Brought to You by Nuffnang and the NSW Government
(This is a true story of a good friend of mine)
“Several years ago I realized that I had a big decision to make… I was on the way to ruining my financial future and that of my family.
I had heard from a friend about a way to make money by just trying to pick which way the stockmarket would go each week and I had created a small account with some savings. Everything went really well for the first few months and I had doubled or tripled my money … everything was awesome. It was like a money machine.
Then I started to lose … at first I thought it was not too bad and you can’t win all of the time. Then I lost all of my winnings and started losing my savings. The real crunch came when I had to deposit more money to keep ‘playing’ and then I lost that too! My first reaction was to put more money in the account but then I realised what was happening.
Looking back I used every cliché in the book to justify spending my family’s money on this ‘game’ including telling myself that I was really doing it for their future.
I told myself:
- You win some, you lose some
- This is really a business and you have to spend money to make money
- My luck will change soon … I’m due for a win
- I’ll quit soon … just one more try
I was showing signs of being addicted to gambling and I fortunately realised that it had to stop right away.”
Most of us don’t think anything of attending a race day, buying a lotto ticket or putting a few dollars into a pokie machine after dinner at the club on a Friday night. When you think about it, gambling is all around us and it is so much a part of the Australian way of life that it is no wonder that it becomes a problem for so many people.
It’s ironic that gambling is considered a normal activity that is part of Australian culture, but at the same time, it is considered shameful when problems develop.
Problem gambling can be characterised by difficulties in limiting money and/or time spent on gambling which leads to adverse consequences for the gambler, others, or for the community.
When someone is struggling with gambling it always affects those around them and even if it doesn’t affect you directly, most of us know someone who is struggling. Only a small percentage get any help even though there are FREE services that can really assist.
I’m happy to say that my friend’s issues could be avoided. They know that it is a part of their personality now so they can be extra careful to avoid those addictive type activities in the future.
If you or someone you know would like to get some free and confidential help here is what you can do:
1. Visit www.gamblinghelp.nsw.gov.au – (all Gambling Help services through NSW problem gambling are free)
2. Post a comment below and ask any questions you like and I’ll have them answered by a problem gambling professional
3. Email me [email protected] and I’ll send your question through to the NSW problem gambling social media forum where it will be answered by a problem gambling professional
Please do pass this post on to anyone you think may need it. Problem gamblers are stronger than they think and seeking help is the perfect opportunity to show everyone what they’re made of.
