Yesterday there a person came in here to the forum with great distress and wanted help as everything else had failed. She had a few responses here but to make a long story short her post was removed. I think that was either a very brave decision made by years of experience or it was a foolish one. I point no blame but would like to turn this thought with you. If you are shielding the rest of us from the grim reality of life you are missing the point.
This illness kills. There are according to some experts one player around the world every 40 seconds who decide to kill themselves. Now should the rest of us not have to see that stark reality? I know it is political and risk of being sued if someone makes a mistake or guides someone badly BUT, what happens if it is all brushed under the rug? Who does that person speak to before she has a new episode with the NHS?
As I said I don't own this site and I do believe that this is not the first time this has happened but I say this. I would not have closed this person of the forum. It is a stark reminder of what is going on out there and all of us should be reminded that these things happen every 40 seconds 24 hours a day everywhere.
And to you who wrote the post.
We are with you. Our thought goes out to you. Don't give up and don't ever surrender. There are recourses out there who can get you the right help. You just need to work a bit harder to find them.
Yes I kind of agree with your thoughts c43h. I think if the person concerned had specifically asked for their post to be taken down then that's fine, as it must have taken a lot of courage to write what they wrote and they probably felt extremely vulnerable, so to have a change of mind is completely understandable.
However if it was taken down simply because it was partly about suicide, then i disagree. Like c43h says to shield us from the grim reality of this addiction amounts to censorship. Gambling addiction does have the highest suicide rate of all addictions (as far as I am aware). It is a reality that needs to out in the open and talked about, not treated as a taboo subject to be swept under the carpet.
These are just my thoughts at this moment in time.
Yes c43h and S.A. You both talk much sense.
My posts have got much sterner over the years. I will often say that a gambling addiction kills people.
Its no game about a silly flutter. It is a life or death situation. Obviously the havok it reeks destroys everything.
We should not be shielded from that. I am well aware of the power of this addiction. An addiction that makes no sense until we begin to understand how it acts like a parasite getting its own fix at all costs. It drives people to the end.
The authorities need to get a grip on understanding that or nothing will ever get done. Its no game about a lad being a bit silly in Blackpool on the fruits. I dont see it as an activity which should be legal. I dont see us as the acceptable casualties of an otherwise wholesome activity. The naughty boys and girls who couldnt handle it because we are not right. The problem is clearly going exponential
Its a drug addiction and the most dangerous addiction I know about. It would leave me numb in an attempt to cope with the extreme stress of wondering how I had just blown a huge amount of money in no time.
My body would shut down into deep depression wondering how my day had ended up like that when I swore not to gamble and had a shopping trip planned that morning. I thought about suicide many times.
I fully understand how people see no way out and can take no more. It does need talking about.
As you say it should not be treated as a taboo subject to be swept under the carpet...Its what a gambling addiction does to people.
Best wishes to everyone on the forum
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