In what ways would you say gambling has affected your mental health state. Positive or negative, pleasw share your experiences and anecdotes as well.
I’ve had some wins that felt amazing, but losses can really take a toll on my mental health. 😥
When I first started gambling I used to take losses very badly and this definitely affected my mental health. I would often chase losses in those days which usually resulted in more losses. Winning bets have always had a similar affect on me - one of excitement.
Over the years I have worked on myself and improved my self-discipline to a point where I just accept losses now as part of the deal and this doesn't make me feel bad (most of the time anyway). It has been many years since I have chased losses as this is a mugs game for sure.
If I can change my mental state in a positive way about gambling then everyone else here can do the same. It took me a while to learn from my mistakes and a pretty desperate situation to change things. You don't have to let your situation become desperate before you commit to improving your self-discipline. I enjoy gambling now much more than I did before!
To be honest, I'm not all that experienced in gambling and even though I did have my fair share of wins, every time i lost i kind of went into a depressed state. Soon I realized maybe I need to condition myself to accept wins and losses equally and that was a point of turn for me. I started being more optimistic and now I'm not affected much by any kind of losses. If i lose big then i put a hold on the gambling for a few days or weeks and then we are back in the game !
Gambling can feel like a mind game where you're the pawn. Wins give you that high, but the losses? They hit different. It’s like the house doesn’t just take your money, it chips away at your sanity too.
@graham Thank you for sharing your story about this. I really like the part where you mentioned about accepting losses as part of the deal and that idea has improved your overall mental state when it comes to gambling. I just love this because a lot of players nowadays can really do something beyond drastic just because of their losses and it's sad that I think some of them has not fully come to terms that at the end of the day gambling is gambling, and theres not always a guarantee win. I'm just glad there are people who can fully accept the stakes and consequences of playing casino.
I've always been scared to try gambling before because it's definitely a double-edged sword in most cases. But when I did try it, I have to say that I learned a lot from myself because I've seen what these games can do to my mental health especially if I'm dealing with some game losses and how much it can actually impact me. Constant losses had previously made me really more anxious and self deprecating because I just felt like i was wasting money for nothing. So from then on, I just came to terms that whatever happens, it is what it is. You can't change an outcome and you can't change what's already happened. That's the thrill of gambling, there's really no certainty about what's gonna happen at least for most games. I mean come to think of it, life would be dull it would just be a series of winning and no losses. So from there on, I did also try to manage my money better as well and stopped going all out just to try again. Found joy in winning and losing and now I'm at least a little stable at managing my emotions and actions when gambling.
Both positive and negative for me. Negative at first especially if you're a beginner gambler because you can get too overwhelmed and thrilled to just spend all your cash, and i had to learn it the hard way. Positive, because thanks to those mistakes I've learned how to properly allot money for my casino sessions and be smart when betting and making wagers. It's a roller coaster but it definitely a good ending.
Not much, i do it sort of part-time. So doesn't really matter to me, atleast at a deep mental level, if i win or lose. But, it for sure diverts my mind when i overthink.
@ray the buzz of winning with gambling is what leads to addiction. Once you experience this feeling it is difficult to let go of it but you must do this. Accepting that gambling is about winning and losing worked for me and it can work for others. You must be able to accept that if you place bets at a casino, a sportsbook or elsewhere that the possibility of losing your money exists.
The advice about not gambling more money than you can afford to lose is absolutely golden. It is not easy to stop at times but you must be strong and walk away when the time is right. There are too many sad stories of people losing everything because they were striving for the buzz of the win. Enjoy the buzz when it happens but also realize that it is not a guarantee as you rightly say.
@graham True its best to try to improve even while you're ahead. I used to take losses real badly before are as well. I'ld be so down but truth is i don't even know when i evolved to leave that mentality behind. Now i'm more of the "what's done is done, we go again some other time" kind of response to losses . Guess somehow i taught myself a lesson along the line.
@abaes It shouldn't though, you need to find a way to evolve past the point where losses knock and keep you feeling down. Its not like letting affect your mental health's going to fix anything.
@adtya Its why i understand how people get addicted to it. They feel crazy euphoria during wins and losses feel like withdrawal, so they chase to good feeling of wins to feel good without taking time to access things
