Have you read that Bible chapter and verse that talked about the demon Jesus christ casted out of a man, that after a while, probably some days, weeks, months or years, the demon returned to check on the man and realized that the man was empty, and the demon went and brought seven more demons stronger than itself, and they all possessed the man again, and we were told that the later state of the man became worser than the former.. This is the story of a person I used to know..
Few days ago, I meet someone I used to know a long time ago after loosing contact for a long time, he was a gambler back then but before we lost contact, he stopped gambling as he found out he was gradually becoming addicted as at that time..
Long story short, I found his profile on Facebook, I messaged him and we started chatting, it turned out he now lived in the same city where I live, reconnected and meet again few days ago, he had grown very lean like someone who was sick or doesn't feed well, I tried to find out what the problem is with him and I found out he is now a chronic gambling addict, I tried finding out from him what lead him back to gambling but he simply said it's a long story and wouldn't say anything anymore...
And within myself, I am still wondering, what could possibly lead a person back to gambling after successfully quitting initially? Know well the reason for initially quitting was addiction, does it make sense to go back to gambling and become even more addicted?
Addiction has a way of sneaking back in even after someone has walked away from it for months or years when a person quits it feels like they have broken free but if the reasons behind the addiction aren’t fully dealt with the habit can lie dormant waiting for the right set of circumstances to reappear stress difficult life situations loneliness even small triggers like seeing others gamble or being near a casino can pull someone back in what starts as a small step back can quickly spiral and often the second time around it grips deeper than the first. Many people relapse not because they don’t know it’s destructive but because the brain remembers the temporary high and convinces them that this time it will be different that they can control it the reality is the addiction usually returns with more intensity and the person feels stuck in a cycle that is even harder to escape than before.
Breaking free is more than just stopping it involves building new routines finding healthier ways to cope with stress surrounding oneself with supportive people and replacing the old triggers with better habits without that replacement the emptiness can be filled again by the very thing they tried to escape that is why relapse stories can look much worse than the first round. Sometimes it also comes down to silence and shame people may not talk about what they are going through because they don’t want to be judged so they keep it inside and it grows heavier until the addiction becomes their only outlet understanding this can help approach them with patience and care because harsh words or judgment will only push them further into hiding.