Topic: Have you ever been a gambling addict? - page 20. (Read 2221 times)

A couple of years ago I gamble every single day but that was fair and I think it cannot be called as an addiction as I have limits on how much I am willing to donate or lose a week since it is is a lottery. You can be an addict if you cannot control yourself with gambling.

People that are addicted in gambling thinks beyond next bet to be better. What they think more is that they can use gamble to earn often. That is why they will have a failed strategies and go for another one and fail and move to another one until they have several losses. One thing about people that are addicted to gambling is not only losses that makes them keep playing, if they are winnings they also keep playing until the day may not favour them.

Yeah, same here. Just as I've mentioned in some of my other posts, I'm not really much of a gambler, so I don't know what it's like to become addicted. People who can control and manage their gambling don't seem like they'd become addicts. As you mentioned, when we bet on games and lose, sometimes we lose interest in playing at that moment. But for a gambler who's already addicted, they'll find themselves playing more and more, hoping or thinking that the next bet will be better than the previous ones.

Yes, I myself have experienced a phase like this, where I have lost all my money, it's not so big but it's annoying when the money I have runs out just like that, in the end I borrowed money from my friend to go back to gambling in the hope that I can make up for the losses I have felt. Good luck was on my side so I got a big win that multiplied my money that had been lost due to gambling. At times like this, greed got the better of me and I couldn't control myself. So it all comes down to luck.

But now I only play on weekends and even that is rarely done because I have experienced the bad things from gambling. And my experience above is not to be used as advice, I just share my experience when I was crazy gambling. I think it's normal for players to feel frustrated when they lose and want back the losses that have occurred, but I say that expecting back losses is wrong. because it is very unlikely to happen. What happened to me maybe it was also because I was lucky so I could return all the capital that had been lost. So my advice is to gamble wisely, because it will limit us when gambling, because all gambling cannot be separated from luck.

i've been in a position where i spent quite a lot of money on slots and didn't account for my expenses. luckily at that time i could say that i was not yet at the addiction stage because in the end i realized my mistake and started to regulate the rhythm of my game and calculate my spending on gambling.

i understand how people can become addicted because they chase their losses and don't control their desire to play so that in the end they become addicted and can't control their game. but whatever it is, when they are in the addiction stage, the person must be helped to get out of their addiction and if necessary, psychiatric help is needed to provide the best help. because addiction not only destroys him, but also the people around him and it is quite dangerous.

Well, I can't say that I have ever been addicted to gambling, and neither have I ever gambled in a way that it made me feel like I am addicted to gambling.
My gambling most of the time have always been occasional, though there are times when I have made the mistake of being so over confident in a game that I stake far more than I should have staked on that game, and I end up losing the money, this made me feel very bad like every normal gambler would feel when they lose money they didn't plan losing, but then, this experiences have never made me feel like I am a gambling addict, and I believe that I will never gamble to the stage I begin to feel like this, for if I ever do, then there is every chance that I am already addicted to gambling.

I am a gambler, I am able to manage my fund and I am able to know when to stop gambling and I will stop. This is what who is not an addict to gambling will do. But if someone is spending money on gambling too much and got to the level of spending all his savings. There is nothing that is much more qualifies for that than becoming addicted. Once you are spending more than the amount you plan to spend on gambling, that is becoming addiction, but not just addiction yet. If he stops, he is not addicted. But if he continues, that is addiction.

I only gamble once in a while back days when I just started gambling. It was my friends that introduced me to gambling and it was only when we are together that I gamble. This made me not to gamble without them and we meet during the weekend to have fun. I guess this was one of the reason that made me not to get addicted that much.

 I could only remember some years back when I wanted to get addicted to gambling but when I saw how much of my income do go into gambling, I decided to limit the way I gambled, and that really helped me a lot. So what I did was that,I created my own gambling time that makes me not to gamble when it is not that time, and I quit the moment the time elapses, either I am winning or losing.

As a gambler there must be a time that one will be an addict, it is when you have lost so much and learnt a hard lesson from your addiction that will make you discipline yourself. What I mean is that there was a time that I was so addicted to gambling because I misunderstood that gambling should be for fun, but I was seeing it as a means to make profit. I lost so big that it affected my financial life. I have to quit gambling for two years before I started gambling again, but this time I only gamble for fun with the little amount that I cam afford to lose.

Gambling responsibly is where gambler is able to accept every risk and must also accept whatever losses they experience so that they must remain in control of themselves without any emotional feelings that can control every gambling activity they do.
Regarding gambling addicts, I think here anyone who has been gambling for long time has experienced a phase that is really difficult to leave gambling for a long time and also the attitude of pursuing victory because phase like this can be said to be gambling addict.

So, from what you have experienced you can already be classified as an addict because you are willing to lose quite lot of money to play and bet in relatively consistent time.
I have also experienced incidents like that and when I experienced it I felt sense of regret and disappointment so deep.
If you are trying to fix everything then the small step you have to take is to try as hard as you can to set financial limits on the money you use for gambling.
That way can slowly learn that control over yourself is starting to be in your hands.

If up to five people are living close to your home and they are all into gambling, you growing up you start seeing how lower their standards get shrinking in time due to their gambling activities until one day the polce force came and pick up a dead body due to suicide and the other start drinking heavily and start beating his wife up, and other others went broke, what more lessons do you need to gain from gambling that you haven't already seen?

If I ended up becoming a gambling addict after seeing all these shouldn't you pick up a strong cane and start beating me up? I don't have to be a gambling addict to see what an addict can feel like, I sincerely don't want anything big from gambling because that's what brings you unrealistic dreams and mind twisting dreams, I am good with few dollars here and there from gambling and having my fun.

