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Get Help for a Friends Gambling Addiction
Get Help for Your Friend's Addiction to Gambling
I want to do this! What's This?
Gambling is just as detrimental to a person as any drug or alcohol addiction. The consequences are very severe and can cause a person to lose everything if they do not get help. If you think a friend is unable to control the urge to gamble then there are some things you can do to help. First of all you have to get them to admit that they may have a problem.
Difficulty: Moderate
How to do It
Know the signs. You will need to monitor your friend's behavior to determine if they have a problem. How often are they gambling? Are they talking about gambling a lot more then you think they should? You may feel like a stalker but be reasonable with how you keep tabs on your friend, don't camp outside their house. The signs will be subtle at first, but as the gambling addiction gets worse you will be able to pick up on the warning signs. When they start losing more and more money you will notice a change in the way they act. You may not see them as much as you used to.
Try and help the gambler at first without bringing anyone else into the situation. You may be able to catch the problem early enough that you can just show them how much they are losing, and how it is messing with the quality of life. Once you confront the person, you will be able to determine how severe the addiction actually is. If your encouragement does not do the trick then you will have to look into getting professional help.
Now that you tried your best to help them without bringing anyone in, it is time to get friends and family involved. You will need to go about this gently and may have to coax them as they accept that their loved one does have a problem. You may need to set up an intervention so that they can help you confront the addict about the problem. Educate yourself on what drives a gambling addict and ways to help them.
You may have to take some abuse from your friend for airing their dirty laundry to their loved ones. It will be worth it in the end, if you can get them to finally seek help for their addiction. You will need to be fully supportive after the person agrees to get help. You need to make sure you and their family are there for them every step of the way. They are taking a big step in their life and you should make sure they know that you are very proud of them.