Moving Beyond Willpower to Sustainable Recovery Through Specialized Gambling Addiction Therapy

So think the key difference of someone trying to stop versus somebody actually being in what we call like an action stage of recovery is being involved and getting therapy, support, doing action work rather than just removing themselves from a gambling website or taking it off their phone or blocking it, actually getting a support system, looking at some of the psychological factors that have caused the gambling to continue. and starting to really question and put effort into mindfulness to create sustainability. Hi, my name is Nancy Spitzer. I'm a licensed marriage and family therapist. I currently reside in the state of Tennessee. Birches Health is special for me because I get to work with a specific demographic of clients, including gambling and sex addiction, and I get to see a wide variety of different individuals across the country. I work with mental health, trauma, infertility, gambling, sex addiction, couples work, and I also see people with mood disorders. Usually, They don't realize how much money they've spent, especially with any sort of electronic or online gambling. And then they get back their bank statements or realize that they are in the negatives. So that's usually what happens with a good majority of our clients. So in my experience, a lot of people obviously start out with gambling being fun or entertainment, and then it sort of steeps into the addictive process. But normally it's when they're starting to chase losses after they've lost a good amount of money and they feel like maybe I could just win one more time. So that's usually when it starts to become more of a problem. Common misconception between willpower and gambling. feel like, as many times, people think it is just a fun social activity. So they don't really need help for something that's recreational. What happens most when people honestly start talking about their gambling is they realize how much money they spent and the damage that it has cost them. the effects on their family, their marriage, their relationships, and even their job. I wish people would ask themselves, what does gambling really, truly, and honestly provide me? Because many times when I talk to clients, or I work with families, they really don't have anything to show for years of spending hours in a casino or online gambling. But in their mind, they think that they've won a lot. People often blame their gambling on a variety of different things. Sometimes stress a job. Sometimes, well, my family asked me to go and I can't say no. Sometimes they just blame it on the website itself while they emailed me and they offered me free money. So there's definitely a lot of different reasons to why they're continuing to go back. So, gambling in essence kind of surges your body with what we call the good drugs, dopamine and serotonin. Very hard to break that cycle. So once you get started, You elicit a lot of positive thought processes in your head and it's hard for your muscle memory to start to change that and think of anything else as pleasurable. So a lot of times our clients feel dull or flat or just kind of bored with regular activities that used to bring them pleasure. When you're struggling with the urge, one thing I really think is very valuable is taking 15 to 30 minutes. Historically in research base, they've also said that a craving lasts for 30 minutes at The longest, always kind of joke with clients, as long as you can watch a sitcom, go do something else, be active, call a friend and see if your craving has reduced. Another thing you can do is also put it on a scale at its highest right now, one out of five, where is it? Could you reduce it from a five to a four by doing something and challenging your mindset? The most common lie I've heard gamblers tell themselves is that it's not as bad as it is compared to somebody else. You really can't compare your addiction to anyone else's. If it's problematic for you or your family members have made a comment, or your bank account has sent you an alert, you're probably in a negative space and need some help so you can continue to manipulate yourself. But the reality is that you know what's going on and probably help is needed. Some of the things that a person can do when they are struggling with urges to gamble. And obviously, I'm not working with somebody right now in front of me, but Some of the things are breath work. They can tap into meditation. They can also read or recite a mantra that's helpful for them. And then also what I call is like playing the tape forward. What is it going to look like if you gamble today? What would be the outcome? What would be the negative consequence? Is it worth it right now to gamble?