Site
Contents
 |
General Information about the Area Office
North Indiana Conference Office
South Indiana Conference Office
Prayer Guides
(Courtesy of the NIC Prayer Team)
Area United Methodist
Foundation
For resources to assist your congregation in welcoming guests,
click here
Seashore District Volunteer Center VIM project -- Completed
Hoosier United Methodist News Archives
| Hoosier United Methodists together |
April 2006 |
What makes compulsive gamblers continue?
By Robin Russell
The Rev. Janet Jacobs, director of Gambling Recovery Ministries in the South Indiana Conference, says it's a combination of the feeling of excitement and well-being they get.
"There is no cure. Relapse is always possible." - Janet Jacobs |
"It's the sounds, the sights - and their sense of peace and escape. You get all that wrapped up at one time," she said.
Jacobs is the "go-to" person in the UMC for help with gambling recovery. She trains clergy and laypeople to help with gambling addictions. It's difficult to treat, because it doesn't involve a substance like alcohol or drugs.
"It's a mind addiction. They build up a tolerance to the high. It gets to the point where the higher the risk, the higher the thrill."
When it becomes pathological, a gambler shows signs of magical thinking: Their next bet will wipe out all their debts. Compulsive gamblers struggle constantly to hide their habit and find money to pay their debts. It all comes crashing down when a gambler finally hits bottom. That's when the real work of recovery begins, she said.
"The trust level of the family, the employer has been totally blown out of the water. It's very, very difficult. Then there's the money they owe, which exacerbates the whole thing. Money can be replaced, but trust is harder.
Those who enter Gamblers Anonymous have the most success in recovery, she said.
"There is no cure. Relapse is always possible. Once you are addicted, you have that problem for the rest of your life. But life can be so much better in recovery. It's bringing that abundant life to so many folks."
Here are some resources:
-
Louisiana Association on Compulsive Gambling operates C.O.R.E., a state-financed, in-house treatment program for addictive gamblers, in Shreveport. Call 877-770-STOP.
-
Gamblers Anonymous has meetings nationwide, as well as a list of 20 questions to determine if you're a compulsive gambler. See www.gamblersanonymous.org/ or call the hotline, 504-431-7867.
-
Gambling Recovery Ministries has treatment programs for compulsive gamblers and recovery training for church leaders. See www.grmumc.org/.
Robin Russell serves as managing editor of The United Methodist Reporter based in Dallas, Texas. This story is reprinted with permission from the March 17, 2006 issue of The United Methodist Reporter © 2006.
Last updated on 25 Apr 2008