The Addicted Family

Saturday, April 9, 2011

Addiction to gambling

South Carolina Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services (Click Here) is responsible for general health and addiction services in this state, and may also have information on problem gambling. For statistics on gambling addiction in South Carolina, see: South Carolina Gambling fact sheet

For more information about gambling services in South Carolina, contact:
Christopher Reid
DAODAS,
101 Executive Center Dr., Suite 215
Columbia, SC 29210
telephone: 1-877-452-5155.

What is a gambling addiction?

In America alone, problem gambling affects more than 15 million people. More than 3 million of these are considered severe problem gamblers, otherwise known as gambling addicts or pathological gamblers. Gambling addiction is a mental-health problem that is understood to be one of many kinds of impulse-control problems a person may suffer from. The types of gambling that people with this disorder might engage in are as variable as the games available. Betting on sports, buying lotto tickets, playing poker, slot machines, or roulette are only a few of the activities in which compulsive gamblers engage. The venue of choice for individuals with gambling addiction varies as well. While many prefer gambling in a casino, the rate of online/Internet gambling addiction continues to increase with increased use of the Internet. Gambling addiction is also called compulsive gambling or pathological gambling.

What are symptoms and signs of a gambling addiction?

Pathological gambling involves persistent and recurring problem gambling that includes several of the following symptoms and are not the result of another mental-health problem, like during a manic episode:

A preoccupation with gambling, either by reliving past gambling, planning for future gambling experiences, and/or thinking of ways to secure money to finance gambling

Needing more and more money for gambling in order to achieve the desired level of gambling enjoyment

Repeated unsuccessful attempts to stop or reduce betting behaviors

Becoming uneasy or easily irritated when trying to reduce or stop gambling

Gambling for the purpose of escaping problems or to relieve sadness or anxiety

Returning to gambling after losing money in an effort to recoup losses

Lying to family or other loved ones, mental-health professionals, or others in an effort to hide the extent of the gambling behavior

Committing crimes (for example, stealing, fraud, or forgery) in an effort to finance gambling

Risking important relationships, employment, or other opportunities due to gambling

Depending on others for money to resolve dire financial situations that are the result of gambling.

Treatment for a gambling addiction:

Where can people get support for gambling addiction?

Compulsive Gambling Center
924 East Baltimore St.
Baltimore, MD 21202
1-800-LOST-BET (1-800-567-8238)
http://www.lostbet.com

Debtors Anonymous
General Service Office
P.O. Box 920888
Needham, MA 02492-0009
Phone: 781-453-2743
Fax: 781-453-2745
http://www.debtorsanonymous.org

Gam-Anon International Service Office, Inc.
P.O. Box 157
Whitestone, NY 11357
718-352-1671

Gamblers Anonymous (GA) International Service Office
P.O. Box 17173
Los Angeles, CA 90017
213-386-8789
isomain@gamblersanonymous.org

Problem Gambling.com
24 Hours a Day
7 Days a Week
U.S. Gambling Hotline: 1-800-522-4700
Canadian Gambling Hotline: 1-888-391-1111

United States National Gambling Help Line
1-800-522-4700

Check out these helpful DVD's

No comments:

Privacy Policy for The Addicted Family

Privacy Policy for The Addicted Family http://theaddictedfamily.blogspot.com/

The privacy of our visitors to http://theaddictedfamily.blogspot.com/ is important to us.

At http://theaddictedfamily.blogspot.com/, we recognize that privacy of your personal information is important. Here is information on what types of personal information we receive and collect when you use and visit http://theaddictedfamily.blogspot.com/, and how we safeguard your information. We never sell your personal information to third parties.

Log Files

As with most other websites, we collect and use the data contained in log files. The information in the log files include your IP (internet protocol) address, your ISP (internet service provider, such as AOL or Shaw Cable), the browser you used to visit our site (such as Internet Explorer or Firefox), the time you visited our site and which pages you visited throughout our site.

Cookies and Web Beacons

We do use cookies to store information, such as your personal preferences when you visit our site. This could include only showing you a pop up once in your visit, or the ability to login to some of our features, such as forums.

We also use third party advertisements on http://theaddictedfamily.blogspot.com/ to support our site. Some of these advertisers may use technology such as cookies and web beacons when they advertise on our site, which will also send these advertisers (such as Google through the Google AdSense program) information including your IP address, your ISP , the browser you used to visit our site, and in some cases, whether you have Flash installed. This is generally used for geo targeting purposes (showing New York real estate ads to someone in New York, for example) or showing certain ads based on specific sites visited (such as showing cooking ads to someone who frequents cooking sites).

You can chose to disable or selectively turn off our cookies or third-party cookies in your browser settings, or by managing preferences in programs such as Norton Internet Security. However, this can affect how you are able to interact with our site as well as other websites. This could include the inability to login to services or programs, such as logging into forums or accounts.

* Google, as a third party vendor, uses cookies to serve ads on your site.

* Google’s use of the DART cookie enables it to serve ads to your users based on their visit to your sites and other sites on the Internet.

* Users may opt out of the use of the DART cookie by visiting the Google ad and content network privacy policy.

AdSense Privacy Policy Provided by JenSense

Disclaimer

Terms and Conditions

All content provided on this blog is for informational purposes only. The owner of this blog makes no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of any information on this site or found by following any link on this site. The owner will not be liable for any errors or omissions in this information nor for the availability of this information. The owner will not be liable for any losses, injuries, or damages from the display or use of this information.

This policy is subject to change at anytime.

Limit of Liability Disclaimer

The information contained in this product / on this site is for information purposes only, and may not apply to your situation. The author, publisher, distributor and provider provide no warranty about the content or accuracy of content enclosed. Information provided is subjective. Keep this in mind when reviewing this guide.

Neither the Publisher nor Author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages resulting from use of this guide. All links are for information purposes only and are not warranted for content, accuracy, or any other implied or explicit purpose.