If you are right now like you can’t get over to playing casino games, then you need to take your time to learn how to stop gambling addiction. Gambling is defined as the act of betting money or other items of value on an event with unspecific results with the purpose of winning more money.
Taking part in activities where a person uses money, wishing to win more, is considered gambling. Of course, gambling addiction is a serious problem, however, it is possible to stop it with a well-structured treatment program. Some of the best ways to stop your gambling addiction will be listed below.
How to Stop Gambling Addiction for Teenagers or Adults
As we know, gambling addiction can affect everyone, even from teenagers to adults. This disorder leading to the characteristic is an overpowering urge to gamble, no matter what the consequences. Many problem gamblers experience, such as failed poor health outcomes, financial difficulties, and failed relationships.
While addiction remains as a complex condition, there are many treatment options to help you on how to stop gambling. In addition, you can figure out how to manage gambling by yourself with these tips.
1. Plan Ahead of Time to Avoid Boredom
First important strategy on how to stop gambling is to plan your time to avoid boredom. Current or ex-gamblers get bored oftenly which is why the highs and lows of gambling suit them.
How to avoid moments of boredom?
Well, planning is a key! Make your weekends as an opportunity to make the plans for the upcoming week. A good plan should consist of a thorough list of things to be done every day. For instance, get up at a certain time, get ready to work or go to college, head to the gym, meet some friends and family, accomplish your errands, or do something else.
The main point here is to create a mental picture that shows there is something to do every day. Otherwise, finishing work or tasks will create an illusion of having a lot of free time on your hands, which can lead to gambling.
Use a planner to make your plans for every day. People who don’t like actual planners can use the digital ones like Notes on their phones. Writing the plan down makes it likely to stick to it. Moreover, this particular strategy works for gamblers who want to recover from gambling addiction and people who have already recovered but want to reduce the risks.
2. Try Something Totally New
One of the most effective ways on how to stop gambling addiction is trying something totally new in your life. This way will be particularly useful for people who started gambling because they were seeking entertainment.
Some options in trying something new can include signing up for a class, going to a new coffee shop, travelling to new places, planting a garden, and doing other fun activities you have never tried before. It will work because it gives much-needed happiness for the thrill-seekers.
3. Restore Your Old Hobbies
How about your past activities? It could help you on how to stop gambling addiction. Well, people with gambling addiction might lose interest in activities they used to enjoy. In fact, losing interest in hobbies and other activities remained as the biggest symptoms of this disorder. While working on recovery, restoring an old hobby can be amazingly helpful.
Restoring an old hobby would make a significant impact. You can think about activities and hobbies that brought joy before you have gambling addiction. Moreover, hobbies also act as a distraction that will help reduce the intensity of cravings for gambling.
Furthermore, restoring an old hobby on how to stop gambling will be helpful as it also reduces endorphins like feel good chemicals. Psychosomatic Medicine as a study found that hobbies and other free time activities improve your physical and psychological health and well-being.
4. Find Techniques to Cope with the Stress More Effectively
Another strategy on how to stop gambling is to find necessary ways to handle stress more effectively. The main purpose is to find something relaxing or interesting in activities that reduce stress. Once you find them, then try practising them regularly, or using them as go-to measures whenever you are feeling stressed out or frustrated.
Stress management techniques you can do include yoga, meditation, reading or writing, taking long walks every day, starting a new hobby, self-care, exercise, hanging out, deep breathing, and others. The best thing to do is try some techniques to find the most effective approach by yourself.
5. Express How You Proud Something
Motivation on how to stop gambling addiction recovery can go up and down. Since unsuccessful recovery from this disorder needs a great deal of motivation, it is useful to make a gratitude list on a daily basis.
To make a gratitude list, you can take a piece of paper or use a phone or computer and start with “I am grateful for…” Then, you can start listing all the positive things for which you are thankful and that also shows how far you have come.
Moreover, a gratitude list can include points that express how you are proud of something in person, for having no cravings for gambling or that they can successfully overcome them. It can also contain they are grateful for a successful day at work or improved financial situation after quitting gambling.
6. Know Your Triggers
On how to stop gambling effectively, you need to learn your triggers. You must understand the reasons behind your pathological gambling and the outside that might be contributing to it.
The triggers can be any thoughts, situations, feelings, or even behaviours that make you want to gamble. For example, being around friends with the same habits can trigger many problem gamblers. In addition, you would gamble when you are under the influence.
To know your triggers, you can start by writing them down in a journal. You can also include the type of gambling, time spent and the amount of money you will lose. And for the next, you can write down the feelings, thoughts, and situations that happened before or during the gambling session to figure out what affected the craving.
7. Avoid the High-Risk Situations
Another way on how to stop gambling, steering clear of high-risk conditions is important when trying to stop your addiction. It is also helpful to avoid isolation. Instead of spending time playing 7 card stud poker, you might call your family members or friends to meet for coffee.
Moreover, it can be challenging to prevent cravings if you find yourself near a casino or around the triggers that might cause you to gamble. Here you can try some following techniques to avoid high-risk situations:
- Stay away from the casinos and online gambling websites
- Cancel your credit cards
- Don’t take out loans
- Never carry big amounts of cash with you
- Uninstall all sportsbook apps from your devices
- Don’t socialize in venue where gaming takes place
- Avoid the places, people, and all activities that associated with gambling
8. Delay Your Decision
Delaying the decision on how to stop gambling will allow time for cravings to pass, so you can be more in control with this problem. Try the following next time you have the urge to gamble:
- Focus and relax on staying calm
- Take a deep breath to slow down and quiet your thoughts
- Distract yourself with an activity like bicycling or reading book
9. Challenge Your Beliefs
On how to stop gambling, it also helps to challenge negative thinking habits like the illusion of control, illogical beliefs and the gambler’s fallacy. These unhealthy thought patterns can boost compulsive gambling, however, you can reduce them by identifying and changing them.
You can avoid risk-taking behaviours with logic and reason. When you gamble, think about the amount of money that you will potentially lose if you make a bet. Challenging fallacies, the illusion of control, and superstitions will help you on how to stop gambling.
10. Seek a Professional Help
If you are facing trouble controlling your habits on how to stop gambling, it may be time to seek professional help. Gambling addiction problems might be classified as an addiction, so you may need to see an addiction helper. You can locate your area by visiting the professional directory on the National Council Problem gambling website.
No matter where you are facing your gambling addiction recovery, there is help available for you. If you or someone you know is facing a mental health crisis, call 988 for free and immediate help. In the end, gambling addiction is a serious disorder. So, seek professional help if you or someone meets the symptoms.