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Problem with your Gambling
Have your gambling become a problem for you? We have a solution. GAMBLERS ANONYMOUS is a fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from a gambling problem. Most of us have been unwilling to admit we were real problem gamblers. GAMBLERS ANONYMOUS is a fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from a gambling problem. Go to Official Gamblers Anonymous Home Page International Service Office P.O. Box 17173, Los Angeles, CA 90017 (213) 386-8789 - Fax (213) 386-0030 The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop gambling. There are no dues or fees for Gamblers Anonymous membership; we are self-supporting through our own contributions. Gamblers Anonymous is not allied with any sect, denomination, politics, organization or institution; does not wish to engage in any controversy; neither endorses nor opposes any cause. Our primary purpose is to stop gambling and to help other compulsive gamblers do the same. Most of us have been unwilling to admit we were real problem gamblers. No one likes to think they are different from their fellows. Therefore, it is not surprising that our gambling careers have been characterized by countless vain attempts to prove we could gamble like other people. The idea that somehow, some day, we will control our gambling is the great obsession of every compulsive gambler. The persistence of this illusion is astonishing. Many pursue it into the gates of prison, insanity or death. We learned we had to concede fully to our innermost selves that we are compulsive gamblers. This is the first step in our recovery. With reference to gambling, the delusion that we are like other people, or presently may be, has to be smashed. We have lost the ability to control our gambling. We know that no real compulsive gambler ever regains control. All of us felt at times we were regaining control, but such intervals - usually brief -were inevitably followed by still less control,which led in time to pitiful and incomprehensible demoralization. We are convinced that gamblers of our type are in the grip of a progressive illness. Over any considerable period of time we get worse, never better. Therefore, in order to lead normal happy lives, we try to practice to the best of our ability, certain principles in our daily affairs. THE RECOVERY PROGRAM Here are the steps which are a program of recovery We admitted we were powerless over gambling - that our lives had become unmanageable. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to a normal way of thinking and living. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of this Power of our own understanding. Made a searching and fearless moral and financial inventory of ourselves. Admitted to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs. Were entirely ready to have these defects of character removed. Humbly asked God (of our understanding) to remove our shortcomings. Made a list of all persons we had harmed and became willing to make amends to them all. Make direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong, promptly admitted it. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out. Having made an effort to practice these principles in all our affairs, we tried to carry this message to other compulsive gamblers. The 12 Step Program is fundamentally based on ancient spiritual principles and rooted in sound medical therapy. The best recommendation for the program is the fact that "it works." Gamblers Anonymous would like to indicate that we are not soliciting members. Our intention is to highlight that gambling for certain individuals is an illness called "compulsive gambling." Gamblers Anonymous provides the message that there is an alternative to the destruction of compulsive gambling and this alternative is the Gamblers Anonymous program. Our ranks are filled with members who have recovered from the illness by stopping gambling and attaining a normal way of life. These members remain ready to help any individual who passes through the Gamblers Anonymous door. Gamblers Anonymous offers the following questions to anyone who may have a gambling problem. These questions are provided to help the individual decide if he or she is a compulsive gambler and wants to stop gambling. TWENTY QUESTIONS Did you ever lose time from work or school due to gambling? Has gambling ever made your home life unhappy? Did gambling affect your reputation? Have you ever felt remorse after gambling? Did you ever gamble to get money with which to pay debts or otherwise solve financial difficulties? Did gambling cause a decrease in your ambition or efficiency? After losing did you feel you must return as soon as possible and win back your losses? After a win did you have a strong urge to return and win more? Did you often gamble until your last dollar was gone? Did you ever borrow to finance your gambling? Have you ever sold anything to finance gambling? Were you reluctant to use "gambling money" for normal expenditures? Did gambling make you careless of the welfare of yourself or your family? Did you ever gamble longer than you had planned? Have you ever gambled to escape worry or trouble? Have you ever committed, or considered committing, an illegal act to finance gambling? Did gambling cause you to have difficulty in sleeping? Do arguments, disappointments or frustrations create within you an urge to gamble? Did you ever have an urge to celebrate any good fortune by a few hours of gambling? Have you ever considered self destruction or suicide as a result of your gambling? Most compulsive gamblers will answer yes to at least seven of these questions.
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