Topic: With gambling, it's probably easier to quit cold turkey - page 6. (Read 718 times)

That would simply lead them to other types of activities no? Such as cigarettes or alcohol even since they inhibit the mind from thinking too much. If it was guided instead with them being able to pick an activity or a hobby that they would enjoy without damage to their minds or living, wouldn't that be better instead as an alternative compared to outright stopping gambling immediately?

Sure I guess quitting immediately may be effective for some but it's not without reason why research recommends slowly getting out of an addictive mindset instead of trying to remove it completely. Majority of the time relapse occurs in those cases and they inevitably go back to an even worse state than they were before stopping after all.

There’s no winding down when you’re quitting/recovering from gambling addiction. What you’d do if you “wind down” is just add more fuel to the fire and aggravate the situation. Maybe even put the problem gambler in a much worse loop cause all this is to him is more chances to take the win.

Cold turkey’s the way to go. The gambler wouldn’t have any chance to “reclaim” his losses, and at the same time further damage is avoided with less worries.

If you’re seeing someone slowly descending into gambling addiction, don’t let them have another game, do what you can to stop them from ever gambling right then and there.

I am optimistic that gambling addicts could stop it.
A group would help but relatives and friends should be the first he should run to. Every help he could get will add to the change that he needs. It is true that unlike addictive substances it cannot be done by just cutting consumption, there's no way that would help because there's always the revengeful heart that wants to get back what he lost or the greedy part where a gambler feels lucky and wants to continue playing.
The best choice is to completely stop it one day. Just like how I did it with my smoking habit. Stopped it without even consuming one more the next day although I could finish 1 pack per day when I was still doing it.
Anything can be done, the battle is mental and we should try to fight the urge even if we see it in movies and advertisements. It will test how strong we are mentally but I do believe it's how we can overcome it.

Yes. They can quit slowly
*move out of the environment where gambling thrives
*change gambling friends and replace them with friends of a new hobby
*self-exclusion from gambling sites. And going off the internet if possible.
*activating disabling gambling ads or censoring keywords related to gambling.
*Join a help group or seeking therapy.
* Do not stay alone. Alway try to be in the company of others.

They are in no particular order. But are steps that can be take slowly.

These are some gradual steps to quitting gambling. But the person cannot do it alone without an accountability partner.

That will be before they get addicted to gambling. When addicted the gambler can't stay without gambling. It all depends on the lifestyle of the gambler, where and who he spends his time with can help the player to change. But, it's wrong to say that an addict will instantly stop being addicted to gambling. If he's not getting help, the addiction will improve every single day. Especially, when he's alone and doesn't communicate with anybody about his problem. He'll be able to quit slowly if he's sincere enough to change, and controls his urge to gamble. Which is not simple to achieve. It has to do with mental health, not physical ability. Sometimes he thinks his friends will laugh at him for getting addicted, and won't open up to them. Many factors have made addicted players remain addicted, some try to claim all is fine when with other people. Friends who struggle with addiction and don't feel like sharing their problems can be detected by his recent livelihood. Does he cancel evening hangouts, stay broke often, and feel stress and anxiety all the time?

We must visit the person and have a close conversation with them, asking them questions about what's taking up their time. Although, the questions should be asked the right way, or he won't share any reasonable answer.

If he opens up, our contributions should be effective in changing the person. The gambler wants to change, but can't on his own, so if we show him that it's possible to change, he'll confide in us as a friend. Introducing them to a therapist works fine, yet can be stressful. If the client and therapist relationship doesn't seem strong. The therapist needs to act like the addict's closest friend to be able to attract him to therapy. Or he'd rather remain an addict than attend those sessions. We can also be a therapist to a gambler if he's our close friend and listens to our instructions. Limiting his bank account's daily expenses also helps in controlling the gambler's habit of spending much money on gambling. With all the processes required to cure an addict, especially in gambling, it's not an easy thing to go cold turkey in gambling.

To stop one's gambling addiction automatically is one of the most difficult things to do as gambler and that's why we get to see many gamblers today who are still gambling despite their initial actions to stop gambling. But likely you rightly said, it's takes great determination and resilience for one to break free from gambling addiction.

I was once a gambling addict but decided one faithful evening, that I'm not gonna continue with the addiction after I realized that I've lost most of my fortunes to gambling and that's been one of my proudest moments as an adult. It takes a lot go stop gambling addiction but stopping it is the best thing for an addicted gambler

I don't think it's any easier quiting intake of substances, it may be relatively easier with food consumption probably due to availability, if there's a time when that food becomes scares or not readily available, it makes it easier for the addict to gradually quite but then whenever anything gets to the level of addiction, quitting becomes difficult.

Same applies to gambling if the person runs out of funds and probably no possible source or means of funding their gambling habits, they gradually tens to quit but if they get funds again it triggers their addiction again and they go back to it. It's much better to  voluntary want to quit and that will make it easier to quit same applies to food and substances intake as it's common amongst all gamblers.

Taking into account the fact that gambling addiction is not chemical (as is the case with some drugs) but purely psychological, it is obvious that it is necessary to get rid of it immediately. What's the point of prolonging the process? Another thing is that for an inveterate gambler it is very difficult to dramatically change his lifestyle, but this can be done by finding another hobby that will completely absorb him, we can say that this is something like replacement therapy.

Gambling addiction is not just something that starts when someone just jumps into gambling; it is something that they gradually get themselves into, and most times they don't even realise when they have gotten to that point.
 
When you talk about slowing down and quitting gambling, which could lead to a reduction in gambling addiction, it's easier said than done. As long as the person is still in contact with a gambling platform, they will still not gamble above their limit, which is still no different from what they were doing before.
 
