18. Gambling Addiction Erodes Values

By Tom O'Connell

"I'm Nick and I'm a compulsive gambler," said the anonymous recovering addict. "With compulsive gambling, when your values are gone, you will steal from your grandchildren, you will steal from anybody. Gambling did a terrible job on me.

This senior citizen in recovery from his gambling addiction told a powerful story to the workshop at the Twelfth Cape Cod Symposium on Addictive Disorders during a session featuring the Massachusetts Council on Compulsive Gambling (MCCG). 

Nick's road to gambling addiction started young. He stole from his father's pockets at the age of five to pitch pennies. At age 20, serving in the military in Korea, he ended up in the stockade due to his gambling addiction. At age 22, he was arrested by the FBI for embezzling. And later when he worked in a plumbing supply business he stole again. Yet he tried to stop his compulsive gambling, and when he was about age 25, living in New York City with two dollars left in his pocket, he went to Bellevue Hospital for help and was unable to obtain it.

Moving to Connecticut, his addiction continued. Eventually, he stole the equivalent of a year's pay to finance his gambling habit. "I went to Atlantic City and lost it all." At one point he was so disgusted with himself that he shoved his hands into a burning fireplace in an attempt to avoid gambling.

He underwent a psychiatric evaluation, and this is what he reported: "I had the desire to get better but I went off the graph for being compulsive." Talking about "high rollers," he said, "We get high on the action and we suffer from grandiosity. As for alcohol, the smart gambler doesn't drink while gambling because alcohol is a depressant drug whereas gambling is a stimulant."

Nick went through a long and torturous disease process before he found recovery, and has memories of credit burdens and loan sharks. "At the end I was no longer a smart gambler and hated myself. I reached the stage of having charge accounts at variety stores. 

After two years in recovery he had health problems. "I lost my faith...I was lost." So he relapsed into the old familiar compulsive behavior. "I thought the pain would go away, but I lost...and the pain was still there. So I got back to God again." He rejoined a recovery program for gamblers with a 12 Step orientation.

"I began walking at the Mall and going to church every day, and gradually I got better physically and mentally. The obsession was removed and the Grace of God entered my life. I don't have to gamble today." He's been in recovery 14 years now.

Explaining that fear is no aid to abstinence from gambling addiction, he explained, "You can't stop gambling from fear of it. Actually, the more the risk the better the gambling was to me. I would say 'The devil take me just as long as I win.' Now I say 'Good morning, God' instead of 'Good God, it's morning.'"

Nick is one of millions with a compulsive gambling problem, and the problem is on the rise. According to a recent newsletter from the Mass. Council on Compulsive Gambling, "The rate of compulsive gambling among adults from the general population has continued to increase during the past few years." Also, the MCCG reports, "Studies between 1997 and 1999 reaffirm earlier findings that adolescents, college students and those diagnosed with various psychological disorders have a significantly higher rate of disordered gambling than adults from the general population."

If you wonder whether you might have a gambling problem, think about these questions: "Have you ever borrowed to gamble or to cover lost money?" "Have you ever thought you might have a gambling problem?" "Have you ever been untruthful about the extent of your gambling?" "Have you ever tried to stop or cut back on your gambling?"

Is help available? You bet! For information on this important subject, go to www.masscompulsivegambling.org and you may also try the weekly online report published by Harvard Medical School's Division on Addiction. It's called "The Wager" and provides data on all aspects of gambling research. The Website address is: www.thewager.org.

- Back -