Help for Your Gambling Addiction San Diego & California

When do you need therapy for your gambling addiction?

You are so worried. One minute you are looking forward to the casino - the lights, the sounds, the scurry and the hustle of it all.  It's where your friends are, where they greet you by name, and where you feel like you belong.  The next minute you end up with the credit card maxed out and the bank accounts overdrawn. 

Sometimes you wonder if you could just leave, disappear or run from it all. It has you furious that you are back in this place. When you win, you really win and it's amazing. You go back hoping it can happen again and again.

Gambling Addiction has You Overwhelmed

You are so tired of this fight. You are in a constant state of worry and fear. You carry constant shame and guilt as you lie to avoid people really knowing what is happening.  "Mom, Dad oh you know my car broke down again. I need a tow and the garage said…. Oh babe, do you mind this once paying, I just can't swing it tonight. Hi landlord, I'll get the rent to you. I know it's late again. This is the last time. I always get it to you. Yah, thanks, mail the check next week. "

It's so hard to leave your friends, where you have fun and get free things. You try to not go as often, or to play another game, but a friend will call or you get bored. It's just so damn tempting. You are in so deep, you don't know how to get out of it. 

Your Gambling Therapist for Online Gambling Therapy for Gambling Addiction

I'm Tammy, a state authorized provider for California Gambling Education and Treatment Services (CalGETS). I offer a free 15-minute consultation to learn more how you can begin that path to recovery or managing feelings related to online gambling addiction help / online help for gambling addiction.

There are free gambling addiction therapy sessions offered through the CalGETS program. Most people qualify for the free eight 1-hour sessions, unless they have been through the program before. Our first session will be considered an “intake session.” This session can take up to two hours or we can break into two 1-hour sessions depending on your schedule. From there, you are allotted six more sessions to learn some of the basic techniques and the general strategies needed to control your gambling and deal with the consequences that were caused by it.

As you begin this online help for gambling addiction, I will help connect you to resources that support your recovery from gambling addiction. We will explore underlying cause and your best hopes for therapy. We can discuss if other people close to you could benefit attending a session with you or even begin their own sessions. Most people find best success by building that supportive network. I also find that people enjoy the accountable that gambling therapy provides, breaking them from that habit of gambling, freeing them to do things more enjoyed. I look forward being your gambling therapist for online gambling addiction help.

GAMBLING THERAPY NEAR ME

Ready to reclaim your life from gambling addiction? Schedule your online therapy in California counseling session today and start your journey towards a healthier, happier future. All sessions are online, making it easy to access help from anywhere in California. 

Frequently Asked Questions about Help for Gambling Addiction San Diego & California

  • Individuals with gambling addiction report a “high” from their addictive behaviors. Research has shown that gambling activates similar pleasure reward pathways in the brain, which was one of the reasons that gambling disorder was moved to the addictive disorders section of DSM-5 from its former classification as an impulse control disorder in DSM-IV-TR.

    Furthermore, neuroscience studies suggest dysfunction involving similar brain regions are associated with problem gambling. These deficits, sometimes referred to as executive dysfunction, can include problems paying attention, remembering information, multi-tasking, planning, organizing, goal-directed action, self-monitoring, regulating emotions, delaying gratification.

  • Gambling addiction can dramatically affect mood and overall sense of well-being. There are many emotions that gamblers face but depression, anxiety and suicidal ideation are some of the most serious. In fact, gamblers are at a higher risk for depression, as well as alcohol and drug abuse. Gamblers often report characteristics of shame, impulsivity, interpersonal sensitivity, distrust, loneliness, stress proneness, excitement-seeking, and boredom.

  • Part of clinical work with problem gamblers is to help them restore balance in their life. Severe gambling addiction takes away from one’s personal growth, money/finances, career/work, health/fitness, fun/recreation, community, family/friends, romance/love, and spirituality. By incorporating recovery tools, building social supports, among other strategies to restore this balance, a person can begin to train their brain to stop gambling.

 

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