“The essential idea of this book is that the problem gambler must anticipate, even expect that in the course of their quest to stop gambling they will at some point face that horrible decision. That at some point they will seriously consider killing themselves.”
Source: Gambling Addiction: The complete guide to survival, treatment, and recovery from gambling addiction.
“On principle, she believed that anyone who really wanted to know her should be willing to do some work.”
Source: Evensong
“The first step in that preparation is to simply accept the fact that they might relapse. This is not intended to plan for or give an excuse to relapse. It is instead an acceptance of the fact that before they will be free of their gambling problem for good, the odds are that they will relapse.”
Source: Gambling Addiction: The complete guide to survival, treatment, and recovery from gambling addiction.
“Studies have shown a very high level of relapse for problem gamblers, some as high as an 80% chance of relapse following their first attempt to stop. Relapse is a completely expected event for the compulsive gambler.”
Source: Gambling Addiction: The complete guide to survival, treatment, and recovery from gambling addiction.
“The benefits of talking and thinking about a potential suicide far outweigh the misconceived concept that “suggestion” will lead to a dangerous outcome. Suicidal thoughts need to be discussed. They need to be brought into the light and understood.”
Source: Gambling Addiction: The complete guide to survival, treatment, and recovery from gambling addiction.
“I’ve seen eight different therapists in the course of my quest to stop gambling, and even these professionals never brought up the topic of suicide. They never asked if I was thinking about it.”
Source: Gambling Addiction: The complete guide to survival, treatment, and recovery from gambling addiction.
“The overwhelming obstacle you will face after walking out of the casino, broke and despairing, is that your brain isn’t working properly. Your brain is under the influence of a tidal wave of its own chemicals created by your gambling episode. Think of what you have just done to the three pounds of grey matter between your ears. You’ve spent 4, or 8, or 12 hours (or more) sitting, still, frantically pushing a button thousands of times, and watching a screen of complex symbols and sounds flash into your senses every few seconds – for hour upon hour upon hour. The CIA could not come up with a better form of brain-altering torture – yet you do it willingly!”
Source: Gambling Addiction: The complete guide to survival, treatment, and recovery from gambling addiction.
“The process of coming down from a heroin or alcohol high takes several hours or even days, and the glide path is fairly steady and uniform. In stark contrast, the switch from being actively engaged in slot machine addiction to the moment the money runs out, and your emotions instantly switch from hopeful to failure and despair, occurs in a split-second. It is a cliff with a ten-thousand foot drop.”
Source: Gambling Addiction: The complete guide to survival, treatment, and recovery from gambling addiction.
“Slot machine addicts’ brains are tuned to hope for, and even expect, that they will get the big reward (a big win) right down to their very last spin. Studies have indicated that the anticipation of a reward activates the dopamine cycle even more than an actual reward.”
Source: Gambling Addiction: The complete guide to survival, treatment, and recovery from gambling addiction.
“One second the gambler is active in their addiction – the dopamine is flowing – and the next second the money is all gone and they can no longer anticipate a big reward.
At that point they must get off the chair, step away from the machine, adjust their eyes to a larger field of vision, and then walk out the door in a trance, often into a dark and cold night.
The intensity and severity of that instantaneous transition from hopeful to hopelessness is so dramatic and dangerous that it has led to thousands of impulsive suicides.”
Source: Gambling Addiction: The complete guide to survival, treatment, and recovery from gambling addiction.