Signs Your Spouse Has A Gambling Problem

Last updated: 10/25/2018
Author: Addictions.com Medical Review

1. Signs Your Spouse Has A Gambling Problem Symptoms
2. How To Tell If Your Husband Has A Gambling Problem
3. Signs Your Spouse Has A Gambling Problem Due
4. Signs Your Spouse Has A Gambling Problems
5. Signs My Husband Has A Gambling Problem
6. Signs Your Spouse Has A Gambling Problem Without

Reading Time: 4minutes

1. One of the most prevalent signs of gambling addiction is financial problems that result from the compulsive gambling disorder. A friend may all off a sudden have problems with his or her personal finances or they may ask to borrow money often.
2. Signs Of a Gambling Problem. After fully understanding the meaning of a compulsive gambler or a gambling addict, the next step in helping your loved one with their issue is to educate yourself on the warning signs. Below are a few of these signs to consider: Has your spouse started gambling more than usual?

Compulsive gambling is often referred to as a “silent killer” simply because an addiction to gambling does not always readily stand out. The signs of gambling addiction are often overlooked as something else such as a desire to play games, an urge to win money or anything but a compulsive disorder that is out of control. Often times, the desire to gamble is so strong and the addiction is so serious that severe personal and social consequences, even death, can result.

It may be difficult to recognize the signs of gambling addiction for one reason or another. According to the US National Library of Medicine, chronic gamblers often lead seemingly normal lives but in the background, there is a serious problem at hand. Eventually, the addiction will cause destructive outcomes and there will be no mistaking the signs of gambling addiction; at that point, the biggest concern will be where to find help.

While your husband becoming emotionally distant, working late and deleting his social media accounts can be signs that he is talking to an old girlfriend, they can also be signs of numerous other events in.

1. Obsession with Gambling

Stealing in order to gamble is a sign of addiction.

One of the most common signs of gambling addiction is the obsession that comes with it. Gambling addicts are obsessed with gambling and may be preoccupied with gambling to a point in which they don’t care about anything else. Compulsive thoughts about gambling or gambling obsessively to a point in which it causes other problems in your life are just a few of the common signs of gambling addiction.

2. Unable to Stop Gambling

Have you tried to quit gambling, made an honest commitment to quit and failed? If you are unable to stop gambling despite your desire to do so, you could be a gambling addict. The inability to quit even when you want to is one of many signs of gambling addiction that most addicts tend to immediately overlook or write off as something else.

3. Gambling Despite Consequences

Has gambling caused problems in your life such as financial difficulties, loss of a job or relationship problems? Many addicts and their loved ones tend to overlook even the most prominent signs of gambling addiction such as those which are present when excessive gambling is causing consequences in life and yet the individual continues to gamble anyway.

4. Psychological Withdrawal when NOT Gambling

Sometimes, the signs of gambling addiction are very similar to the signs of other addictions such as a drug or alcohol addiction. Psychologically, when a gambling addict is not gambling, he or she may be irritable, depressed or restless. These are all signs of emotional withdrawal which results when an addict is obsessed with gambling and has a perceived “need” to gamble in order to be happy.

5. Gambling to Improve Happiness

Do you or does someone you know seemingly gamble in order to be happy or have fun? If gambling is a necessary component of your happiness or elevated mood, there’s a good chance that gambling addiction is to blame. This is one of many commonly overlooked signs of gambling addiction that both addicts and those who are close to them tend to mistake for some other problem. Gambling to mask problems, feel happy or otherwise improve your emotions is a sure sign that there is a bigger problem at hand.

6. Stealing or Otherwise Breaking the Law to Gamble

An addict will often break the law in order to have the money that they need to gamble or to recover their losses. Stealing, committing fraud or otherwise breaking the law to fuel the habit are all signs of gambling addiction that should not be overlooked and which could lead to greater consequences including jail time or probation.

