Gambling is a fun, social activity that can become addictive if left unchecked. Left untreated, a gambling addiction can cause significant financial harm, family and friendship problems and desperation to repay debts. It can also cause psychological damage, such as guilt, shame and feelings of hopelessness.
The good news is that you don’t have to fight this battle alone. There are many online and local resources available to help you. Many of these resources are free and offer a range of services, including self-assessment tools, treatment pathways and support chats. These resources are provided by organisations like GamCare, Lifeline, the Nevada Council on Problem Gambling and more.
One of the best ways to stop gambling on online slots is to place more barriers between yourself and the behaviour. This means not using your computer or smartphone in the same way as you did when gambling. For example, instead of whipping out your phone and navigating to a gambling website at the first sign of an urge, use the Freedom App. This will allow you to block dangerous websites for as long as you choose.
Another way to help yourself is to focus on other hobbies and activities. This will help you retrain your brain, which can easily be triggered by old habits. It is also important to rekindle old hobbies that you may have lost during your gambling addiction, so you have new, healthy habits to replace those negative ones.
It is also crucial to recognise and avoid triggers, which are the thoughts and emotions that encourage gambling. For example, if your usual route home from work passes a casino or TAB, consider taking an alternative route. Or, if watching sports makes you want to bet, try changing the channel. Similarly, it’s important to limit how much cash you carry around with you, and to leave credit cards and non-essentials at home.
Finally, it is important to remember that no-one is due a win in a game of chance. Online slot games are kept fair and unpredictable by random number generators, which create new combinations of numbers every second. The moment you press ’spin’, the RNG has already created an undecipherable combination of patterns and numbers that will determine whether or not you will win.
In the end, the key to stopping gambling on online slots is a willingness to seek professional help. You should make it a priority to source professional, licensed counseling that will be familiar with your struggles with gambling addiction. Whether you choose to use the counseling network at Pyramid Online Counseling or another reputable outlet, this step is critical to overcoming your gambling addiction.