Gambling Addiction: Betting over the year has become a rampant activity among people worldwide particularly the youths. It is against this backdrop that the tendencies of betting addiction has increased tremendously.
Betting no doubt is not a bad thing. As a matter of fact, it has become a very lucrative activity worldwide. However, in line with the adage which states that too much of anything is bad, it is pertinent to categorically state at this stage that excessive betting is not just bad but evil. It leads to betting addiction.
What is betting addiction?
Betting addiction which is popularly called gambling addiction is the uncontrollable urge to keep gambling despite the toll it takes on your life. Gambling means that you’re willing to risk something you value in the hope of getting something of even greater value. Gambling addiction simply means the inability to cope without gambling, the uncontrollable desire to gamble at all times, regardless of its negative effect or impacts .
Effects of betting addiction/gambling addiction
Addiction generally is never a good thing. Anything bad only brings about negative impact. Accordingly betting/gambling addiction has countless negative effect. Amongst the negative effects of gambling addiction are:
- It causes High blood pressure: to gamble means to stake money or resources on your prediction of an outcome of an event like football, tennis, basketball, dog race, horse race, rugby etc. Now anytime you stake your your money or resources, the fear of losing that will make you to remain in the state of unrest, thinking and until the event ends. While you think, worry, remain in the state of unrest, your blood pressure rises continuously until the thought stops.
- It renders one broke: The easiest way to become broke withing a day is by gambling. When you gamble constantly without winning, you are heading towards doom. In fact the greatest effect of gambling addiction is becoming broke. addiction to gambling will make you to continue betting/gambling without stopping, despite not winning.
- Gambling addiction leads the gambler into crime: When you have gambled and lost all your resources without winning, the next thing is to consider crime like stealing to get what to continue gambling with. When you have also lost all you have to gambling, particularly the resources you set aside for important things, when the need arises, the next thing is to consider the quick way to make money to solve the problem, and often time, this quick way involves crime.
- Gambling addiction rips one of his/her happiness and makes one constantly sad.
WAYS TO AVOID GAMBLING/BETTING ADDICTION
The best thing every gambler must do for himself/herself is to try as much as possible to avoid being addicted to betting/gambling. Betting/gambling addiction is an unconscious thing. Accordingly one must make conscious effort to avoid the gambling addiction.
Amongst the tips for avoiding gambling addiction are
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- Make a schedule for gambling: It is very important that you don’t make gambling a daily or constant activity. Remember that for anytime you gamble and lose, the resources will never come back. Also note that the possibility of winning bet is less than 50%. In that case, it is important for avoidance of addiction to create a schedule for betting. That is to say, map out the number of times you will bet in a week, month or year. that is to say, you will never gamble more than that, even though you can gamble less.
- Never take gambling as a full time job: Taking gambling as a full time job is the worse thing anyone can do to him or herself. Gambling is never a job, it is never a source of income. it is only but a thing done for fun, which the result may go either ways, in favour or against.
- Bet with the resources you can afford to lose without pain: Betting or other forms of gambling simply means staking your resources on an uncertain outcome of event. What this simply means is that you are staking your money on something that is uncertain. It is therefore very important to have this in mind while gambling and stake only the resources you can afford to lose.
- Do not resort to gambling as a means of generating money when faced with an immediate need. When you do this, be sure that you will end up losing the little you have and get more frustrated than you were.
- Do not belong to many gambling groups. If you are a member of a lot of gambling groups, you are likely going to be addicted to gambling
- Avoid gambling addicted friends. This is very very important.