7. Denying that there is a Problem

Denial is a common sign of addiction and to state that there is not a problem when there really is happens to be common ground amongst addicts. If you suspect that a loved one has a gambling problem and you have hard evidence to back it up yet he or she continues to deny the problem, it could be time to seek professional help.

8. Financial Problems

One of the most prevalent signs of gambling addiction is financial problems that result from the compulsive gambling disorder. A friend may all off a sudden have problems with his or her personal finances or they may ask to borrow money often. Compulsive gamblers depend on others to provide them with money either to gamble or to pay expenses because they lost their money gambling.

9. Mood Swings

Compulsive gambling, especially when the gambling takes place as part of a double life in which friends and family are unaware, can lead to excessive mood swings. Mood swings are often overlooked or mistaken for upset that is not the result of the addiction but most often, mood swings are one of the signs of gambling addiction that should be spotted early on.

10. Hiding Gambling Behavior

As compulsive gambling progresses, and the addict comes under scrutiny from his or her friends or family members, it is not uncommon for the addict to begin hiding gambling behaviors. Hiding the behavior is one of the more common signs of gambling addiction and also one that’s really hard for outsiders to spot because they don’t know what’s going on—but for the addict, recognizing that it’s wrong to hide behaviors from loved ones is a step in the right direction when it comes to finding help for a compulsive gambling disorder.

Addiction can be one of the most difficult situations that can occur within a marriage. Living with an addicted spouse can create stress, despair, anxiety, and unhappiness, amongst many other things. Countless couples who experience addiction within their marriage end up getting divorced because of it. In fact, substance abuse is the 6th leading cause of divorce in the United States. Even some married couples who survived active addiction in their marriage find themselves getting divorced during the recovery period. Just because a person gets sober and enters into recovery does not always mean that the fundamental issues that have developed in response to the active addiction are able to be worked out.

But, despite the “D” word and all the negative connotations that come with it, divorce is not inevitable if you are in a marriage where addiction is occurring. Many couples make it through to the other side and are better for it. Each individual marriage is different than the next, though, especially when addiction is present. If you are married to someone who is addicted to drugs or alcohol, you are not helpless in getting him or her the appropriate care. Actually, it is quite the opposite — you have the power to change the narrative and push for a sober, healthy, and happy marriage. While you might feel completely powerless in the face of your marital strain, you have the ability to inform yourself in ways that help you bring you and your spouse out of the darkness of addiction.

Signs of Addiction in a Marriage

You and your spouse are unique in your marriage. Everyone has their own traits that make their marriage what it is. When addiction is occurring, it can impact you and your spouse differently than it can another married couple. Most of the signs of addiction within a marriage, however, are common across the board. Knowing what the signs of addiction in a marriage are can help you save yours.

One of the biggest challenges that married couples face when one individual is addicted to drugs or alcohol is the other struggling to realize the severity of the issue. Addiction is a disease that is so pervasively hurtful, confusing, and overwhelming that even the most educated people have difficulty in admitting that their spouse is an addict and/or alcoholic. That is why being aware of the signs is as critical as it is.

The most common signs of addiction in a marriage include the following:

• Spending more time away from home (e.g. hanging out at bars, going to all the work Happy Hours, going out to parties or clubs) without you
• Driving while intoxicated despite your pleas not to do so
• Prioritizing alcohol and/or drugs above other responsibilities like participating in housework and engaging in family-related events and activities
• Seeing money disappear without explanation
• Putting other people’s lives at risk when intoxicated (e.g. your children, yourself)
• Struggling to succeed at work or losing his/her job altogether
• Being “disconnected” from his/her surroundings

When your spouse is addicted to drugs or alcohol, he or she can easily exhibit these symptoms. But some of the most telling signs of addiction in your marriage come from you and your own instincts. It can be hard to admit to yourself that your spouse has an addiction, which can make listening to your own instincts even more difficult. The denial that can come over you can be very real. Part of learning what the signs of addiction in your marriage include educating yourself about the thoughts, feelings, and emotions that you can feel in response to your spouse’s substance abuse.

