When do you start gambling?

What triggers an urge to gamble? In the addiction community, four triggers for relapse are formulated; Hunger, Anger, Loneliness and Tired (HALT). In this article we describe these four issues to keep you on your toes and reduce the risk of relapse.

They are risk factors that you have built up after years of addiction. When you feel HALT, the temptation to gamble is higher.

Hunger

If you feel hungry, you are more likely to still think about gambling again or even maybe take a gamble. Hunger can be a strong emotion; sometimes you feel hungry when you are actually bored, tired, or feeling emotional. Feeling hungry can be a good distraction from other feelings. For example, you may experience a feeling of hunger when you are bored. Using food to solve the boredom keeps you busy with something and the boredom is gone for a while.

If you are tired you can also get a hungry feeling, you want quick sugars to get rid of that fatigue. It can also be that you become very irritable when you have higher, You are more guided by our emotions, you see the world a bit more negatively and quickly lay the blame on others.

To make sure you don't feel hungry you can always bring something healthy to snack on. Also ask yourself why you feel hungry; when was the last time you ate? Or are you emotional?

Anger

Anger is a very powerful emotion and evokes a stress response. You feel tension in your body and you have to deal with it. If you don't do anything with it, you may feel dejected or powerless. Therefore examine why you feel angry. It may help to express this anger in a constructive way. Have a conversation with the person you are angry with or write a letter. Are you still too angry? Then find another activity to express your anger. Hitting the punching bag or going for a run can be very effective ways to calm yourself down.

Loneliness

Being a gambling addict can sometimes feel very lonely. Because of shame, you may not dare tell anyone about your addiction. Or you may feel that people don't respond well to you. Loneliness brings feelings like emptiness, sadness, fear and meaninglessness. You miss the connection with people. Going to a casino can seem like a good solution, after all, there are people there who don't make you feel lonely and gambling distracts from the feeling of loneliness. Want to know more about loneliness? We have written a blog about it.

It is nice to seek out people at such times. Sometimes that threshold is quite high, maybe there is someone you can call. There are also other ways, for example you can call Loket Kansspel if there is no one you can tell your story to.

Tired

When you are tired you are easily irritated, you can get angry or cry. You may feel sluggish and have no desire to do anything. It becomes more difficult to concentrate and to make the right decisions. The decision to gamble is quickly made.

Take your rest when you experience this, and close your eyes for a while. Perhaps there is something you enjoy doing that will give you energy instead of gambling.

Stay on top of your addiction by keeping a close eye on these four triggers for yourself. With this information, you will stay in control of your addiction. If you know the moments when the risk of a relapse increases, you can do something about it.