Problem Gambling and The Holidays

Mental Health Tidbits and Tools

The November blog and the December blog will focus on “The Holidays”. The time-period occurring from late November^[1] and extending through early January is generally recognized within the mainstream culture as the “holiday season” or sometimes simply called “the holidays”. With the arrival of the holiday season, the commercial advertisements depict a time of family and fun times.

For individuals who are struggling with a gambling addiction (or individuals who are also struggling with other addictions), the holidays are surrounded with any number of triggers that can lead to gambling behaviors or to a relapse. However, what are triggers?  In the realm of all addictions, triggers can be defined as the primary cues, prompts, or signals that can cause an alcoholic to seek alcohol or a gambler to go and gamble. Triggers can come from any number of events, situations, or objects. Triggers are more commonly categorized as people, places, things, points in time, or feelings, emotions, and/or negative thinking. (Please see Exhibit A below.)

The November 2019 blog will focus on Internal Triggers during the holidays and the December blog will focus on External Triggers during the holidays.

One of the common internal triggers during the holidays is the expectation of togetherness, family, and overall happiness. This sentiment is expressed throughout the movie “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation”.  The main character Clark W. Griswold explains at the beginning of the movie^[2], “We’re kicking off our fun old-fashioned family Christmas…” From there, Griswold’s expectations of an “old-fashioned family Christmas” set up for an ongoing series of negative consequences for him and his extended family. For example, during the first part of the movie, Clark becomes focused on putting as many Christmas lights on his house as possible. After a series of mishaps, he succeeds. When the Christmas lights finally come on, they temporarily cause a power shortage, which sequentially creates pandemonium for Griswold’s next-door neighbors.

The unrealistic expectations of a holiday season of family, feelings of kindness and closeness, and of joy might also create negative outcomes for individuals with a gambling addiction. What is advertised as a time of “Goodwill to all men” can result in excessive gambling and subsequent monetary losses.  Due to contemporary commercial   advertising,   the holidays can also become a time of excesses in celebrations and buying gifts. Therefore, problem gamblers can see this as time to make larger bets then they normally would at casinos. This can result in significant monetary losses, which in turn results in a gambler “chasing their losses.” Additionally, gamblers can be lulled into a false sense of believing that this is a lucky time of the year for them.  Problem gamblers may subsequently take extra money to the casinos while under this mistaken belief that they will be especially lucky. The problem gambler may now have the expectation for obtaining additional winnings.  However, when the reality of additional losses sets in, the gambler may then experience feelings of shame and guilt. This, in turn, results in a gambler feeling badly and returning to a casino to assuage their feeling. 

What to do if you are experiencing any of the above feelings

• Plan each day of YOUR holidays. Create new holiday traditions to replace your old traditions
• Remember self-care (ie. eating nutritional food, getting rest)
• Be sure to set aside time for yourself
• Maintain your spirituality
• Focus on helping others
• Set clear boundaries for yourself and with other as to what is OK for you
• Recognizing expectations for the holidays vs. the reality of the holidays
• Attend GA Meetings
• Spend time with non-gambling friends and relatives

1)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_and_holiday_season

2)https://quotecatalog.com/quotes/movies/national-lampoon-s-christmas-vacation/