My son what can I do

Tell him he must put Blocks, in place other wise it will get worse and worse.Their has to be Boundaries even for us addicts.

Posted by: @k5xn2qsiv7

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Hi I'm new to this. My son has been gambling for about 10 years.  My husband and I have given him chance after chance to stop and turn his life around.  We are rock bottom, we are thinking of telling him to leave the family home, find somewhere else to live and fend for himself.  So far we have kept an eye on his finances and tried to help him save some money but whatever we do doesn't seem to be good enough.  He doesn't talk to us about how he is feeling, we just cannot get through to him.  What can we do to make him stop?  Any advice would be appreciated.  Thank you 

 

Has your son been affected emotionally by an event in his life? When did he start gambling and how old is he?

Compulsive gambling allows people to escape reality and obviously it’s highly addictive, especially to some of us, ADHD is another big risk.

It sounds like he should talk to a professional to find out the root cause of his gambling disorder.

He more than likely hates his addiction himself and needs help to conquer it. 

It’s very rough on families, the more you read up on it, the more likely it will help you understand addiction and how to help.

I would advise to be supportive, try to get him to go to a GA meeting and if you can, help him take control of his finances and put blocks and exclusions on any gambling websites. 

All compulsive gamblers eventually reach rock bottom themselves and this is not a bad thing. It is a wake up call. I’ve been there myself and relapsed multiple times.

We have to continue to fight the impulses outcome lives. 

He needs his family to help him through this but he must also make the decision to stop by himself. 

Perhaps try steering him into other hobbies, family day outs etc with limited access to the internet and his mobile phone. 

It really sounds like you are trying hard with him and that you are great parents. However it sounds like he could benefit from professional help.

@oldnews74 unfortunately there isn’t anything you can do as long as he wants to gamble he will gamble