My family had been experiencing many difficulties with my father’s addiction to gambling. He became a pathological gambler that sprung from an earlier adolescent addiction. My father’s habit became severe that my mother was threatening to leave him and take her children with her. He became a compulsive liar and made promises that he could not keep. He lied about the amount of money he had, stole money from my mother’s purse, hid his paycheck stubs, pulled out loans, applied for credit cards, and even asked his own children for money to feed his monstrous infatuation with gambling. My mother’s decision to stay and numerous threats to leave was a non-ending battlefield because she did love him, but not for his habit.

One day my mother put up an inspiring advice article on the refrigerator to remind everyone that gambling existed in our family and that it should not be ignored or kept a secret. The article, “Gambler love: Know when to hold, fold ‘em” narrated a woman’s experience on how she left her husband. Both my father and this woman’s husband mortgaged the house, cheated, and stole. He was secretive and picked up gambling as his mistress and tried

Borrowing becomes a progressive problem as divorce, imprisonment, and the loss of a job become more threatening. According to Lee, after the bailout and repeated failures to keep promises to stop gambling the third phase of desperation sets in. During this phase, there is an increase in the time spent on gambling. Symptoms that accompany this phase include depression, suicidal thoughts and attempts, irritability, hypersensitivity, alcohol and/or substance abuse, or an emotional breakdown. Gambling continues with the disregard of family and friends. Acts of illegal behavior initiate to feel the need to gain back what was lost, for example bounced checks and dishonest scams to obtain money to finance further gambling.

Some topics in this essay:
Gambling…Family Losses, Pathological Gambling, Male Population”, According Lee, Psychiatric Association, Compulsive Gambling, According Eadgington, Gambler’s Anonymous, pathological gambler, pathological gambling, compulsive gambler, et al, compulsive gambling, carone et al, carone et, pathological gamblers, DSM IV, family friends, gambling addiction, , gambling invisible addiction, gambling addiction embracing, percent american adults, according lee, pathological gambling addiction,