If I have to go all in into anything, it will be real estate investments and others, they aren't risk free, I mean no investment is risk free but not gambling, everything about gambling is more risky than taking risks with your money in investments, if you are capable of taking risks you should put all your might into investment than gambling.

I've spent a couple thousands on gambling, but I do not consider myself an addict. I know my limitations and the implications of me tossing away my money into gambling. I know that if I overdo it, nothing good will come out of it. I just saw it as something that takes off 1 or 2 hours off my weekend and I'm fine with it because I had nothing better to do during those times. I didn't miss it one bit, and I ultimately found it as boring and eventually got off my weekly casino routine. Now, I only bet on sports if there's something interesting going around, and if there isn't, that's also fine by me.

I won’t consider this as an addiction; to me it just feels like you don’t know how to manage your funds when it comes to gambling and because of that you can just use any amount you like carelessly to gamble.

If you come across a real case of addiction you’ll instantly know, have you ever been in a stressful situation and all you could think of was “how you can improve your winning rate” or “how to get more money to use for you gambling activities”? When one becomes addicted to something all they can think of or do with the slightest opportunity they get would be for them to do that thing and in this case gamble. I believe in your case you were able to go through a whole day or perhaps weeks without even gambling if you don’t have the money to gamble, but it will be like a torment for those that are addicted to it.

Although I don’t think I have been addicted to it but I have seen those that have.

reading your first post, it looks like you just lost control over your emotions, sure, it is not a good thing to happen but it does mean you are addicted especially if it only happens once or twice and this second post of yours just further shows that you weren't addicted. that being said,  chasing losses is one of the ways gambling addiction can start, it is a great thing someone reminded you of the possible consequences if you continue with your plan to borrow money from the bank.

Even though I have been gambling for many years I don't think I am addicted to gambling. I can take a break from gambling when it's necessary or when I am on vacation or just don't have any spare time. During the times where I am not gambling I also don't really think about it and feel the urge to play again soon. Everbody has a weak moment from time to time where they don't follow their own plans. This his normal for humans and I wouldn't beat myself up over it. Of course it's tragic too lose such a large savings amount, but it's also a lesson you won't forget and will help you to not make the same mistakes again. Addictions are something different in my opinion, it's when you always think about gambling and you can't help yourself anymore. To me it just sounds like you a had a bad night and regret your actions the next day. Somebody that is hooked on gambling wouldn't reflect his actions in the same way and would rather keep gambling the next day.

I've never felt addicted to anything other than food and water because of how crucial it is in contributing to my happiness. Gambling is an activity I enjoy because it somehow funds my food and water. But, doing it so much that I'll run out of resources to gain those utilities; food and water is almost impossible. It's important to me to always watch my bankrolls while gambling. Despite the joy associated to gambling games like black roulette games. The kind of game I enjoy playing. I always keep it at a minimal. Games like Poker, are also great but most time I play with friends and family without staking any real money. Playing for the fun of it. That doesn't mean I've not lost some significant amount in gambling. Yet it doesn't feel like addiction to me, because I still feel in control. Feeling like you're addicted to gambling may have solved half of your gambling addiction problem. As it's a sign of self control. Also from the look of it, you were able to manage how you spent the money, but what doesn't sit right, is the fact you lost a 5 month savings on gambling alone. It's enough to make anyone feel addicted. Because such feelings of doing similar things often and often can be seen as addiction. But, to me, like someone may have said, you weren't addicted. Seems like you enjoyed gambling at that moment. Gambling addiction is not easily stopped. It has to do with the mental health and such players may not realize or feel like they're addicted. Some get sad when told that they're addicted to gambling. These are the symptoms of gambling addiction. Being unlucky with winning our stakes doesn't make us addicted to gambling.

Yes. I have said it over and over on this forum. I started to gamble in 2014 and I was addicted immediately because I was thinking it can let me make some money, not knowing my thinking was not good at all.

I was able to overcome the addiction in 2019 which was 5 years after I started to gamble.

When I was addicted, I hardly have money in bank or on the gambling site account. I eyas always broke and seeing any amount of money, I use it to gamble and likely I will lose all again that week.

In my opinion, the key that defines all addictions is the loss of control. If someone continues a behavior that is not good or has bad consequences and cannot stop the behavior, then that person is considered out of control or addicted.
And in my opinion you fall into the category of addiction but it's not serious because you can't control yourself which causes you to lose your savings and it's a good idea for you to realize this immediately, because many addicts not only spend their savings but also lose their vehicles and even their homes.
And if you lose your savings because of gambling, you should be grateful because you didn't lose other important items which would actually make you suffer even more.
And I personally haven't felt what it's like to be a gambling addict, and I only play on weekends with enough capital and that's if I want to, otherwise I won't gamble.

You had a short gambling problem caused by chasing losses. You would have become addicted if you didn't stop gambling for a while. Chasing losses is one of the popular causes of gambling addiction. Spending your savings on gambling is absurd. Your savings should be used for investment or meeting needs and not for gambling.  I am glad you have a friend who advised you against getting loans to spend on gambling. Nobody is sure of the outcome of a stake so it is relatively a game of luck. Accessing loans to finance a business or take care of a need is okay but it should never be used for gambling. We have been told every time that we need to have a gambling plan and our allocation to gambling should be what we can afford to lose.

I had been in a situation where I could not control how much was willing to gamble with, a situation where I could not resist the urge to gamble even when I did not see high probability options. At some point, I even made some rules, but I violate these rules easily easily and most times, it ends in pain and regrets. I don't know if this is the gambling addiction being talked about.

Luckily,  I have been able to put myself together, work on my emotions and also created alternative sources of income... these were some of the steps that helped me overcome that challenge. Now I'm able to make plans and stick to them...