Stopping gambling isn't gonna fix it

This ‘illness’ really isn’t about gambling at all.

This ‘illness’ is about how I feel when I am *NOT* gambling.

How I feel when I am not gambling isn’t ‘normal’.

If I *DID* feel ‘normal’ when I wasn’t gambling…then gambling wouldn’t have affected me in the way that it did….my body would not have NEEDED to do more of it.

And stopping gambling isn’t gonna FIX the problem…..because my problem isn’t gambling!

If I simply stop gambling….my body is going to discover OTHER ways of obtaining the feeling that it desires.

That is why cross-addiction is such a danger….

People stop smoking because the BEHAVIOR is causing them problems….but
The underlying ILLNESS still exists…so they begin to over EAT (for example).

Some activities are more addictive than others because those activities affect the human anatomy in certain ways……and people like me, who have this illness…..are susceptible to those activities because our anatomies are lacking in certain areas.

I mentioned that medication may be helpful…but there are other things we can do as well.
Things that…sort of aid our anatomies in self-correcting.

I believe that 12 step programs are one mean to this end….

We need to know that we are not alone.
We need to feel like we are a PART of….like we BELONG….like we are UNDERSTOOD…and we are O.K….we are NOT less than….we are NOT bad…

That…someone cares…..
That…we are not hopeless…..we can DO this…and that others, who DO understand…are WANTING to HELP US…..

That….people who thought that they had nothing to live for…..are leading happy lives…and that no matter how bad things look…or feel to us…..that the possibility exists that WE can too.

And we can.
Many of us are.
I am.
You can too.