Gambling addiction is a lot more common than most people realize. One of the reasons for this is that many people who are addicts don't realize it, or won't admit that they have a problem. A gambling addiction is also one of the most problematic types of addiction because it leads most people who suffer from it to financial ruin. Needless to say this has a major impact on their lives.

Gambling addiction is a form of impulse control disorder. People who have problems with gambling are unable to control the urge to gamble. They are addicted to the thrill of gambling itself. A lot of people believe that gambling addiction only affects people when they are desperate for money and that they gamble because they believe that they are only one hand away from hitting it big. This is in fact not the case, people with a gambling addiction will gamble regardless of the situation whether they have money or not, they will keep playing even if they are winning.

Obviously there are some serious problems that come with gambling addiction. The biggest by far is financial, since all gamblers will eventually lose it is a given that if you are addicted to gambling that you are going to lose money. All gamblers know this and it is really one of the sign of a gambling addict that you will continue to gamble even when you know this. The financial problems that come from a gambling addiction lead to all sorts of other problems especially with the people in your life.

The first thing that you are going to have to do if you think that you might have a problem with gambling is to determine if you really are an addict. There is a belief that you can only be a gambling addict if you gamble every day. This is in fact not the case, it is possible to be a gambling addict and only gamble occasionally. There is also a belief that if you can afford the money that you are losing you don't have a problem, again this is not true. If you feel the need to be secretive about your gambling or if you attempt to rationalize why you do it you likely have a gambling problem. If you gamble even when you can't afford to lose the money you definitely have a problem.

It is not easy to deal with a gambling addiction and most people are going to find that they need help. Support groups are a popular option and they do work well for a lot of people. However you will find that you have more success with your attempts to stop gambling if you see a counsellor who can help you to determine why you gamble. This will help you to change your behaviours so that you no longer feel compelled to gamble.