Living with someone who has a problem with gambling can be life changing. The problem may have started slow with just recreational gambling for fun, and you may have joined them. The problem may have been there before you came into their lives, but because part of this disease is pathological lying, you may have never known. Living with someone with an addiction or mental health problem is very stressful on loved ones and their relationships. Know that once someone has crossed the line into an uncontrollable addiction, you have no control over them or their behaviors. Also, it is not your fault in any way. They have to be the ones who are ready for help and ask for it.
For you, the loved one, there is also help and hope out there for you. All you have to do is call or text the 24/7 and totally confidential 888-ADMIT-IT HelpLine. Specialists are standing by and ready to hear what is going on while connecting you with the right resources to find your way through this difficult time. It’s also a chance to learn what you are dealing with in disordered gambling, and that you are not alone. Many times it can feel as if you are not saying the right things, or doing the right things, but know this behavior would continue no matter what you do. The first step is finding help for yourself!
Here are some resources you can receive from the Helpline:
- Counseling Services from Providers Certified to Treat Gambling Addiction
- Loved Ones Self-Help Support Groups Like Gam-Anon
- The FCCG’s A Chance for Change Self-Help Recovery Workbooks for Loved Ones
- The FCCG’s Peer Connect Program
- Financial Resources, Including Emergency Resources for Basic Needs
- Legal Resources
- And Many More
Dealing with an addiction can take all that you have and then some, along the way of protecting yourself and your family from devastating financial losses. Often you may question yourself, because the gambler is lying or gaslighting you into thinking it is something you have done. It is not your fault. Part of the addiction is manipulation, defensive behaviors, and even causing an argument in order for them to have an excuse to go gamble.
If any of these things sound familiar to you, it’s time to call or text the 888-ADMIT-IT Problem Gambling HelpLine for Floridians.