How Gambling Shows Up in Your LIfe

How Gambling Shows Up In Your Life

Most often, we measure our gambling through wins and losses.  If we win, we usually consider ourselves successful.  If we lose, we usually consider ourselves unsuccessful.  In reality, how we gamble is a lot more complex than that.

The first complicating factor is that gambling is not fundamentally good or bad.  Gambling is an activity.  Furthermore, it’s an activity with inherent risk.  If we choose to gamble, it can impact our lives both positively and negatively depending on the situation.

In this lesson we’ll explore the different ways that gambling shows up in our own lives.

An Illustrative Example

Let’s use an analogy to illustrate our point.  Think of gambling like rock climbing. Rock climbing is an inherently risky activity. That’s part of what makes it fun! If you take the proper precautions, use the right safety equipment, and climb routes that are adequate for your level of experience, you can effectively manage this risk, and have a great time.

The risk of the activity, when managed, can become a thrill. It can motivate you to push your mental limits, provide physical exercise, and introduce you to new friends.

However, if you don’t take the proper precautions you can have a very different experience. If you don’t know the fundamentals of rock climbing, don’t understand the risks, climb without the proper safety equipment, or try to climb a route you’re not ready for…you can end up injuring yourself or others, and experiencing significant harm.

Gambling and rock climbing have important similarities. Whether you have a positive or negative experience is all about fundamental knowledge, preparation, risk management, and self-awareness.

The other complicating factor is that gambling can impact a lot more than just our finances. Gambling can impact our:

• Financial Health

• Mental Health

• Physical Health

• Relationships

• Productivity

• Sense of peace, or spiritual life

For the rest of this lesson, we’re going to explore how gambling is showing up in each of these areas in our own lives. Once we understand its impact, we can start making a plan to address each area effectively.

Financial Health

Obviously, gambling can impact your finances.  A positive example of this impact would be winning money. However, if you understand the mathematics behind gambling, you will recognize that if you continue to gamble, you’ll lose in the long run. As such, it’s important to view gambling as a form of entertainment, and not as a means to make money.

A negative example of this impact would be losing money. If you’re playing with money set aside specifically for the purpose of entertainment, then this impact can be minimized and viewed the same way as paying for a ticket to a concert or the movies. However, if you gamble with money that is necessary in your life, overextend your limits, etc. the financial impact can cause serious harm.

Mental Health

Gambling can also seriously impact your mental health. A positive example of this impact would be stimulating your brain through playing games. The strategy, mathematics, and observational skills to play poker can help keep you sharp. The analysis and research of sports betting can help teach you skills that are applicable in broader areas of your life.

A negative example of this impact would be anxiety, shame, or other unwanted feelings you may associate with gambling. 

You may find that gambling on the big game actually detracts from the experience, instead of enhancing it by making you feel overly anxious. If you struggle to maintain a financial limit or control other aspects of your gambling,  you may begin to feel shameful or guilty. Additionally, losing is hard. You may find that when you gamble and lose, it changes your mood for the worse.

Physical Health

Believe it or not, gambling can impact your physical health. A positive example of this impact would be when gambling enhances experiences that promote positive physical activity. Maybe gambling while out on the golf course makes you more excited to play more often. Maybe you sports bet while on the treadmill which keeps you motivated to work out a little longer.

A negative example of this impact would be when gambling begins to interfere with your physical self care. Maybe you find it harder to sleep after you’ve gambled. Maybe you find that gambling is keeping you from spending time in positive physical activity such as playing sports or going to the gym. Maybe you find that your diet is suffering from the stress that gambling is causing you. Perhaps you find that gambling is leading you to increase your consumption of alcohol, tobacco, or other substances.

Relationships

Gambling can impact important relationships in your life. A positive example of this impact would be enhancing your social life. Maybe a shared enjoyment of gambling introduces you to new friends with similar interests. Perhaps gambling helps you stay connected to old friends.

A negative example of this impact would be if gambling starts to strain important relationships in your life. The time you spend gambling may detract from quality time necessary to cultivate relationships with friends, family, and loved ones. The distraction of gambling may put distance between you and the people you care about. The negative feelings or mental strain that gambling can cause may make you short-tempered, uncomfortable, and generally unpleasant to be around.

