But if your gambling habit has become compulsive, know that you are not alone. Approximately three to four percent of Americans have a gambling problem. Sadly compulsion to gamble can take over.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Gambling
Compulsive Personality Disorder Gambling

Behavioral Health Services

Compulsive gambling is an uncontrollable urge to continue gambling, despite the toll it takes on your life. Often called a gambling disorder, this compulsion involves repeat behavior that causes significant problems or distress. When you gamble, you risk something you value in hopes of getting something of even higher value. Like any addiction, what makes compulsive gambling, also called ‘pathological gambling’, an addiction and not just a fun habit, is that compulsive gambling feels impossible to control and you will do it even if it is having negative affects on your life. Compulsive Gambling and Anxiety Self-Help Exercises for Anxiety to Relieve the Gambling Urge Gambling problems are related to other underlying issues such as anxiety, stress, and difficulties with impulse control or substance abuse. Gambling Disorder (Compulsive Gambling, Pathological Gambling) Betting the farm can actually be a serious problem for some people. Compulsive and habitual gambling can destroy a person's life.

Referrals: 612-672-2736
Toll-free: 800-233-7503

Compulsive Gambling Program

Video and telephone visits available
Immediate openings and same-day visits
Call 1-800-468-3120 to schedule

Compulsive Gambling is a progressive illness that is diagnosable and treatable. It can be as debilitating as alcoholism and drug addiction.
Often misdiagnosed, compulsive gamblers experience extreme euphoria and depression - depending on whether they are winning or losing. The suicide rate is four times higher in gamblers than non-gamblers.

How do I know if I’m a compulsive gambler?

Ask yourself these questions and then call us for an initial consultation:

Do I ever feel remorse after gambling?
Do I ever gamble to get money for paying debts or to otherwise solve financial difficulties?
After losing, do I feel I must return as soon as possible and win back my losses?
After I win, do I have a strong urge to return and win more?
Do I often gamble until my last dollar is gone?
Am I reluctant to use “gambling money” for normal expenditures?
Do I ever gamble longer than I planned?
Have I ever committed, or considered committing, an illegal act to finance my gambling?
Do arguments, disappointments or frustrations create within me an urge to gamble?
Do I ever consider self-destruction as a result of my gambling?

Three phases

The winning phase is characterized by occasional gambling with excitement prior to and during gambling. Gambling becomes more frequent withincreased amounts bet because of unreasonable optimism. An early big win is often the fuel that propels the illness in pursuit of “the action.”

The losing phase happens as gambling continues and the losses mount forcing the gambler to hide his gambling from others. Frequent loans from family, banks, credit cards and employers may be necessary during this phase. The gambler may go through personality changes - being irritable, restless and withdrawn.

In the desperation phase, the gambler becomes obsessed with gambling to cover debts and spends increased time and money on gambling. Increased blaming of problems on others results in desperate attempts to get out from under the weight of the debt. When all attempts fail, the gambler may contemplate or attempt suicide as a way out.

Assessment

We offer in depth gambling assessments conducted by state certified counselors who specialize in evaluation and treatment of compulsive gambling. The goal of the assessment is to help clients identify the extent of their gambling issues and to recommend appropriate therapeutic options. We also provide Rule 82 Court Ordered assessments.
Assessments can be scheduled at 612-672-2736.

Our program

A separate program, the Fairview Recovery Services Compulsive Gambling Phase 1 program meets days a week for 24 sessions. Participants meet with counselors one-to-one, talk with other gamblers in group therapy, attend lectures and view films. The concurrent Family Program enables family members to receive helpful information, as well as counseling, during the six-week program.
Our staff members are specially trained to help compulsive gamblers and their families. They include:

Primary counselors
Family specialists

Phase II

Our Phase II program begins immediately following primary treatment. It helps to ensure the success of stopping the gambling habit. Phase II Groups meet 2 days per week for 20 sessions and are led by a gambling-specific-trained counselor. Patients have the opportunity to continue into a Phase III program based on continued treatment needs.

Self-Help Exercises for Anxiety to Relieve the Gambling Urge

Gambling problems are related to other underlying issues such as anxiety, stress, and difficulties with impulse control or substance abuse. Easy-to-apply strategies can end the impulse to gamble, as well as avoid slips and relapses.

Gambling and anxiety

Many people gamble as a way of managing anxiety. As they gamble, people often report being separated from their anxious feelings or projecting their feelings of anxiety onto the excitement they feel when they partake in their gambling activity of choice. As a result, gambling can work its way into the fabric of their everyday life, and the impulse to gamble can overwhelm the rest of their lives.

Thus, for many gamblers, reducing anxiety is a prerequisite to making any changes in gambling behavior. Fortunately, there are several techniques that can make a tremendous difference in alleviating anxiety.

Learn to relax

Real relaxation is a physiological and psychological response that is the opposite of anxiety and panic. It’s accompanied by a slowing of the heart rate and lowering of blood pressure, deeper breathing, and a calm, even state of mind. When experienced on a regular basis, its effects are cumulative. One of the most powerful ways that people can counteract anxiety is by learning to relax. It isn’t possible to be relaxed and anxious at the same time. This means more than simply plopping down in front of a television or surfing the Internet, although on the surface, those activities can seem like they’re relaxing.

If the level of anxiety is so high that it makes people physically and psychologically uncomfortable, taking active steps to relax can offer them relief. Relaxation exercises, such as those outlined below, teach people to identify worry triggers, defuse them, and break the cycle of anxiety. It’s best for people to commit to daily practice, even if the exercises don’t appear to help at first, because the more people do these exercises, the more positive effect they will have.

Being able to relax is a skill, and like any other skill someone wants to develop, it gets better with practice. The more people practice, the more they will become aware of the ebb and flow of anxiety. That way, as soon as they feel its presence, they can target it. There are dozens of “mind and body” approaches like yoga, tai chi, and meditation. These practices blend deep breathing and relaxation strategies with body awareness techniques that help people recognize when they are becoming too tense. Many of these are ongoing practices people can try at a health club, a studio, or even at home.

Before people can learn to relax, it is helpful for them to get a handle on what is making them anxious in the first place. Greater awareness can help people anticipate these feelings, which in turn allows them to recognize the need to employ a relaxation strategy. It also helps to understand which relaxation strategies are the most effective. That’s why it may be helpful to keep a journal for at least one week. Individuals can use it to write down what makes them anxious and how they respond to that anxiety. After a week of making journal entries, people can usually identify anxiety triggers and patterns of response.

Then it’s time to identify other ways of responding that might alleviate rather than fuel anxiety. Here are three excellent relaxa

Compulsive Disorder Gambling