World Famous Home Wrecker

Today, there are many things that people, young and old, "experiment" with, such as drugs, drinking. But one of the biggest habits in today's society that affects more than 15 million people, is gambling. And from that 15 million, "at least 3 million are considered to be severe problem gamblers",according to www.helpguide.org.
This site informs the public about how gambling can be harmful in more than one way and how to receive the help that he/she needs. Even though it may seem like a hobby or innocent fun, it can easily lead to "a strain on your relationships, interfere with responsibilities at home & work, and lead to financial catastrophe". There have even been cases where the "compulsive gambler" will steal money from almost anywhere, including their own family & children. When it comes to gambling, there are many consequences, physically, emotionally and financially.
From helpguide.org, "gambling is sometimes referred to as the "hidden illness" because there usually aren't any physical signs or symptoms, like there are in drug & alcohol addiction". But a few things that should be taken seriously is when he/she begins to deny, minimize or even hide their gambling problem. Personally, gambling isn't any different from any other addiction. I say this because gamblers and drug/alcohol addicts show similar symptoms.
For example, most drug users rarely inform their family and/or loved ones about their problem. Instead, they try to keep it as quiet as possible, even though it's not kept quiet for long. This is, because if they're a serious addict, they'll bring it out themselves, by doing something out of the ordinary or noticing to the ones around them. And not only does it take an emotional toll on the families, it breaks the addict down in the process.
It's proven that unpleasant feelings, such as stress, depression, loneliness, fear and anxiety can trigger compulsive gambling or make it worse than it already is. But even though these feelings might ignite the need to go out spend money, there are also ways that can help prevent these unpleasant feelings and also the urge to gamble. A few exercises that may help a person through whatever he/she may be feeling, is meditating, practicing breathing exercises or even using sensory relaxation strategies. I think these would be great activities to take part in because they'd take your mind off most of the negative that within or surrounding. And personally, I've tried a lite version of a relaxation strategy, and I definitely had a positive outcome. During the session, I felt very relaxed and sleepy, later on, but overall, it changed my perspective of these type of strategies and forget about anything negative that had happened that particular day.
The biggest problem of all, when it comes to compulsive gamblers would be money or the financial status.