Don’t gamble with your life.
Disturbingly, gambling addiction is nowgrowing fastestamong teenagers and twentysomethings.
“Its shit basically, awful, and only gets worse as time goes on.
They say its a progressive illness, and it sure is.
Liam C., Quora
2.
“I have been addicted to coke, Adderall, meth, cigarettes, and gambling.
When I found out I was going to be a father, I quit a $180-a-day coke habit.
I went from 120mg of Adderall a day to my regular dose.
I drew back from the meth before it destroyed me.
Slowly laid off the smoking with the help of Chantix.
All of these were not terribly difficult to overcome.
No detox horror stories.
It sucked, but life went on, no problemo.
And I only walked in with $40 holy shit!
I left and bought some things that I needed.
All good, right?
Well, then I started going back a bit more.
The world faded away.
One time, I spent 32 hours straight in the casino.
Okay, after I smoke this cigarette.
Ah, but now I am up $17!
I’ll quit when $10 of that is gone, definitely…
I’m now almost 38 years old.
I live in Oklahoma, where three mega-casinos are within 20 minutes each way.
It’s that bad here.
Ads on television all the time.
I believe we are the number three state with the most casinos now if not number four.
We also have the highest incarceration rate for both men and women in America.
You would never know the reality of it all.
Three-quarters of my check is deposited into my wife’s accounts because I’m a gambling addict.
I usually gamble away whatever is left.
I have had a gym membership for two months but have never been.
I had to borrow from friends so we could make it home.
I am going to try and go an entire month without gambling as of Monday.
It can’t keep going at this rate.
I have to lie to cover up why I am gone in the middle of the night.
How many precious moments have I lost with my daughter?
She is now 11.
I missed out on a lot of time that I could have been bonding with her.
Time can never be redone so now, only regrets.
Fifteen years of it feels like a lifetime, and now I am just tired and worn out.
Us gambling addicts have thehighest rate of suicideover all other addictions combined.
Sounds fun, doesn’t it?!”
Michael, Quora
3.
“I had a slot machine addiction that lasted 41 years.
I played for long sessions, losing many tens of thousands and being many thousands in debt.
It’s no surprise I followed in my dad’s footsteps.”
Plaza, Quora
4.
“I was addicted to gambling for many years, and it turned my life into a nightmare.
My husband was a person with alcoholism, and I started to gamble just to get away from him.
I gambled on everything.
I started with bingo, then learned about off-track betting, lotteries…the list went on.
My bets got bigger, and I was going into debt, but I didnt care.
All the while, I kept this secret.”
“Then, the candy store on my corner put in slot machines, which was my heaven.
I called in sick to my job and was in the candy store day and night.
One night I finally hit rock bottom and was ready to kill myself.
I went home and called the Gamblers Anonymous hotline.
They told me there was a Saturday morning meeting.
I finally told my husband because I was $30,000 in debt and he was so understanding.
I went to the 12-step program and found the comfort and understanding I needed.
I’ve been a member for 29 years.”
Mary Ann B., Quora
5.
“I started gambling a few months ago after quitting my job.
I had reasonable savings that would’ve lasted me for at least six months.
Aside from that, I earn passive income and make sales monthly.
Still, I’m down to my last cents and have been taking money from my family account.
I’ve tried to quit gambling, but I just can’t.
Neliswa M., Quora
6.
Maybe it’s the family and friends who won’t even take your calls WHATSOEVER.
BUT there’s hope.
There are payday loan companies near the casinos, go figure.
THERE is a god!!
I won over $100k one year and never went home with a dime.
I knew just about every courthouse/jail in two-to-three states.
When you realize what’s going on, it’s usually too late.
I quit 10 years ago.
No magic formula, just quit.”
Mustang Mark, Quora
7.
“I have been a gambling addict for over half my life.
Just writing that makes me think…Really?
A lot of addicts keep their jobs and families together for a long time.
Most of us do have social lives and like to party.
We love our kids, family, and friends.
We know gambling is bad for us.
Most of us are addicted to machines, not the cards or roulettes.
Most of us hate the casinos and see them for what they really are.
Over time, our social and love lives slowly disappear.
Our double lives slowly merge over time.
90% of us suffer from depression of some sort.
A lot of us consider death by suicide.
Our sex lives suck.
We become emotionally numb.
Money has no value.
We all remember the wins, never the losses.
If you like gambling, be careful.
Find something else to do that you really like.”
Paul K., Quora
8.
I politely pointed him to the smoking patio and said I could hold his seat for him.
He said that he couldn’t dare leave for fear that he was going to miss a big hand.
It was startling to me that gambling could trump a smoking addiction.”
Robert E., Quora
9.
Mezi N., Quora
10.
“I walked away from a wife of 32 years and three adult children.
Because being a father and a husband interfered with my gambling.
Now, I sit alone with just enough money to get by and no family.
My children, all in their 40s, havent spoken to me in over 20 years.
Woody H., Quora
11.
“Life basically sucks as a gambling addict.
Gambling addiction goes hand in hand with depression.
Gambling really sucks the life out of a person.”
“Whenever you’ve got money, you have the urge to gamble.
When you gamble, most of the time, you lose money.
It makes you feel like shit, and this is the second reason you want to continue gambling.
Gambling numbs the pain.
For a moment, while the slots are spinning, you feel like a potential winner.
You will feel on top of the world.
But it’s so damn hard to walk away.
So you will keep gambling until all of the money is gone again.
It always ends up with losing everything.
It doesn’t have to be on the same day.
Even if you manage to walk away, you will go back the next day.
The thrill of winning doesn’t go away, and you will want to make more money.
And when you gamble away again, you feel worse than before.
It’s a vicious cycle; more gambling leads to more problems.
So you venture to numb the pain of these problems by gambling.
Anonymous, Quora
12.
“Imagine that the only time you feel good is when you are gambling.
Now imagine the rest of your life is a hell of screaming anxiety ‘Can I pay the rent?
Am I at the limit on my credit cards?
Can I afford to pay for my prescription meds?
Is that a phone call from a collection agency?
WHAT IF MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS DISCOVER MY ADDICTION?
I am so ashamed.’
This is your internal dialogue.
The only time you feel better is when you are gambling.
Your problems disappear, and you have no responsibilities at that moment.
It’s like that, but much worse.”
Liz S., Quora
13.
I have a lot of addictions, and its definitely one of the worst.
I rarely ever win, and even when I do, it never comes close to what Ive lost.
But I keep going back every chance I get.”
Jerry T., Quora
Entries have been edited for length/and or clarity.
