Using social support

Many people who change their gambling talk about the value of social support in helping them to make changes. Problem gamblers have talked about the different types of social support that have helped them.

Sharing and posting about gambling in online forums

Problem gamblers said participating in online forums helps in a number of ways. It can help to:

find a safe place to talk about gambling
talk to someone who can relate to what they were going through
feel better about themselves by giving back to others in the forum.

Support groups

Gamblers Anonymous is a self-help group where gamblers meet face-to-face to support each other in managing their gambling. Some people report similar benefits from participating in a self-help group. There are several Gamblers Anonymous groups operating in Queensland.

Tell someone else about gambling

TALKING HELPS WITH GETTING STARTED ON CHANGE: Problem gamblers say telling someone about their gambling can feel like a first step toward change. It is something that they can do to stop things from getting worse. Talking about gambling to someone else can be difficult for problem gamblers.
TELLING THE WHOLE STORY CAN BE HARD: Gamblers worry about being able to tell the whole story and often feel tempted to hold back gambling details and the extent of debts or losses. They may fear the response from others and the feelings of embarrassment about how much they have gambled.
WHO TO TELL: Gamblers should consider who the right person is to talk to and plan how they will tell them.
HOW TELLING OTHER CAN HELP: Gamblers often report feeling relieved once they have told someone about their gambling. Gamblers often report feeling that the person they have told will help them in making changes to improve their situation.

Get support to help manage change

Problem gamblers talked about many ways that social support and including others could help in managing change. Family and friends may be able to work with gamblers to help them to feel hopeful about the future.

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