If someone is a problem gambler and has repeatedly relapsed to problematic behavior related to gambling, I have come to the conclusion that it's best to quit cold turkey.
With other things it can sometimes be recommended that the addict slowly winds down their consumption of the addictive activity or substance, but that doesn't sound very realistic with gambling, does it?
Quitting cold turkey, contemplating on your mistakes and talking about it with a group and some experts sounds like the best path. What are your thoughts? Could a problem gambler quit slowly and expect realistic improvements?
What makes it difficult for people to get away from gambling is that in their minds they always have thoughts of being able to recover the losses they experienced previously. This also happens in my family who really like gambling because they have lost a lot of money. So you always gamble in the hope of recovering previous losses.
But now after being given advice, slowly he can control himself and no longer becomes addicted. From this I conclude that when we are addicted we cannot stop gambling completely. We can only do it slowly. This also applies to cigarette addicts. Normally they can stop slowly.
But if they quit to an extreme level, they experience health problems that require them to stop smoking completely. Likewise with gambling they can stop completely if they are completely bankrupt and there is nothing left to sell.
Maybe this is advice for those who are addicted to gambling. divert your habits and thoughts to look for new hobbies, and socialize with friends and useful activities.