Therapy

I was checking my email yesterday and received an email regarding a new blog. It is day 2 for this person in their battle against compulsive gambling. One of the the key ingredients in the battle against compulsive gambling is writing about your (my) compulsive gambling. Gamblers Anonymous talks about this concept and how it helps in recovery. It is good to see this person utililize their web log to chronicle their battle against compulsive gambling. I do hope this person keeps it up. On the website it says they are only 24; I must give them credit for recognizing their problem at an early age. I knew about my problem at this age but chose to ignore any type of therapy because I was better than that; I was so very wrong!! This person has an entire lifetime to live without gambling in their life and I know their life will be much better without the gambling. I wish this person nothing but the best and I hope they find another form of therapy because this is a horrible addiction and writing about it won't make it go away. Gamblers Anonymous works for me and it may not work for this person but I would encourage anyone to attend as many GA meetings as possible for the first 90 days. If they decide after 90 days GA is not for them then so be it but find something else.

Gambling has been in my thoughts for well over 65% of my life and this is a great deal to get "rid" of quickly. The fact of the matter is that it is not quick and anyone looking for a quick fix will have more problems battling this addiction. Slow and steady always win the race and slow and steady in recovery is the best recipe. I have seen so many new members come into Gamblers Anonymous and after 3 meetings they have all the answers. They all seem to say the right things but we never see them again. I don't know if they go back out gambling or they are at home writing the how to stop gambling manual. Seriously, it would be nice to know how these people are doing but there is no way of knowing. I do know the people in the fellowship are kind, caring and giving. They have saved my life and I am forever grateful. This does not mean I am done with Gamblers Anonymous and I am cured from gambling, far from it. I know I am one bet away from the insanity that is why I have not placed a bet today.

I came across a few other things on the internet and I wanted to share them. One of the leaders in problem gambling treatment South Oaks Hospital in Long Island, New York received a state (not federal because there is no money earmarked for problem gambling treatment at the federal level only certain states) grant for the PREVENTION and TREATMENT of compulsive gambling. South Oaks Hospital has a questionnaire that is administered to all problem gamblers and this questionnaires has been used for a very long time. Here is a questionnaire from 1992 that is still utilized today. When I received my certificate from the California Council on Problem Gambling to counsel problem gamblers we went over this questionnaire at length. It is good to see the grants are being issued to help with the prevention and treatment of problem gambling because the United States has a long way to go in this area.

Along the lines of problem gambling; I noticed the Venetian in Las Vegas has implemented a problem gambling program. Here is the link to this story. It seems the management at the Venetian's parent company (Las Vegas Sands) is very serious about this program. They sent upper management to Harvard to learn more about problem gambling. Harvard has one of the leading programs when it comes to compulsive gambling addiction and to read more about their program click here. It is so good to see the gaming companies take a proactive approach in this area; however; I do not understand why the Venetian does not have a voluntary exclusion program (as stated in the article). Most casinos have a voluntary exclusion program which means if you want to ban yourself from the casino you can. This means you cannot win a taxable (over $1199) jackpot if you have self excluded yourself from that casino. It doesn't stop you from gambling because some of the casinos are so big it is impossible to police people on this list. However; if you do win and you have excluded yourself you will not get paid. This type of program is like a band aid on a shark bite. It may stop the bleeding but eventually the wound must be treated. This treatment comes from institutions such as the South Oaks Hospital and Harvard.