Rather than chalking your feelings up to something else (e.g. “she works so hard at her job, she deserves to drink whenever she wants”) pay attention to yourself when you are feeling like:

• Your spouse cannot control his/her substance abuse
• You are doing all the work at home because your spouse is out getting intoxicated, is intoxicated, or is passed out due to intoxication
• Your spouse is disconnected from bonding with the kids and/or you
• Your needs are being neglected due to your spouse’s substance abuse
• You worry when your spouse is out drinking/doing drugs and that worry prevents you from sleeping, working, or focusing on anything else of priority

Signs Your Spouse Has A Gambling Problem Symptoms

The most important thing you can do when you think your spouse has a substance use disorder is to listen to your gut. Pair that with learning about the common signs of addiction in a marriage and you are placing yourself in a position to help and/or affect change.

Do’s and Don’ts of Helping Your Addicted Spouse

How To Tell If Your Husband Has A Gambling Problem

You will never hear someone in recovery say that his/her spouse got them sober. It simply does not work like that. Your role as the spouse of someone with a substance use disorder is not to get them sober, but to get them to a place where they want to get sober on their own. You cannot get anyone, including your spouse, sober. Every single person who is sober today got sober by his or her own effort and dedication to his or her personal recovery. And while you will play a major role in supporting your spouse in recovery, his/her sobriety is up to them.

So what can you do? And what shouldn’t you do? This time in your life can be so incredibly complex and distressing that you might not even know where to start. But, if you know that something needs to change, you can help initiate that change.

DO:

• Get help for yourself, such as through Al-Anon or other community support groups
• Practice “detaching with love” (e.g. actively removing yourself from enabling your loved one, but doing so by continuing to show love to him or her — an example being placing a blanket over your spouse who has passed out on the floor or other inopportune spot but not moving him/her to bed instead)
• Educate yourself about addiction as a disease
• Be clear about your emotions surrounding your loved one’s addiction (e.g. tell him/her that when he/she uses, you feel scared, worried, angry, etc.)
• Utilize ultimatums but only if you intend to follow through with them

Signs Your Spouse Has A Gambling Problem Due

DO NOT:

• Cover up for your spouse or make excuses for him/her
• Ignore that there is a problem occurring within your marriage
• Be dishonest with your spouse (doing so can make it difficult for him/her to trust you when the time comes to get help)
• Drink or use drugs alongside of them
• Judge, blame, or degrade him/her because of the substance abuse
• Blame yourself for your spouse’s substance abuse
• Tell your spouse that if he/she keeps using, you will do XYZ and then not follow through that action
• Compromise your wellbeing at the hands of your spouse’s addiction

Signs Your Spouse Has A Gambling Problems

A huge misconception about what to do and what not to do when your spouse is addicted to drugs or alcohol is that every action that you should take needs to be centered around your spouse. When in this type of predicament, there is an element of having to view your spouse as a ship that is taking on water. If you get on the ship, you will go down with it. This does not mean that you cannot help your spouse, but it does mean that you cannot sacrifice yourself in an effort to do so. Addiction is an insidious disease, and forgetting yourself in the process of helping your spouse will only cause you both to crash and burn.

Get Professional Help at JourneyPure Emerald Coast Right Now

Signs My Husband Has A Gambling Problem

There is some solace in knowing that if your spouse is addicted to drugs or alcohol, you are definitely not alone. Millions of people nationwide struggle with an addicted spouse, and while some of them are worse for it, many become better because of it. You can survive addiction in your marriage. If you need help getting through this difficult time, reach out us right now. We can offer you support, as well as help you take the first steps towards getting your spouse to accept treatment.

Signs Your Spouse Has A Gambling Problem Without

So, do not wait any longer. Journeypure Emerald Coast’s addiction treatment program can help you and your spouse get your marriage (and your lives) back.