You are not alone. Where there is help, there is hope.
Problem Gambling Services of RI
A behavioral health service of Codac, Inc.
401-383-0301
Confidential 24 hour helpline 1-877-9GAMBLE (1-877-942-6253)
What are some characteristics of a person who is a compulsive gambler?
* INABILITY AND UNWILLINGNESS TO ACCEPT REALITY. Hence the escape into the dream world of gambling.
* EMOTIONAL INSECURITY. A compulsive gambler finds he or she is emotionally comfortable only when “in action”. It is not uncommon to hear a Gamblers Anonymous member say: “The only place I really felt like I belonged was sitting at the poker table. There I felt secure and comfortable. No great demands were made upon me. I knew I was destroying myself, yet at the same time, I had a certain sense of security.”
* IMMATURITY. A desire to have all the good things in life without any great effort on their part seems to be the common character pattern of problem gamblers. Many Gamblers Anonymous members accept the fact that they were unwilling to grow up. Subconsciously they felt they could avoid mature responsibility by wagering on the spin of a wheel or the turn of a card, and so the struggle to escape responsibility finally became a subconscious obsession.
Also, a compulsive gambler seems to have a strong inner urge to be a ‘big shot’ and needs to have a feeling of being all powerful. The compulsive gambler is willing to do anything (often of an antisocial nature) to maintain the image he or she wants others to see.
Then too, there is a theory that compulsive gamblers subconsciously want to lose to punish themselves. There is much evidence to support this theory.
GA is a 12-Step program based on the model of Alcoholics Anonymous, using the same recovery concepts, traditions, and 12-steps. It is a voluntary, self-help program with the sole objective of helping each other become free of gambling addiction and the consequences that accompany it.
GA 20 Questions
Are you a compulsive gambler? Is your gambling causing problems in your everyday life? Answer the following questions about your gambling as honestly as you can
1. Did you ever lose time from work due to gambling?
2. Has gambling ever made your home life unhappy?
3. Did gambling affect your reputation?
4. Have you ever felt remorse after gambling?
5. Did you ever gamble to get money with which to pay debts or
otherwise solve financial difficulties?
6. Did gambling cause a decrease in your ambition or efficiency?
7. After losing, did you feel you must return as soon as possible
and win back your losses?
8. After a win, did you ever have a strong urge to return and win
more?
9. Did you often gamble until your last dollar was gone?
10. Did you ever borrow to finance your gambling?
11. Have you ever sold anything to finance gambling?
12. Were you reluctant to use gambling money for normal
expenditures?
13. Did gambling make you careless of the welfare of yourself or
your family?
14. Did you ever gamble longer than you planned?
15. Have you ever gambled to escape worry or trouble?
16. Have you ever committed, or considered committing, an illegal
act to finance your gambling?
17. Did gambling cause you to have difficulty sleeping?
18. Do arguments, disappointments, or frustration create within you
an urge to gamble?
19. Did you have an urge to celebrate good fortune by a few hours
of gambling?
20. Have you ever considered self-destruction or suicide as a result
of your gambling?
If you answered YES to 7 or more, you may consider talking with a professional.
Gamblers Anonymous
Rhode Island Hotline Number
855-2CALLGA (855-222-5542)
"When I was in school, we learned all about drugs and alcohol. Nobody ever said you could get into just as much trouble with gambling."
Gam-Anon
Are you concerned about how the gambling of a loved one is affecting your life?
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Is the gambling of someone dear to you creating anxiety and worry?
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Are you having financial problems due to the gambling of a loved one or family member?
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Are you in financial turmoil or emotional distress and not sure why? Could gambling be the reason?
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Are you worried about the emotional health and/or financial security of a loved one who is gambling?
Bettors Anonymous
"Since the beginning of time, gambling has effected all manner and all classes of people. As a personal problem it has existed in all periods and places. No mass of literature or history, modern or ancient, is without reference to it.
This site deals with the "Twelve Steps" of recovery, and the "Twelve Unity Steps" of Bettors Anonymous.
The Twelve Steps of Bettors Anonymous are a suggested program of recovery. They are spiritual in nature, which if practiced as a way of life, can expel the obsession to bet and enable the sufferer to become happily and usefully whole.
The Twelve Unity Steps of Bettors Anonymous apply to the life of the fellowship itself. They outline the means by which Bettors Anonymous maintains its unity and relates itself to the world about it; the way it lives and grows."
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Debtors Anonymous
"Is your life unmanageable because of debt? Are you sick of bouncing checks, paying late fees, and having creditors knocking at your door?
Debtors Anonymous offers hope for people whose use of unsecured debt causes problems and suffering in their lives and the lives of others. Most people incur debt at various points in their lives, whether taking out a student loan for college or buying a first car or a house. For some people, unsecured debt, which is debt not secured by some form of collateral such as a house or car, becomes an addictive and unmanageable part of their lives. Debting is more than just sensationalized shopping. It can cripple and ruin someone’s life. Debt is like alcohol for the alcoholic, food for the compulsive eater, and gambling for the compulsive gambler."
CODAC Behavioral Healthcare~ Here to serve the community in
8 locations:
Cranston ~ 1052 Park Avenue, 401-461-5056
Cranston ~ 3 Regan Court, Eleanor Slater Hospital, 401-462-3530
Cranston ~ RI Department of Corrections, 401-275-5039
Providence ~ 528 North Main, 401-808-6278
Providence ~ 349 Huntington Avenue, 401-942-1450
East Providence ~ 850 Waterman Avenue, 401-434-4999
Newport ~ 93 Thames Street, 401-846-4150
Wakefield ! 350 Columbia Street, 401-789-0934