Ep. 78 - Watch Out For Problem Gambling’s Mind Traps
“With problem gambling, your mind convinces you to keep gambling. Learning to recognize these mental traps helps you to regain control.”
As you get pulled into gambling, your thinking changes. Your mind finds ways of convincing you to keep gambling, even when there are signs to stop. To an outsider, ideas such as “a win is just around the corner” or “I have a system that is guaranteed to win” seem irrational. But when you’re in it, it feels real and true.
In this episode of Fold em, learn about common ways that your thinking gets distorted with problem and compulsive gambling. Recognizing this in yourself can help you to step back from gambling and, if you have decided to stop, to prevent a relapse.
Hear from John Woods, who gambled for over thirty years, starting at age eleven. He placed his last bet in January 2017 and went on to write a book called Gambling Addiction Explained: How to Stop Gambling and Regain Control of Your Life. He explains how mind traps are a part of what keeps people hooked in to gambling addiction. John shares how he has learned to recognize and dismiss gambling’s distorted thinking.
Listen to episode 78 and hear about:
Five common mind traps of problem gambling
How to recognize and resist gambling’s mind traps
Why getting help and guidance helps to free your mind from problem gambling
LISTEN to EPISODE 78
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What are Mind Traps? Why Would My Mind Trick Me?
Our brains are amazing, but our thoughts can mislead us. Mind traps, which are also known as “thinking errors,” are ways in which our mind convinces us something is true when in fact it isn’t. We all get caught in mind traps, especially when under stress, anxious or depressed.
Why does this happen? Sometimes we pick up beliefs or thinking habits from other people. For example, when something bad happens you’ve learned to catastrophize and think, “this is a disaster!” Or, maybe someone said, “bad things always happen to you” and you start to believe it.
Sometimes we draw incorrect conclusions from something we observe. For example, after experiencing a gambling win, you start to believe, “That was easy money. I can win again” OR “I must be lucky with this game.”
Sometimes we feel drawn to gambling and need to find ways to justify or rationalize it to ourselves. In this way, distorted thinking is part of what fuels gambling problems.
Mind traps can lead to relapses when you stop gambling, but don’t change your mindset about it. Being able to recognize the mind traps of problem gambling helps you to step back and have more control. However, it takes practice. John Woods is seven years away from his last bet. He tells us that gambling thoughts still come up and try to trick him into believing it’s ok to gamble. Having places to talk openly about these thoughts, such as at Gamblers Anonymous, helps you to challenge them.
The Five Mind Traps of Problem Gambling
Here are five common ways that your mind tricks you into continuing gambling, even when there are signs you should stop:
The Illusion of Control: believing that your system of gambling is bound to win and ignoring the odds, randomness of the game, and the ways stress and emotions impact your play.
Predictive Control: believing that you can predict the outcome of the game. For example, thinking, “the slot machine will pay out soon” OR “my player is on a roll and bound to score”
Superstition: believing that certain behaviours or things will make you lucky or unlucky. For example, avoiding counting money or chips at a poker table.
Selective Memory: remembering the big wins of past gambling and not giving attention to the losses or long-term harmful aspects of gambling for you and others.
Interpretive Bias: focusing on some factors and not others. For example, rationalizing a losing streak by blaming it on external factors such as not having enough time or money to gamble while at the same time denying the signs that gambling is a problem for you.
John Woods tells us that us that these mind traps feel more true and compelling as gambling becomes more out of control. It gets harder to turn your back on all the time, money and energy you’ve invested and to be honest with yourself and others about the reality of your gambling. As a result, your thinking convinces you to keep at your system, focus on past wins and believe a big win is just around the corner.
John tells us that stepping out of these traps involves being honest with yourself and the reality of your gambling and how it’s impacting you and others. And then to have an honest conversation with someone who understands. Getting your thoughts out into the open is an important first step forward.
To hear more from John and his personal examples of these five mind traps, listen to episode 78 of Fold em. Listen now by clicking on the green play button at the top of this blog.
Related Fold em Episodes
You can hear another conversation with John Woods on the Fold em podcast. In this episode, he shares his personal story with gambling addiction and offers inspiration and important lessons about how to stop gambling and stay away. Listen now to Episode Fifty Eight by clicking on the play button below.
What Support is Available to Help With Gambling Concerns?
To learn more about gambling concerns and how to access resources and support, go to the home page of this website or listen to other episodes of Fold em.
Fold em is funded by Gambling Support BC.
We welcome your feedback and ideas for topics for upcoming episodes. Reach out through the Contact Us page on this website or through email at Foldempodcast@gmail.com.
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