Once you become addicted to gambling it is very difficult to get out of it. Gambling addicts are so crazy that anything good they think is bad they will only run towards gambling. When gambling can't keep itself away from the urge it is considered a mental disorder. At this stage even if a person loses everything for gambling he cannot give up gambling addiction. And when this addiction reaches extremes it wreaks havoc in people's lives.
Addiction is a very difficult thing to comprehend for those that have never experimented, as the addicted takes actions that go against their own interests, but their mind is so warped and their priorities so out of place they cannot understand their lives without gambling anymore, which makes them to sacrifice everything for it, a huge mistake as one day they will realize what they have done, and they may try to get their life back on track and they may find themselves alone without anyone willing to help them out.
It's get way worse of actually the addicted person decides to keep a secret because that only feeds the addiction to a level that is way above treatment and when reaching that stage, selling and loaning off self property can be the main results because he or she will be deeply associated that whatever means it takes to make money the person would try it and do it.
If I were the one experiencing a gambling addiction, it seems like I would also choose to keep the addiction problem a secret. Because the important thing is that other people know the problems I am facing. However, that doesn't mean I take the problem of gambling addiction lightly, but rather to prevent other people's negative views of me. because people who are addicted to gambling are often seen as bad by many people, considered trash and useless, so people who are addicted to gambling often lose the trust of other people. That's for where I live, but I don't know if it's the same where you live, where gambling addicts are often seen as bad and looked down upon. But if we really need help from other people, then never hesitate to ask for help from other people.
But don't let that happen, because being able to recover from gambling addiction is an easy thing to overcome. And because of that, I always try to keep gambling with full awareness, always trying to control gambling activities as best as possible. Because prevention is better than cure.