People gamble for different reasons and not everyone’s circumstances are the same. However, I believe that all gambling is a form of escapism.
By escapism I mean an effortless diversion from reality – a time away from our real lives where we rise and fall as we win and lose. For some, gambling is an end to a means, a way to solve an objective problem through obtaining winnings. For others, the problem is on the inside and the gambler wishes to get away from it by living the fantasy crafted by the gambling facilities. And yet for others, there is another reason why they become transfixed in the diversion of gambling. In any case, the rule applies to all – you spend your time gambling instead of doing other things. You obviously find this to be a pleasurable habit that enables you to ignore reality for a little while or you would avoid it. Thus, it is escapism.
One of the reasons why gambling addiction requires willpower to beat is that it is a form of escapism that always begets more escapism. When you win, you believe you will win again, thus providing escape. When you lose, you want to escape your losses, and thus you chase them. Either way when you gamble you only desire to gamble more. There is no avoiding this, for that is the very nature of gambling. This is why the gambling addict must quit forever or forever remain an addict.
Escapism draws away our energy to handle life’s problems, for we become use to ignoring them in the temporary pleasure bubble of our diversion. Further problems only feed the beast and may trigger one’s escapism habit to become worse. That is why many people who bet casually become addicts after they start to have problems – the problems feed their desire to escape/gamble and they become lost in the downward spiral of escapism.
It is indeed a downward spiral. Bet begets bet. Losses mount, chasing continues until a person realizes that they’ve lost a lot. The sadistic addiction continues even further, for many it reaches the point where they have absolutely no money left to draw. Then they cannot escape any more and they must face the ultra-painful reality of their situation.
The lesson in all of this simple. The only way to ensure that you are successful in your quest to eliminate gambling addiction is to eliminate escapism from your life. Find every problem you refuse to face, accept it, deal with it, and move to the next. Ruthlessly tackle your life, pick up the shambles, and put it back together again. Take a vow to face reality no matter what.
In the end, you cannot possibly be a gambling addict for gambling has no meaning to you any more. You understand that it is merely a very flawed, toxic, and poisonous solution to problems that you are capable of handling without it.
You will also be a happier person and a lot less stressed out because you know that everything is under control.
