Book contents
- Breaking Free
- Breaking Free How To Stop Gambling
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Acknowledgements
- Contributors
- 1 Introduction
- 2 How Do I Know if I Have a Gambling Disorder?
- 3 ‘I Should Quit but I Don’t Want To’: Increasing Motivation
- 4 ‘Buying Time’: Limiting Access to Money and Gambling
- 5 How Gambling Hijacks Your Brain
- 6 Retraining the Brain: Rewarding Yourself
- 7 Coping with Cravings and Urges
- 8 ‘Catching’ and Limiting Triggers Early
- 9 Things to Do When You Don’t Gamble
- 10 The Thinking Traps Driving Gambling
- 11 Challenging Gambling Thinking and Beliefs
- 12 How to Get Back on Track after a Slip
- 13 Don’t ‘Switch On’ the Auto-pilot: Future Planning
- 14 How Important Others Can Help
- 15 Final Remarks
- Appendix When to Consider Medication for a Gambling Disorder
- References
- Index
7 - Coping with Cravings and Urges
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 16 June 2022
- Breaking Free
- Breaking Free How To Stop Gambling
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Acknowledgements
- Contributors
- 1 Introduction
- 2 How Do I Know if I Have a Gambling Disorder?
- 3 ‘I Should Quit but I Don’t Want To’: Increasing Motivation
- 4 ‘Buying Time’: Limiting Access to Money and Gambling
- 5 How Gambling Hijacks Your Brain
- 6 Retraining the Brain: Rewarding Yourself
- 7 Coping with Cravings and Urges
- 8 ‘Catching’ and Limiting Triggers Early
- 9 Things to Do When You Don’t Gamble
- 10 The Thinking Traps Driving Gambling
- 11 Challenging Gambling Thinking and Beliefs
- 12 How to Get Back on Track after a Slip
- 13 Don’t ‘Switch On’ the Auto-pilot: Future Planning
- 14 How Important Others Can Help
- 15 Final Remarks
- Appendix When to Consider Medication for a Gambling Disorder
- References
- Index
Summary
This chapter focuses on different ways to handle cravings and urges to gamble. It may seem strange to talk about cravings in the context of gambling as we usually associate them with drugs, alcohol, or food. However, even though gambling is a non-chemical activity, similar chemical processes take place as with drugs, alcohol, or food. In fact, research shows that individuals with a gambling problem experience stronger cravings and find it harder to resist them, as compared to those with alcohol or cocaine dependency.
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- Information
- Breaking FreeHow To Stop Gambling, pp. 57 - 67Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2022