them get rid of the addiction. Without doing that, you will just keep getting away for a couple of days, and then get back again because there is no one to stop you.