Do n’t chance with your life .
When it comes to addictions, gambling may not be the first one you think of, but it’s a big problem in the United States, and it’s only gotten worse with the legalization of sports betting. Disturbingly, gambling addiction is nowgrowing fastestamong teenagers and twentysomethings.
According tothe National Library of Medicine, gambling addiction also has “the highest suicide rate of any addiction disorder with one in five patients having attempted suicide.” So, in order to spread awareness, we visitedQuorato gatherfirsthand storiesfrom people who have lived with a gambling addiction:
admonition : This post include discussion of suicide .
1.“It’s shit basically, awful, and only gets worse as time goes on. They say it’s a progressive illness, and it sure is. I went from a job, home, family, girlfriend, and normalcy to sleeping in the local park and facing a prison sentence due to the effects of compulsive gambling.”
" It starts peachy , a few winnings here and there , and it ’s exciting , but pretty soon , without you knowing , it take a grip on you . Denial set in where you breed the dependance to family and friends because , basically , you do n’t want to stop . You start to plan your next play adventure , your next academic session , and you draw a blank your interests and hobby . You forget your morals and standards as a person , too , as the addiction takes hold , and you simply feed in it , never yourself . "
— Liam C. , Quora
2.“I have been addicted to coke, Adderall, meth, cigarettes, and gambling. When I found out I was going to be a father, I quit a $180-a-day coke habit. I went from 120mg of Adderall a day to my regular dose. I drew back from the meth before it destroyed me. Slowly laid off the smoking with the help of Chantix. All of these were not terribly difficult to overcome. No detox horror stories. No terrible comedowns. It sucked, but life went on, no problemo. Except gambling…”
" I get going into a gambling casino in Kansas City for the first time at 23 and … won $ 750 ! And I only walk in with $ 40 — holy bull ! I result and corrupt some things that I needed . All honest , correct ? Well , then I start go back a minute more . I was in a crappy relationship at the fourth dimension , but sitting in front of that one-armed bandit machine , I did n’t have to worry about any of that plenty . The domain faded by . One clip , I spent 32 hour direct in the casino . Your concept of time will belittle unless you keep your phone handy and take notice , but even then , just … 10 more minute of arc and I ’ll cash in out . Okay , after I fume this cigarette . Ah , but now I am up $ 17 ! I ’ll quit when $ 10 of that is gone , emphatically …
I ’m now almost 38 years erstwhile . I experience in Oklahoma , where three mega - casinos are within 20 minutes each way . It ’s that bad here . hoarding . wireless spot . Ads on idiot box all the time . newsprint are tout how great it is that in a state with only 3 million people , gaming tax revenue is now over a billion dollar . I believe we are the number three Department of State with the most casinos now if not identification number four . We also have the high incarceration rate for both men and women in America . One of the high-pitched divorcement rates and a high suicide pace as well , but hey , at least now dice game just got the okay in this state ; get ’s celebrate !
I have a sound job , a married woman , an 11 - yr - honest-to-god daughter , a machine , booster , and hobbies . On the outside , I am extroverted , athletically set , well - read , funny , and usually the life of the company . You would never know the world of it all . I have a maxed - out quotation card ; luckily , it only has a $ 400 boundary , but it is still embarrassing . Three - quarter of my chip is deposited into my married woman ’s story because I ’m a play freak . I usually gamble away whatever is leave . I have had a gymnasium membership for two calendar month but have never been . One class , when we were in Kansas City for Christmas , I gambled all the Christmas money , all the travel money , everything … I had to borrow from friends so we could make it home . A few months later , my married woman cheated on me , and by that point , who could pick her ?
I do n’t take a chance to that extreme anymore , but I still have a maxed - out cite card and an unused gym membership . I am go to try and go an entire calendar month without gambling as of Monday . It ca n’t keep going at this rate . I have to lie to cover up why I am gone in the centre of the night . How many cherished moments have I lost with my daughter ? She is now 11 . I missed out on a lot of time that I could have been bonding with her . sentence can never be reconstruct so now , only regrets . Fifteen years of it feel like a lifespan , and now I am just hackneyed and wear out . Us gambling junkie have thehighest rate of suicideover all other dependence combined . Sounds fun , does n’t it ? ! "
— Michael , Quora
3.“I had a slot machine addiction that lasted 41 years. I played for long sessions, losing many tens of thousands and being many thousands in debt. I had a shite childhood with really poor conditions, and my dad turned to gambling when my mum left him and I was just 7. It’s no surprise I followed in my dad’s footsteps.”
