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How does
gambling become a problem? You've heard
the expression,
"It's only a game" but when you
start spending more time and money gambling
than you should, a game stops being just
a game. It starts to become a problem and
seeking addiction treatment increases your
chance of a successful and long-lasting recovery.
Gambling can include bingo, cards for money,
lotteries, scratch & win or pull-tab
tickets, video lottery terminals, slot
machines and other casino games, sports
betting, race track betting, and high-risk
stocks.
- Do you often spend more time gambling than you intended to?
- Do you spend more time gambling than you used to?
- Do you often find yourself thinking about gambling when you are doing something else?
- Have you dropped hobbies or activities that you used to enjoy because you now spend that time gambling?
- Do you sometimes have trouble sticking to a spending limit when you are gambling?
- Do you ever gamble with money intended for other things?
- Do you sometimes borrow money so that you can keep gambling?
- Have you ever asked family or friends to help you out with gambling debts?
- Has your gambling ever put a strain on your home life?
- Have you ever missed an important family occasion because you were gambling?
- Have you ever missed school or work because you were gambling?
- Do your friends or family complain about your gambling?
- Do you ever feel guilty about your gambling?
- Do you feel anxious, restless, or irritable when you can’t gamble?
- Does your gambling produce mood swings - high when winning, depressed when losing?
- Do you find it difficult to walk away from the game, even when you know you should?
- Do you sometimes keep gambling in an effort to win back money you’ve lost?
- Do you become absorbed and lose track of yourself and everything around you while playing?
- Have you ever lied about your gambling?
- Have you ever written a bad check, stolen money, or broken the
law in other ways because you were desperate to keep gambling or pay
your debts?
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