Each years as New Years Eve approaches, compulsive gamblers search to find a solution to their gambling addiction. Their number one goal is to face their addiction and finally change their life to a less self destructive mode. Most compulsive gamblers often know how self destructive their life has become as their gambling addiction intensified. These people know they have a problem and truly want to stop their addiction.Fortunately the compulsive gambler’s today the internet offers a wide array of stop gambling addiction websites. Through educating oneself the compulsive gambler can stop their addiction. The I Stopped Gambling website has been very successful in helping gamblers to move forward. These gamblers get to chat privately with other gamblers twenty four hours a day seven days a week who can relate to what they are now going through. Along with an optional self help stop gambling addiction book, recovery seems to really accelerate. This is one of the most confidential and alternative websites available through out the world. People come from all walks of life to share their situation in hopes to stop their addiction. Through this experience gamblers for the first time in their life are able to understand what they have been going through and most of all beat their addiction.There are other programs available that may be more suitable to your taste. For example Gamblers Anonymous holds weekly meetings. I have heard of quite a few success stories come out of Gamblers Anonymous. The problem most noted about this program is, is it really confidential and private since you are actually going to meeting sitting face to face with other gamblers. Those who do not care who knows that they have a gambling problem this program may be just right for you.What’s most important is to give compulsive gamblers alternatives that they can relate to so that they can stop their gambling addiction.As this New Year approaches compulsive gamblers will be surfing the web for ways to stop their gambling addiction and start a clean slate. If you think you have a gambling problem take the time to educate yourself. Through this education you can develop skills to lead a more productive life.Isn’t it time to stop your gambling addiction?The choice is yours to make. As New Years Eve approaches set goals for the upcoming year.If you know someone who has a gambling addiction there are resources for family members at both the I Stopped Gambling website and The Gamblers Anonymous website.As January approaches take the time to make you a better person for all to see. Set your goals and take the first step on your road to recovery. As time passes your self esteem will increase as you meet the new positive challenges life has in store for you.Happy New Year and may all of your dreams come true.
Author Archives: schatzi
Treating Gambling Addictions – An Introduction
Gambling is a form of entertainment for many people, but in some cases gambling can become an addiction leading to financial problems, relationship stress, and even attempted suicide. It is estimated that 6 percent of north america’s population will have a gambling problem sometime in there life. Gambling addiction is a serious problem. Pathological addictions to gambling are more common in men than women or specific ethnic groups. Gambling can create a rush when you lose and win, and sometimes the user is unable to control their impulses to gamble. This is when it becomes a problem. There are different degrees of gambling addiction. All of which are treated differently, depending on the specific needs of the addict.Signs of gambling addictions include, but are not limited to: Constantly thinking/talking about and, or, preparing for gambling sessions, gambling during work or when you are expected at home, getting into debt from gambling and lying to borrow money. Using illegal means to finance gambling and neglecting family or other personal responsibilities. Feeling a need to gamble to relieve stress and or ‘escape reality’. Of course, there are also many more signs that could point towards a problem gamble, though gambling addiction is usually blatently obvious.Treatment programs can range, and are specifically designed according to the addicts needs. Usually the most successful therapies combine both professional counselling and user support groups. Medication can be used to combat mood swings, depression and anxiety that addict’ may experience during withdrawl. Pyscho and cognitive behaviour therapy is also used, to replace the negative effects of gambling with positive ones, in turn promoting a healthy and positive attitude towards gambling. Group therapy is also good place for user support and feed back.
Health and Fitness Are Not The Same
Few would argue the fact that regular physical activity has been shown to reduce the risk of certain chronic diseases, including hypertension (high blood pressure), stroke, coronary artery disease, type 2 diabetes, colon cancer and osteoporosis in addition to improving one’s quality of life. According to the Canadian Society of Exercise Physiology, to reduce the risk of chronic disease, it is recommended that adults accumulate at least 60 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity on most, preferably all, days of the week. At this point you are likely wondering how you could possibly perform 60 minutes of physical activity consecutively, let alone find a free hour in your busy day. Before these thoughts cause you to stop reading this article, let me emphasize the magnificence of CSEP’s recommendation and what researchers have discovered about exercise. The key to health and chronic disease prevention is the accumulation of daily physical activity. Further notice that the specifics of the type of physical activity are also missing. Sure, some activities are indeed better than others, but the term ‘better’ is specific to one’s goals. For cardiovascular health, activities that use large muscle mass and rhythmic motions such as walking, biking and swimming are great, but this doesn’t mean other forms of physical activity aren’t effective. In fact, any activity that gets you moving will do just fine. I have intentionally been avoiding the use of the term exercise. Exercise is typically associated with pain, sweat, and in some cases misery! By using the term physical activity we encompass things such as gardening, washing the car, dancing, playing with children and even housework. To understand why these activities, even in small amounts are great for our health we must first understand that multiple short bouts of physical activity provide all the health benefits of a single long bout of physical activity.How can this be? If we separate the terms health and fitness this will make more sense. Health is defined by the World Health Organization as ‘a total physical and psychological sense of wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease’. Fitness on the other hand is tied closely to physical performance and sport such as the ability to run quickly or for long periods of time. A regular walker or hiker can therefore be every bit as healthy as a marathon runner despite lacking the fitness attributes that allow the runner to complete a race in a limited amount of time. A more concrete example of this would be comparing blood pressure and blood cholesterol between runners and walkers. Assuming that other lifestyle, diet and genetics are similar, the results of these tests would be similar and doctors would give each a clean bill of health with respect to these measures.How does one train for health or fitness? Different intensities and types of exercise confer different benefits. Vigorous physical activity (running and sprinting) provides greater benefits for physical fitness than does moderate physical activity (walking) and burns more calories per unit of time. Resistance exercise (such as weight training, using weight machines, and resistance band workouts) increases muscular strength and endurance and maintains or increases muscle mass. These benefits are seen in adolescents, adults, and older adults who perform resistance exercises on 2 or more days per week. Also, weight-bearing exercise has the potential to reduce the risk of osteoporosis by increasing peak bone mass during growth, maintaining peak bone mass during adulthood, and reducing the rate of bone loss during aging. In addition, regular exercise can help prevent falls, which is of particular importance for older adults.It is important to recognize that the intensity of exercise is relative to the individual and not the activity. Thus brisk walking for an inactive individual with excess weight may be the same relative intensity as jogging for an avid runner. Thus a heavier individual should expect to experience elevated breathing and heart rate at lower intensities than a lighter or more fit individual.The barrier often given for a failure to be physically active is lack of time. Setting aside 60 consecutive minutes each day for planned exercise is one way to obtain physical activity, but it is not the only way. Physical activity may include short bouts (10-minute bouts) of moderate-intensity activity. The accumulated total is what is important-both for health and for weight management. Physical activity can be accumulated through three to six 5-10 minute bouts over the course of a day. Consider incorporating both longer bouts and shorter accumulated bouts of activity into your day to increase your odds of achieving 60 minutes physical activity daily.Pedometers are great for measuring the accumulation of physical activity. It does not matter if physical activity comes from house hold chores, a walk, a hike or a run. Further, a pedometer provides motivation, reminds us to spend less time sitting and rewards us for all activity. Remember, what matters is accumulation of physical activity and every step counts. Changing our minds about what counts as exercise can be motivating, rewarding and when you realize that all activity counts, you might just have the best kept yard and cleanest house on the block!