Managing Urges and Slips

Managing Urges & Slips

Even though we’ve committed to stop gambling, we now understand where behaviors come from, and what’s happening in our brain…it’s still likely that we’re going to experience sudden urges to gamble.

Just having an urge to gamble can make us feel guilty.  If we do return to gambling, it can leave us feeling weak, ashamed, and totally hopeless.  Like we’re doomed to remain in the gambling trap forever.

In this lesson we’ll dive into how to manage urges, and what we can do if we experience a slip.

Managing Urges

If you experience an urge to gamble after deciding to stop, it can feel like there's a war going on inside our heads between the rational/reasoning side of our brains and the emotional/impulsive side.

The rational side saying:

“I know that gambling is causing harm in my life, and I want to stop!”

And then the emotional side responding…

“Just one more little bet…”

Here’s the good news:  Urges are not permanent.

Research shows that the typical urge to engage in a behavior lasts around 30 minutes if you don’t “feed it”.  We “feed” urges through: ruminating, giving them attention, planning to fulfill them, engaging in apparently irrelevant and unimportant behaviors, justifying, etc.  

Managing an Urge in the Moment

If you do experience an urge to gamble, first, take a deep breath. Don’t freak out. It’s totally normal to have urges to gamble after stopping. It doesn’t mean that you’re a failure.

Second, open up Evive. Think of Evive as your personal urge-management toolkit in your pocket, 24 hours a day.  Here’s what you have in your Toolkit to help you fight off those urges, whenever they appear:

Your Support Network

One of the best things you can do when you feel the urge to gamble is to talk to someone.  Reaching out to a trusted person in your life is a great place to start.

You are also now a member of the Evive Community, which is full of people who are on a similar journey to yours.  Post a question, reach out to chat with someone online, or just read stories of how other people manage their urges.

Your Big Picture

Sometimes a simple picture is all we need to remind ourselves of why we’re seeking this change in our lives.  It may be a picture of a spouse, human- or fur-child.  It may be an aspirational picture of the lifestyle you want to live.  What matters is that it reminds you of the reason you’re here in the first place.  This can help ground you, and keep you on track.

A Positive Affirmation

Sometimes all we need is a word of encouragement.  You can select a message from Evive that resonates with you, or write your own.  Next time you feel an urge, take a look and remind yourself of the reason you’re here and what you’re capable of.

Alternative Activities

Oftentimes, boredom can be a huge driver of our gambling.  One of the best things we can do is distract ourselves from gambling, and wait for the urge to pass.  We have a bunch of alternatives for you to try out instead of gambling. Try a few things out and see what works for you!

Guided Meditations and Breathing Exercises

Mindfulness activities empower you to become more aware of your thoughts and emotions, allowing you to observe urges without acting on them impulsively. By practicing these techniques regularly, you can develop greater self-awareness and resilience to navigate and manage unwanted urges to gamble effectively.

Additional Resources

If you need additional support we have an extensive library of podcasts, TED Talks, and can help connect you with peer-support groups and professionals.

Crisis Management

Sometimes we experience something more powerful than an urge to gamble, and find ourselves in crisis.  If you ever feel in crisis, the SOS Button, found in your Toolkit, can immediately connect you with someone who can help.  

What If I Can't Beat the Urge and I Do Gamble Again?

It happens.  We call this a slip, and they are considered normal and happen to the majority of people during the change process.  Seriously, very few paths to success are straight lines.

A slip refers to a brief and isolated return to old behaviors or habits that we are trying to change.  It's a temporary lapse in our commitment to change and does not indicate a full return to our previous behavior. 

If we do slip, it’s important to understand why.  It’s important to ask ourselves:

1. What triggered me to want to gamble in the first place?

This will help us develop strategies for combating that trigger in the future

2. How was I able to gamble? 

This will help us implement barriers to prevent gambling in this way again in the future.

3. What am I going to do differently next time?

This will help us turn this slip into a powerful experience to help us in the future.

Let's Reflect

Think about times when you've experienced urges to gamble and how you handled them. What strategies were effective, and what challenges did you face?

Consider healthy ways to cope with urges to gamble, such as practicing mindfulness, engaging in alternative activities, or reaching out to your support network. How can you integrate these coping mechanisms into your daily routine?

Closing Thought

We encourage you to check-out your Evive Toolkit, and ensure you’re familiar with all the tools you have available to manage urges, that way if you do need to use them later on, you’ll know they’re there!

We also love this video by Rob ODAAT exploring his own experience of managing urges and slip:

Why No Gambling Win is Ever Big Enough - Rob ODAAT