Gamblers Anonymous (the first step)
"Believe that life is worth living, and your belief will help create that fact" - William James
Shortly after losing my business I gained employment with a national company selling various financial products. Gambling , however continued to be a part of my daily schedule. Around mid 1996 we got a call from our bank that our mortgage was in arrears and this was the green light that my wife needed to attack my gambling habit. In an attempt to make everything right I agreed to stop gambling, seek professional help and start attending Gamblers Anonymous meetings.
I will never forget the first night I climbed those stairs to attend my first meeting. Without getting into the contents of the meeting, it was clear to me that these people had a far greater problem than me. The first step in facing a gambling problem is to admit that you have one. My problem was I didn't think my gambling was a problem, it was just a run of bad luck. While I continued to attend meetings and started to see a psychologist, I was doing nothing to change or alter my behaviour. Looking back today all I was doing was appeasing the people in my life (my wife, my employer, and a few friends) so that the price I would have to pay would not be to great.
If you are reading this material and you have an addiction of any kind or if you know someone who has an addiction remember that saying you have a problem and believing you have a problem are two separate things. After my history of gambling is complete I will get into the differences in our personal attitudes and how you can make that commitment to change your addictive ways (no matter what the addiction). For the present time I have listed the links to the various support groups depending on your area of concern.
Shortly after losing my business I gained employment with a national company selling various financial products. Gambling , however continued to be a part of my daily schedule. Around mid 1996 we got a call from our bank that our mortgage was in arrears and this was the green light that my wife needed to attack my gambling habit. In an attempt to make everything right I agreed to stop gambling, seek professional help and start attending Gamblers Anonymous meetings.
I will never forget the first night I climbed those stairs to attend my first meeting. Without getting into the contents of the meeting, it was clear to me that these people had a far greater problem than me. The first step in facing a gambling problem is to admit that you have one. My problem was I didn't think my gambling was a problem, it was just a run of bad luck. While I continued to attend meetings and started to see a psychologist, I was doing nothing to change or alter my behaviour. Looking back today all I was doing was appeasing the people in my life (my wife, my employer, and a few friends) so that the price I would have to pay would not be to great.
If you are reading this material and you have an addiction of any kind or if you know someone who has an addiction remember that saying you have a problem and believing you have a problem are two separate things. After my history of gambling is complete I will get into the differences in our personal attitudes and how you can make that commitment to change your addictive ways (no matter what the addiction). For the present time I have listed the links to the various support groups depending on your area of concern.
posted by Taximan at 11:41 AM
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