Dealing With a Loved One who struggles with gambling

Concerned about a loved one who is struggling with a gambling disorder? In this video, Algamus founder Rick Benson discusses the best way to handle this situation.

How to Help Your Loved One

About 50% of phone calls that Algamus Gambling Treatment Services receive come from a concerned family member, whether it be a mother, father, sister, brother, or significant other. The question they usually have is how do they convince the gambler that he or she is in need of treatment? In some cases, it takes a professional intervention, which we do provide, although this is often not necessary. 

Trying to treat your loved one who has a compulsive gambling disorder on your own can be a frustrating task. Parents often try to assist their children by providing them with money to settle their gambling debt, but before they know it, their child is gambling again. This gives the parents less of an incentive to offer a helping hand, because they feel like they have exhausted their efforts, and that nothing they do really makes a difference.

The Severity of Gambling Addiction

What you need to realize is that a gambling disorder is a disease, and it should be treated with the same seriousness as that of a kidney disorder or a heart condition. If you tried to help your loved one who was medically ill once, and they fell out of remission, wouldn’t you try to help them get back into remission? The same should be done about a gambling disorder. 

Gambling is often perceived to be a condition of moral weakness or willful misconduct, but it is neither of these things. Gamblers are not premeditating a plan to go into debt or to con their parents out of money; this occurs because their addiction is driving them to that behavior. Family members of someone with a gambling disorder need to come to terms with the fact that this is a medical issue, and it needs to be treated immediately. 

If you or someone you love is struggling with a gambling disorder, we are here to help. Algamus Gambling Treatment Services is an intimate program, with our staff to patient ratio being almost one-to-one, and we have over 27 years of dedicated and continuous service when it comes to gambling treatment. Contact us today for a free consultation.