" gratefully , one-armed bandit machine dependance was my only vice , and after 41 long time , I awake up nearly eight months ago and said , ' That ’s it , no more one-armed bandit , ' and that was the first time I had quit for commodity . Just six hebdomad ago , I complete paying off a £ 42,000 debt , and for the first clock time since I was 18 , I am debt - free and slot machine - free . "
— Plaza , Quora
4.“I was addicted to gambling for many years, and it turned my life into a nightmare. My husband was a person with alcoholism, and I started to gamble just to get away from him. I gambled on everything. I started with bingo, then learned about off-track betting, lotteries…the list went on. My bets got bigger, and I was going into debt, but I didn’t care. All the while, I kept this secret.”
— Mary Ann B. , Quora
5.“I started gambling a few months ago after quitting my job. I had reasonable savings that would’ve lasted me for at least six months. Aside from that, I earn passive income and make sales monthly. Still, I’m down to my last cents and have been taking money from my family account. I’ve tried to quit gambling, but I just can’t. I haven’t bought myself anything nice all year and have nothing to show for all the money I’ve been making.”
— Neliswa M. , Quora
6.“Do you mean when you’ve run out of money and walk around, waiting for people to get up so you can hopefully find a slot machine with some money still on it? Maybe you’re talking about pulling all the seats out of the car at 2 a.m. in hopes of finding some loose change, at least enough to make a buck to go into the machine for that 1-cent each button push to hit something big on a penny?”
" Or perhaps you ’re driving to the grocery store to save a check for something you do n’t need just to get $ 20 in cash . Then , when that $ 20 run out , you return what you buy to begin with and threaten to call the CEO if they do n’t give you cash rather than a store talent poster .
Or , throw $ 20 cache for natural gas and ending up speak your mental capacity into using it ( I ’ll win with this $ 20 and put it back ! ) , only to use all the gas money and scarce make it to the gas post where you look the function to get multitude to palpate sorry for you and let you borrow from them . And then perhaps , or maybe not , the wit goes , Well , I have $ 20 now they gave me and just enough fumes to get back to the casino , and this time , I ’ll hit it big . No way am I know up this time … and then a few hour later , you ’re back at another gas station .
Then there ’s falling benumbed at the machines , standing in the public convenience , eating piazza , lawns , parks , etc . And the pawn store … I would say 50 % of what ’s in a cat’s-paw shop amount from the love of gaming .
Maybe it ’s the family and friends who wo n’t even take your call WHATSOEVER .
BUT there ’s hope . There are payday loan company near the casinos , go figure . And there ’s the feeling of being out of money all day , and affair turn around , and someone throw you $ 20 , and you put it into the machine , and WIN a $ 1,400 kitty ! THERE is a god ! !
An time of day or so subsequently , though , after you ’ve spent the whole $ 1,400 , you have this stupid , empty feeling because an hour ago you had $ 1,400 after being broke and eating leftovers out of McDonald ’s scum , and now you ’re sitting there like an idiot , break again .
I win over $ 100k one year and never went home with a dime bag .
I lost a lot of tooth from disregard and quit taking my meds because they cost money I used to take a chance .
I have sex just about every courthouse / jail in two - to - three states .
When you realize what ’s going on , it ’s usually too late . I quit 10 years ago . No magic recipe , just quit . "
— Mustang Mark , Quora
7.“I have been a gambling addict for over half my life. Just writing that makes me think…Really? Many of the biggest parts of being a gambling addict are often not clearly said, so let me share a few things from my own experience:”
" Almost all of us lead or have moderate dual lives .
A lot of addicts keep their job and families together for a long clock time .
Most of us do have societal life sentence and wish to party .
We love our kid , syndicate , and friends .
