Overcoming Compulsive Gambling by Alex Blaszczynski

Author:Alex Blaszczynski [Alex Blaszczynski]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group
Published: 2014-04-24T00:00:00+00:00

Involve your partner as a support in helping you deal with your problem.

Terry was nine thousand pounds in debt. He panicked because he believed it would take him years to repay it. The thought of working hard just to give his earnings to someone else (in repaying debts) frustrated him. He felt he was getting nowhere. One large win would do the trick, he hoped. But the debt increased with each passing week. When he introduced a sensible budget designed to cover living costs and pay off part of his debt regularly, he was surprised to discover that it took only eighteen months to eliminate his debt completely. Seeing his debts slowly decreasing encouraged him enormously.

Sometimes it may be necessary to consult an accountant or financial advisory support service to obtain advice on how to plan a budget. These services will review your income and expenditure and work out the most efficient approach to managing your finances. Often, it is easier and cheaper to take out one loan to repay all outstanding debts rather than have multiple debts at high interest rates. An additional advantage of making use of these services is that they can negotiate with financial institutions to vary the terms of your loans to make them more manageable.

Receiving financial guidance is beneficial in giving one a sense of structure and control over a seemingly chaotic situation. Seeing a light at the end of the tunnel will increase your hope, confidence and motivation in overcoming gambling.

Legal problems

A large number of gamblers commit offences as a means to supplement their gambling funds. This happens when they are no longer able to borrow money from legitimate sources. In the desperation phase, stealing petty cash, writing cheques with insufficient funds in the account and even forging signatures are common. In extreme cases, gamblers may engage in large-scale embezzlement or selling drugs, as I have seen on several occasions. I have now treated more than half a dozen clients who have taken in excess of A$1 million from their employers.

For most gamblers, the slide into crime is gradual and unintentional. One small crime leads to another until finally they are in such dire straits that they believe that more gambling is the only path to salvation. Do not fall into this trap.

One fortunate client I saw recognized the danger signs and acted promptly to avoid the looming anguish. Jack, a 46-year-old hardware delivery driver, regularly collected cash from customers. He was in the habit of banking sales proceeds at the close of the day. One Friday, he was running late and missed the bank. He decided to keep the money over the weekend and deposit it first thing Monday morning. During the Saturday, he was given a sure tip on a horse. Not having his own cash available, he decided to take a hundred pounds out of money that needed to be banked. He did not realize that this is an illegal act. The horse lost – not by much, but that didn’t make any difference.

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