You will never be judged here…….ever!
May I suggest something?
Ive always believed that knowledge is power. Learning about compulsive gambling, how it controls the gambler, their money, their behaviour, their moods, their warped way of thinking, their life……arming yourself with this knowledge could help you. It is so difficult for a non compulsive gambler to understand how we think (I’m talking about me here), how all logic goes flying out the window, how we justify to ourselves spending that money, that learning how this addiction ‘works’ could help you avoid situations that are difficult to manage/cope with.
Unfortunately the only person who can help your boyfriend with his addiction is him. He has to be the one to make the hard decisions and do the hard work to stop gambling and regain control of his life.
For you, arming yourself with the knowledge of compulsive gambling could give you the benefit of being able to read situations that may be about to escalate.
You cannot make him stop gambling, but you can deal with situations better…for you and your son.
I can see how stressed you are.
Your boyfriend doesn’t care. His addiction wont let him.
All he wants to do right now is gamble, his mind is full of gambling thoughts, how, when, where……..nothing else can get in. His mind is blocked from logical thinking.
All I can suggest, is that you give him no money. Don’t enable him to gamble. I’m sure he will find a way on his own but if you can, make it as hard as possible.
Take care,
Love K xxx