We know gambling is sorry for us .
Most of us are addicted to simple machine , not the cards or roulettes .
Most of us hate the casinos and see them for what they really are .
Over sentence , our social and sexual love sprightliness slowly disappear .
Our double lives easy merge over time .
90 % of us suffer from impression of some sorting .
A lot of us consider death by felo-de-se .
Our gender life draw .
We become emotionally numb .
Money has no value .
We all retrieve the wins , never the red .
Take it from a guy who lost intimately everything that count in life but got promotion after packaging at employment .
If you care gambling , be careful . discover something else to do that you really wish . "
— Paul K. , Quora
8.“As a new casino dealer (1.5 years), coming face-to-face with the addictive power of gambling has been challenging. Here’s an example of how severe gambling addiction can be: I had a player who was jonesing for a cigarette. I politely pointed him to the smoking patio and said I could hold his seat for him. He said that he couldn’t dare leave for fear that he was going to miss a big hand. I wanted to say, ‘You know that we are a 24/7 casino, so you can indulge in both addictions,’ but I stopped myself. It was startling to me that gambling could trump a smoking addiction.”
— Robert E. , Quora
9.“It’s a terrible series of events that never end and keeps you saying you’re going to quit when you win a certain amount of money, but we know that never happens, at least not for 99% of gamblers. I don’t want to ever relive those moments, even in my head, but I would say it’s like being constantly given short sticks while you’re trapped in a big hole, and instead of constructing the sticks into a ladder to get out, you keep burning them for a fast, good feeling of heat.”
— Mezi N. , Quora
10.“I walked away from a wife of 32 years and three adult children. Why? Because being a father and a husband interfered with my gambling. Now, I sit alone with just enough money to get by and no family. My children, all in their 40s, haven’t spoken to me in over 20 years. I’ve tried to have some contact, but it seems like it’s not going to happen, and there is only one person to blame, and that’s myself.”
— Woody H. , Quora
11.“Life basically sucks as a gambling addict. Gambling addiction goes hand in hand with depression. Gambling really sucks the life out of a person.”
" Whenever you ’ve got money , you have the impulse to chance . When you hazard , most of the fourth dimension , you miss money . In the beginning , the habituation starts with chasing loss because you really do n’t have the money to gamble forth . It makes you feel like shit , and this is the second reason you require to go forward gambling . Gambling numbs the pain in the neck . For a moment , while the slots are spinning , you feel like a potential winner .
Most of the fourth dimension , we miss , but there are moment when we have a good mean solar day and make some gain . You will feel on top of the world . But it ’s so damn hard to walk out . So you will keep gambling until all of the money is pass away again . It always end up with losing everything . It does n’t have to be on the same day . Even if you manage to walk away , you will go back the next day . The thrill of winning does n’t go forth , and you will want to make more money . And when you gamble away again , you finger bad than before .
It ’s a vicious cycle ; more gaming leads to more problem . So you attempt to dull the pain of these problems by gambling . There ’s also a lot of magical thinking : Maybe I will win this time , and if I do , it will work all my problems . "
— Anonymous , Quora
12.“Imagine that the only time you feel good is when you are gambling. Now imagine the rest of your life is a hell of screaming anxiety — ‘Can I pay the rent? Am I at the limit on my credit cards? Can I afford to pay for my prescription meds? Is that a phone call from a collection agency? WHAT IF MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS DISCOVER MY ADDICTION? I am so ashamed.’ This is your internal dialogue. The only time you feel better is when you are gambling. Your problems disappear, and you have no responsibilities at that moment. It’s like that, but much worse.”
— Liz S. , Quora
13.“It’s terrible. I have a lot of addictions, and it’s definitely one of the worst. It costs me more than all of my other addictions put together, and most of the time, I put it before anything else. I rarely ever win, and even when I do, it never comes close to what I’ve lost. But I keep going back every chance I get.”
— Jerry T. , Quora
first appearance have been edited for length / and or clarity .
If you or someone you screw is struggling with gambling addiction , you could call the National Problem Gambling Helpline at 1 - 800 - GAMBLER , and find more resourceshere .