How to help your partner battle gambling addiction?

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Relationships and gambling have so much in common. Both are exciting and can be rewarding, but at the same time can be very risky. Dating is undeniably fun. You may find your partner for life but you can also end up with the wrong person. When you gamble, you can also win some amount, but you may end up losing more in the long run. Both two offer uncertain outcomes. But what if you find yourself in both situations.

You’re dating someone you really like but to your surprise, you found out that he or she is an active gambler. Worse is that your partner is battling with a gambling addiction. What will you do? Should you break up with him/her? Or should you stay? How can you help him or her fight? Here are some tips when dealing with a relationship like this.

Educate yourself about gambling addiction

Do you know that gambling addiction and drug addiction affect the brain the same way? Several studies in the past back this claim. Experts explained that when a person gamble, our brain releases a chemical called dopamine. It’s worth noting the release of dopamine can be seen as the brain’s reward system for doing self-preservation activities like eating or those that involve passing genes like sexual intercourse. The release of this chemical makes us feel good.

The problem is that when a person takes drugs like amphetamine and cocaine, the brain squirts 10 times more dopamine than normal. When this happens in long term, the brain develops tolerance to the release of chemicals. The person then becomes less responsive to its effect.

When they reach this point they will seek and consume a larger amount of the stimulant to feel the same satisfaction. People with severe addiction may experience withdrawal when they are deprived of stimulants.

When a person became addicted to gambling they will experience the same effect. When they are deprived, they can also experience withdrawal. They can also experience being physically ill, cannot sleep, and shake uncontrollably during this stage. If drug addicts need to consume more of the drugs to feel the same high, the gambling addicts, on the other hand, need to make a riskier thrill. This is a dangerous part as the person may end up losing a lot of money.

The good news is that there are many organizations that can help people living with this addiction. These organizations can also provide you information for problem gamblers. Some of them prescribe medicines to help the patient recover faster.

Understand the gambling industry

Gambling games can be addictive but there are people who gamble for recreational activity. You need to understand how the system work to be able to help your partner. One of the things you should be familiar with is the availability of online casinos. There are thousands of websites out there that can be accessed on the internet. There are also websites like https://bitcoincasino-thai.com that guide new players in making use of cryptocurrency to play casino games.

If you want to help your partner, you should be familiar with to “responsible gaming” page of the casino site. There’s a feature here called self-exclusion that allows the members to ban themselves from opening their accounts for a certain period of time or even permanently. Typically, the feature can be activated by contacting the customer support team. Quality websites can also provide assistance by referring you to their partnered institutions that help problem gamblers.

Don’t control their life

When we are worried we can do several things that are irrational especially if we are not familiar with gambling addiction. We may yell at them or forcing them to stop playing instantly. Don’t do this. They may end up or stressed or worse depressed. Furthermore, there’s a good chance that it will not work. Be more creative and understanding in your approach.

Make your partner feel that he or she can trust you. Be with him/her and talk more often. Convey how much you want to support him or her in their battle.

Find a hobby together

Look for a hobby that you will enjoy together. Video games might be a good option, but physical activities will be more beneficial for both of you. Do some sports, gardening, biking, or hiking. You can also go out of town for a vacation. You are doing this to divert your partner’s attention.

Learn when to say it quit

Some battles cannot be won all the time. If your partner is not willing to change and is abusing you, then this might be a time to call it a quit. You can support your partner in their battle with gambling addiction, but the only thing that can stop it is himself.

In poker, there is an action called “fold”. Players do this to surrender in the round so they don’t lose any more money than they already have.

Remember also to love yourself. Know when to give up.