[ValerieTXWinner]

Seeking some advice on if ya’ll feel if I am considered an addict. Long story short I currently am dealing with taking care of my mother with Alzheimers and that medical debt. I found that going to the casino for a few hours, playing scratch tickets, and playing poker is a nice mental break from the stress of work and care giving, but my budget doesn’t really allow for too much of it. I was approached by one of our work competitors and offered money to hand them our bidding info for contracts.. and I’ve been doing it to support my hobby. It’s not illegal, but I would get fired if I was found out. My friend says this makes me an addict, and I feel like I’m just supplementing my income.
Please be gentle, I have only shared this with one person, and they didn’t take it very well. Thank you.

[velvet]

Hello Valerie and thanks for starting a thread in the Gambling Therapy forums

Here at Gambling Therapy we pride ourselves on being a caring and diverse online community who can help and support you with the difficulties you’re currently facing. We understand that this might be a tough time for you, particularly if you’re new to recovery, so come here as often as you need to and participate in the forums, access online groups and connect to the live advice helpline if you need one to one support. We’re in this together!

Here on the forum you can share your experiences in a safe, supportive and accepting environment. The beauty of writing it all down is that you can take your time and you will be creating a record of your progress that you can look back on if it ever feels like you’re not moving forward. So, share as much or as little as you like but do try to stick to keeping just one thread in this forum so people know where to find you if they want to be updated on your progress or share something with you.

As well as the forums New Members are invited to join Charles in the New Members Practical Advice Group On Mondays at 21:00 (UK) and Thursday at 19:00(UK)

And on that note….

I’m going to hand you over to our community because I’m sure they will have some words of wisdom for you ??

Take care

The Gambling Therapy Team

PS: Let me just remind you to take a look at our privacy policy and terms and conditions so you know how it all works!

[Brendan_UT]

Great question.

I would stop gambling since you admitted that you are not in the best of situations to be gambling. If you are not a problem gambler, the entirety of your circumstances seems to indicate that gambling could quickly become problematic–seems like you have quite a bit of stress and you are using a form of drug to cope with it.

Some people feel that gambling is not a drug, but I am not so sure. For me, I would experience a high–win or lose, because my brain was releasing higher levels dopamine and making me feel good in the short term. In turn, this worked like a temporary band aid to prevent me from having to confront issues and sources of unhappiness that I was/am dealing with. So by all means, for me, and maybe for you, gambling acts like a real drug.

There are posters here that are more knowledgeable and know of more resources to point you towards, but I would encourage you to stop.

Also, you need to honestly ask yourself, would you participate in unethical behavior if gambling was not in the picture? Are you participating in unethical behavior to feed your gambling?

Hope to hear more from you!

-B

[charles]

Hi Valerie and welcome.

A good question. For me the best way to find the answer to this question are the 20 Questions that they have on the Gamblers Anonymous website. here is a link for you to find them:
https://www.gamblersanonymous.org/ga/content/20-questions

The fact that you are doing something that would risk your job to enable you to gamble speaks volumes. Presumably also something that, if it costs your employers contracts, might also risk colleagues employment as well.

Keep posting and let us know how many “Yeses” you answer to those questions.

[ValerieTXWinner]

You make some great points. And in a way, yes it’s an escape. I find though that just watching tv doesn’t do it for me all the time since I’m stuck in the house a lot. At least the online poker gives me a semblance of a social life in some ways.

[ValerieTXWinner]

I had about 5 yeses on that quiz. I know what I’m doing at work is pretty bad, but I’m not sure how to stop now, and not sure if I really want to. The extra income has been a blessing in many ways. ??

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