I have been with him for about a year. We are both 21 and he have just gradurated and I am doing a Master's.
We are in a long distance relationship at the moment and he told me recently that he have been gambling and lost around 400 pound in total. It is still within his financial capacity, but I am worried about the trend that he is gambling more.often and with larger bets.
I am glad that he is honest with me, and feels like he can talk to me when he is stressed or sad, but I am also concerned with his new habit. How do I help without making him feels like he need to hide it from me? One thing that I am worried about is his mindset, he only plays poker and he seems to think that it is more acceptable since he is not playing againist the house.
It depends on his personality when i started off i was a casual gamblier for the first two years i showed no signs of addiction until i started chasing my losses i began spending more and more time and i just couldnt stop i started lying to everyone around me until i had no where to go and i had to tell my family which all came out eventually even my family couldnt believe i could do such a thing its destroyed my life however i had a friend with addictive personality who was actually the same he would chase his losses when he won he would still lose however he was naturally gifted with will power he quit gambling and smoking after doing it for so many years he not smoked or gambled in 8 years whereas ive had support in going ga putting blocks in i have done 6 months to a year few times and longest i have done is two years i just cant seem to quit for good, it a dangerous road, some ppl may show these signs it just that they havent started it an awful addicted to have and the government should do to more to protect people who may be prone to the funny thing is i never got addicted to drugs or drink i manage to quit very easily however gambling been by far the worst it like i have been possessed and im not in control
Hi Swing,
Thank you for sharing your story with us today on our forum.
I appreciate your concern and where you are coming from with this. It can be difficult seeing your partner start to show signs of gambling harms. It is positive that your partner has spoke to you about his gambling and that he is being honest with you now. Does your partner currently acknowledge his gambling has become problematic?
Being open and honest with your concerns around his gambling would be the best place to start if you are worried about him. If your partner acknowledges that his gambling has become problematic for him, you could encourage him to reach out for support with this by contacting us on our Helpline 0808 8020 133 or through or live chat, WhatsApp or Facebook. Our Helpline is a safe space for him to talk about his gambling and access support for this.
This support is also available for yourself too, and I would encourage you to get in contact with us too if you would like to talk to someone. It is really important you look after yourself whilst going through something like this, as you mentioned feelings of worry about his gambling. We can support you with this and advise you on how to approach this situation.
Please do continue sharing your story with us on the forum.
Kind Regards
Forum Admin
George
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