Compulsive Gamblers Need an Alternative to Gamblers Anonymous
Posted: Friday, October 29, 2004
by Howard Keith
I Stopped Gambling, LLC
Gamblers Anonymous is considered antiquated by many who have attempted to stop their addiction to gambling.
Gamblers Anonymous holds weekly meetings to help individuals beat their gambling addiction. At each location there are a group of people who meet once a week to share what’s happening in their life. .
At the beginning of the meeting for existing members they ask you to state your first name and your last name initial. They then ask you to state the last time you place a bet and that you admit you are a compulsive gambler. For new people entering the room, there are other procedures. These people are asked twenty questions. .
For people entering the Gamblers Anonymous room for the first time this can be very overwhelming. Most rooms are made up of eclectic individuals. There is no discrimination here. There are people from all walks of life. At the table there may be a plumber, carpenter, gas station attendant, insurance agent, receptionist and or a fisherman. Gambling affects all walks of life through out this world. It was amazing to see emails from Ireland , United Kingdom , Australia and so many other countries with the same addiction as people here in the United States . .
One of the downfalls of Gamblers Anonymous is each room is run by a different personality each week. There are basic rules to be followed, but unfortunately each member or chair person has there own interpretation. .
Gamblers Anonymous is not anonymous by any means. The meetings are sometimes held in a church or a public meeting hall. It’s a small world, people running into old friends at the meeting and occasionally a college student wants to write an article on the members in the group and how they stopped gambling. There is also a call list of names for members to talk to one another for support. With today’s technology a majority of telephones have caller ID. There goes your anonymity. .
Gamblers Anonymous is self supporting, members are asked to donate at each meeting. .
As the Gamblers Anonymous meeting commences small books are distributed and each member takes a turn reading a section. Some members have a hard time reading. Other members help out. .
Who ever runs the meeting that night sets the tone. Unfortunately there were many nights where the person in charge would dictate. “No you can not talk", “I am going to ask the members to vote on changing your gambling date because of the statements you made during therapy" and even continuously monopolize the conversations. Members have felt degraded at times to the point where they either quit or changed rooms..
It’s estimated that approximately 3% will maintain weekly meetings. The other 97% struggle on there own and succeed or have gone back to gambling..
After they finish reading the book, the Gamblers Anonymous chair person asks each person present to tell the group what’s happening in their life. They call this portion Therapy. Time limits are sometimes imposed on long winded individuals. Most members have enjoyed this part of the meeting the most. This is where they realize they are not alone in their thoughts. .
The night ends where the members form a circle hold hands and recite a serenity prayer. The closing procedure may be different all over the world.
The large percentage who does not return to weekly meetings, there are now alternative ways to help stop their addiction. .
For those who are still searching for a way to stop compulsive gambling addiction, there are new innovative websites available to help.
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Top-level comments on this article: (6 total)I have been to co-ed GA groups, so to speak,and I wasn't impressed. Men and women do not relate the same.The GA group I am currently in is very, very supportive, and understanding.Perhaps because it's a women's only, closed group and a different understanding is present. I wonder if a men's only group would work for you.ALWAYS expect someone to blab your business. That's human nature. If you don't want people to know it's best to attend private psyco theraphy sessions. On the other hand if you truly admit you have a problem you wouldn't care if the world know. What would be most important is that you are now seeking help.Gamblers Annonymous works 100% of the time that the gambler WANTS it to work. That's a very different thing than NEEDING it to work. Of course the compulsive gambler NEEDS help, but unfortunately, as with any addiction, if you don't WANT help you will never recover. By the way, there is a lot in this article that paints an unfair picture of what GA is like. I don't want to take my argument with this site too far, because GA members are guided by the concept of "attraction, not promotion." There is a lot to be attracted to by the great work that takes place in GA rooms across the world.I so agree with you about men not relating to a woman's gambling problem. I had been the only woman in a GA meeting, it was rough.BTW, all are welcome in a meeting you cannot discriminate, there is really no such thing as a woman's group or a man's group in GA.As far as expecting your business to blabbed, that's the sad part of the system. This is a life and death program and maybe someone can't afford private therapy, revealing someone's therapy could lead them to further self destruction. If members follow the 12 steps of Recovery and Unity your business won't be blabbed and you can give a pure therapy without thoughts that it will leave the room.
#1 Gamblers Anonymous does help people. u spender as if u r trying to make money off of people, yep u r a typical addict. you make it sound as if GA is harsh. u r full of it buddy. you r lying about the format and how they treat people. GEt a LIFE
How can I find a GA in my local town? I'm not a gambling addict yet for I'm playing in Gamblux online casino moderately but in case I need a therapy at least I know where to go immediately. Thank you for this article!
It is a good article. It points out some of the trials and tribs associated with the formation and ongoing running of any group of people who come together with a common goal. To go public, attend a group where there is no real control of who knows what, when and with what accuracy is to encounter the very real experience of public humiliation. Internally we have a similar, self-generated thing we call shame. Both internal and external aspects are very powerful and despite the best intentions both contribute to a person continuing to gamble. Providing a place for a person to ask for help seems to be the core strength of a GA group.Curious isn't it that this article and the webpage it sits on is surrounded by advertisements to gamble - kind of a joke really.
I am a member of GA in the Seattle area, we have lots of meetings, both for men, women or mixed and it has been a lifesaver for many people. One of the basic philosophies of any 12 step group, is principles before personalities. If you don't like one meeting, try another they are all different. The one that worked best for me, is a women's only meeting since we had the same problem and could speak more freely on topics that might not relate to men (as being caregivers, menopause, divorce, etc). However, I will say, if you are attending one meeting a week, and still gambling, you're probably not attending enough meetings.A good rule of thumb, attend as many meetings per week as you did gamble. So if you were at the casino every day, you might need a meeting every day...at least at first. This program will and does work for the person who genuinely wants to admit they are a compulsive gambler and cannot gamble anymore. Unfortunately, for many of us, we could not place our last bet until we had exhausted all resources to get money.
I have been a member of G A for over 10 years and never once have seen any of the problems that you state in your article, to my mind if you really need help GA is the only way and people that find fault with the program are usally the ones that are doing the program for their wives or partners and as such will find any excuse to not continue as they really dont want to give up gambling, so if you have this terrible disease give GA A GO, Ihave a fairly high profile in my city and never once had my cover blown in over 10 years, I AGREE THAT WOMAN DO IT TOUGHER THAN MEN AND I BELIEVE ITS BECAUSE MENS PARTNERS TEND TO BE MORE SUPPORTIVE OF WE GAMBLERS, but in my group we state to all ladies that gamblers have the same needs and hopes no matter what your gender is and in closing hope is at a GA MEETING NEAR YOU JOHN D perth WESTERN AUSTRALIA
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