It is not unusual for recovering gambling addict to experience moments of relapses. Especially after reading the latest bingo reviews, it can be very tempting. If you landed on this page because you’ve been beating yourself up about your latest relapse, have no fear. There are millions of people who have been where you’re at right now. If you’ve been working on yourself lately know that this isn’t the time to give up.
Sometimes unexpected triggers occur in our lives and push us back towards gambling. This is usually unforeseen and remember that you are expected to make such mistakes during your recovery path. There are steps/ways of preventing relapses from occurring, click to discover more about these preventions. But, if it does occur it is your duty to stop it, understand why it happened and plan how you can deal with it better next time.
Dealing with a relapse
– Identify your triggers
When relapses occur, they’re likely caused by a kind of trigger or stimuli that the gambler reacts to. Examples of such stimuli include passing by places you frequented in your gambling days, or even meeting up with people you liked to go gambling with. Sometimes it is the emotional state of mind you’re in or just your thoughts that trigger your gambling behavior patterns. It will take some quiet observation and/or consultations with a therapist to help you identify these relapse triggers. Once you do you will need to deal with the emotions these feelings create.
– Accept that triggers will always be there
There isn’t much you can do about your triggers. Vegas will stay standing despite how many gamblers have fallen in and out of love with it. Your gambling friends will keep gambling and if you had close relationships with them, things are about to get even tougher. There’s little you can possibly do to make triggers disappear. it’s scary knowing that a simple thought, person or situation is all it takes for you to fall back to your toxic habits. It can give you a sense of power though and you can find yourself moving forward in your recovery with a very strong will.
– Develop awareness
The only thing that will help with the triggers is you being aware that they are occurring in the first place. It takes work, but it is possible to build emotional awareness and have a clear sense of what is truly important. Is gambling worth destroying a relationship with a spouse? A job? etc.
This topic could easily be overlooked, but that’s unfortunate because it is a key part of any addict’s recovery journey. Triggers are what get you into your bad habit. If you learn how to overlook them, alternative ways of dealing with a trigger like stress, then you will be okay. It takes time so don’t beat yourself up if you can’t deal with a trigger after a week or month into recovery. Accept that this will be tough, but you’re tough for doing it too. Enjoy the game.
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