In my opinion, the best thing they can do to stop gambling addiction is to stop gambling completely for the main time, and when they notice they are no longer attracted to gambling anymore, you will completely know that they are off it. If by any chance they still want to gamble, they will have to undergo some self-training in controlling their own aspects of their gambling habits and staying within their bankroll.

It is the best path, every gambler is different and every approach is different, some want it slow, and some want to take it immediately the work of the professional is to create a plan to get the symptom out of the system of the gambler, professional and help group are the best people to approach for gamblers, once he opened up to this kind of people expect a positive outcome that he is really serious to get cured.
But if he's talking to his fellow gamblers or people who have no idea about the cure then is just talk and there's no seriousness, cure can only come from dealing with the right people to help you address your issue.

Addiction is a strong phenomenon that doesn't take a gradual step to stop, like it has to just stopped sometimes unplanned because an occurrence that will cause that person to stop such act. For example people who eventually get physically incapacitated have stopped so many addictions both hidden addictions and open addiction.

To stop an addiction gradually will amount to procrastinating and with that nothing is done at the point in such addiction.

Anything is possible as long as you are willing to do so, but of course there is consequences and it will still take time before you finally say that you are free from any gambling addiction. Quitting overnight might not be possible but you can still try until you make yourself succeed on this. Asking for a professional help is always advisable, if you are already addict i believe a help from someone can make your recovery even faster.

Stopping gambling outright might help some folks with addiction issues, but going cold turkey isnt necessarily the best or most practical choice for all.  There is no one perfect way to beat a gambling problem that will work for everyone - different strokes for different folks, and all that.

Some people might find it easier to slowly cut back on how much they are gambling instead of just slamming on the brakes and  that could mean betting less money over time, playing less often or switching up the kinds of games they go for.  Taking baby steps might make it easier to deal with the nasty withdrawal stuff and lower the odds they will backslide. I think the best way to quit gambling is to find an approach that works for you individually, because every single person is different.

In theory you are right and this is supposed to work also for gamblers.Good luck though in real life for gamblers trying to quit,unless they have a very strong will as the first step of starting to acknowledge that he wants to get recovered from such illness.The gambling addiction is called an illness and the first step to come up free of it is to acknowledge you have a problem,the second step is to apply all the necessary steps and medicines needed to overcome such illness,of course slowing down is only one of the many medicines needed to cure this illness.

Not an impossible task but the chances are very low. Nearly close to zero.  You cannot just quit gambling over night. Just imagine how many times have we told ourselves that it was the last time but still attempted another try. Not as easy as being said. For me the only possible way to quit is by filling the void that quitting gambling would cause. What I mean is being busy with life, with work, with families. We can also practice religion. It won't be in an instance but it works. It did for me.

It's a hard question to answer and there could be differences from person to person. Maybe for some addicts it's better to stop slowly, step by step, while for others to stop suddenly at once is the best alternative. That is a matter the addicted gambler in treatment should discuss with his therapist, so they can find out which is the most efficient approach.

Personally, I think to stop suddenly can bring more negative impacts on short run, like anxiety and aggressivity, although once this storm is over, it's likely the effects will be very positive on long run, while when stopping slowly puts the individual in a situation where relapses will tend to happen during the treatment, making it harder to revert addiction, and even retroacting a lot on his condition. In every cases, the individual has to be watched closely by family, friends and therapist.

Yup.

There's always a resolution to matters like this. It's only about how the problem gambler will handle himself and resist gambling as much as he can. If there are friends and relatives that are willing to help him completely avoid gambling, then it's on him that they're counting to help himself as well.

Problem gamblers have different approaches and whatever works for them and gradually removes the problematic thing they've got with gambling. They need to be consistent on it and focus until the results are visible and they're finally seeing it on their own that it's actually working.

Gambling addiction is not like drugs or alcohol because this is what is taken into your system so quitting instantly might make you get sick or affect you in a way. The best way to quit gambling, is to let go of it and never think about gambling for a long period of time and you shouldn't also be company with gamblers. After a long time and you see that you have understand that gambling is something that you can make profit from. you can start gambling again.

It is hard for an addicted gambler to quit gambling gradually, because he will still have the opportunity to chase his loss since he lacks discipline and self control over his gambling activities. Any gambler that is quitting gambling gradually will be able to control himself and he can continue gambling with the lowest amount that he intend gambling with before quitting finally.

Even though it is not a 100% effective method, there are many gambling addicts who stop slowly using counseling methods and also open up to each other in a treatment group, but there are also many who cannot stop slowly, they must do it immediately, the point is that the recovery process for every gambling addict is different.  Curing gambling addicts who have been gambling for years is not easy, it requires a consistent and gradual process because if it is not consistent then the chances of returning will be great, but trying to stop slowly in every gambling activity is a technique that is quite recommended.

Quitting Slowly
Quitting On point

Doesnt really matter on which one as long you are really that eager and serious on quitting up gambling for good. If you do find yourself that it is really that hard to quit on point and you do see
some progress that you are slowly changing up then just proceed or continue but honestly this is really just that depending on someones mentail strength or will because not all would really be having that kind of mindset
when it comes on quitting or doing something. You cant really be able to tell on what kind or type of person is, the one who had been addicted.

Basing up into my own experience, there are really moments or times on which i do find myself a little bit addicted on which i do already spend up
tons of money in doing gambling and lately realizing that it was never been that ideal or something that give good effects.
Once you do make out those realizations then you would really be able to find out on what are the things that are supposed that you should gonna do.