Productivity

Gambling can impact your overall productivity.  A positive example of this would be learning new skills through gambling that you can apply to other areas of your life. Perhaps the organization or attention to detail needed to keep track of your sports bets teaches you skills that you can use at your job. Maybe having a bet on the game in the background gives you an extra reason to stay up for a few more hours and continue to study.

A negative example of this would be when gambling distracts you from professional or academic goals. Maybe you have a hard time focusing at work because you’re anxious for the big game tonight. Maybe you spend the night before a big test playing poker instead of studying.

Sense of peace, or spiritual life

Finally, gambling can affect your sense of peace and purpose.  A positive example of this would be when gambling is used as a means of charity or to deepen a connection to your culture/heritage. Gambling in events that contribute a portion of the proceeds to charitable causes can provide a sense of altruism and purpose, aligning with values of giving and helping others. In some cultures, gambling has traditional or ritualistic significance. Participating in these cultural practices can strengthen one's connection to their heritage and spirituality.

A negative example of this would be if gambling begins to cause dissonance between your actions and your values. 

Some people may engage in dishonest or deceptive behavior related to gambling, such as lying to loved ones or stealing to finance their gambling activities. These actions can erode trust and moral integrity, negatively affecting spiritual health.

Member Spotlight - Sam’s Story

I was first drawn to gambling as a teenager.  I had always loved to play games.  The strategy, the competition, the thrill of winning were all very engaging and enjoyable to me. Gambling seemed like a natural progression.

As I grew up, I engaged in more traditional forms of gambling. First, there was poker, and later on there was sports betting. As my gambling behavior escalated, I also started to play slot machines and table games, but by the time I began engaging in those activities my gambling was out of my control, and I saw them as a means to make money, not as an enjoyable activity.

I initially experienced a lot of benefits through both poker and sports betting:

Poker taught me to think strategically, improve my understanding of probability and statistics, and helped me build empathy by constantly forcing me to put myself in other people’s shoes. It also broadened my social circle significantly. As I grew older and went from playing in home games to playing in casinos, I started to think of the poker table as the great equalizer. I loved that everyone was on the same level at the table, regardless of socio-economic status, language, religion, etc.

Sports betting initially helped me connect with my friends on a deeper level. Unlike some of my best friends, I was never a big sports fan, and betting on the games got me interested for the first time. As I bet more, I gained a deeper understanding of teams and players, and I had more to talk about with them. I found myself spending more time with them, and I really liked that aspect of the activity.

With poker, I became unsatisfied playing the stakes that were appropriate for my level of experience. As I played with more money, the variance of the game started to affect me more. I would get increasingly upset when I lost. I would start to feel that the whole world was against me, and that I was the unluckiest person in the room. It also began to detract from other areas of my life. In college, I began to spend more time in the card room than the classroom, and that had obvious consequences.  

With sports betting, I lost control of what I was gambling on, how often I was gambling, and how much I was wagering. What started as me gambling on football games on Sundays while with friends, quickly escalated to me planning my whole day around which games were televised that day, and gambling from early morning European soccer to the last basketball game of the night.  

Furthermore, instead of bringing me closer to my friends, the anxiety and shame I felt for my lack of control caused me to feel isolated.  Instead of enhancing the experience of my Sunday football sessions, it started to detract.  I became restless, anxious, and generally unpleasant to be around.

When I took an honest look at my own gambling behavior, it became clear that gambling which had started as something positive, had turned into something deeply negative in my life.

Let's Reflect

'Having thought about each of the areas above, take a little time to reflect on your overall relationship with gambling today, and what you want it to look like tomorrow:

Overall, do you feel that your current relationship with gambling is enhancing or detracting from your life overall?

What are the primary areas you’re hoping to address by using Evive?

Closing Thoughts

Gambling is a complicated activity that affects our lives in a number of different ways. Unpacking our relationship with gambling can be complicated and sometimes uncomfortable; however it’s only by understanding where we are today that we can plot a course for where we want to be tomorrow.

Change doesn’t happen overnight; however through intentional and consistent focus, you can improve your relationship with gambling, and experience the benefits that come from that.