Problem with sports betting and other mental obsessions after quitting drinking and pot
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Join Date: Jun 2016
Posts: 18
Problem with sports betting and other mental obsessions after quitting drinking and pot
So I quit pot in June of 2015 and quit alcohol in December of 2016. In November of 2017 I went to Las Vegas to see my LA Kings play Vegas Golden Knights. Had no temptation to drink and my "normie" wife maybe had 2 drinks the whole weekend. I had a great weekend with my parents and other family members. Then I won a couple hundred bucks on roulette, rolled that over in Sunday football, and created a new habit. I've now dropped roughly $1,500 bucks on sports betting in the last six months. My wife and I have a Dave Ramsey style budget where we each get a weekly "allowance" of $100, and I went from spending that on going out to eat to using a lot of it for gambling without this new habit affecting my family's finances as I never bet more than 20 bucks on any given game. It's not a get rich quick plan and more of a mental thrill thing.
While my family's finances are unaffected, the mental obsession is getting bad. I am already at the point where I've wanted to quit a handful of times but can't get over how much more fun it makes watching sports, which was already my biggest hobby. Without gambling, watching sports mostly feels dull.
Ive gone a few weeks at a time without gambling and don't miss it too much, but then an event like the World Cup has me gambling on 3 soccer games a day and spending lots of time researching and making picks, and then spending my free time on the games I bet on. I made an astute world cup pick this morning that made me 130 bucks, and then i spent all day betting on baseball games that i wouldnt have watched had i not had the new 130 bucks to play with.
Like my sex addiction, i find that my step work (currently on step 11) takes a backseat when I am acting out in these ways. Gambling has not made me meditative. Ive been stuck on 11 for so long because there are really only 3 ways to shut a brain up: meditation, acting out behaviorally/on substances, and coma/death. I strive and struggle for the first, dont want the third, and run around the bases with the second. With my obsessions with gambling, sex/porn, and political blogs/news, my brain is constantly punched like a speed bag. I get underwhelmed when I read the news and don't see anything terrible for me to obsess on.
This is a before-bed brain dump of thoughts I haven't scribed out yet, but I am curious to know your experiences with behavioral obsessions after quitting substance use.
While my family's finances are unaffected, the mental obsession is getting bad. I am already at the point where I've wanted to quit a handful of times but can't get over how much more fun it makes watching sports, which was already my biggest hobby. Without gambling, watching sports mostly feels dull.
Ive gone a few weeks at a time without gambling and don't miss it too much, but then an event like the World Cup has me gambling on 3 soccer games a day and spending lots of time researching and making picks, and then spending my free time on the games I bet on. I made an astute world cup pick this morning that made me 130 bucks, and then i spent all day betting on baseball games that i wouldnt have watched had i not had the new 130 bucks to play with.
Like my sex addiction, i find that my step work (currently on step 11) takes a backseat when I am acting out in these ways. Gambling has not made me meditative. Ive been stuck on 11 for so long because there are really only 3 ways to shut a brain up: meditation, acting out behaviorally/on substances, and coma/death. I strive and struggle for the first, dont want the third, and run around the bases with the second. With my obsessions with gambling, sex/porn, and political blogs/news, my brain is constantly punched like a speed bag. I get underwhelmed when I read the news and don't see anything terrible for me to obsess on.
This is a before-bed brain dump of thoughts I haven't scribed out yet, but I am curious to know your experiences with behavioral obsessions after quitting substance use.
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Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Australia
Posts: 211,385
Hi and welcome hellorockview 
It's not uncommon for people like us to pick up a new addiction when we deal successfully with old ones.
I do believe it is possible to live addiction free tho.
I don't really have much experience to share, but I see you're on step 11.
Have you considered other 12 dtep groupos like Gamblers Anonymous or Sex Addiction Anonymous etc.
Maybe it's also a good time to talk to your sponsor about why you're stuck at step 11?
D
It's not uncommon for people like us to pick up a new addiction when we deal successfully with old ones.
I do believe it is possible to live addiction free tho.
I don't really have much experience to share, but I see you're on step 11.
Have you considered other 12 dtep groupos like Gamblers Anonymous or Sex Addiction Anonymous etc.
Maybe it's also a good time to talk to your sponsor about why you're stuck at step 11?
D
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Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Norfolk, VA
Posts: 10,962
Originally Posted by hellorockview1 
...there are really only 3 ways to shut a brain up: meditation, acting out behaviorally/on substances, and coma/death.
Member
Join Date: Mar 2014
Posts: 25,373
Yeah, I had to reframe what is normal.
Lots of people don't have self-destructive obsessions. There are lots of ways to engage an active brain that don't involve hypersexuality, gambling, or substances. Hobbies that don't steal your soul are all over the place!
Have you discussed honestly your behaviors with a psychiatrist who is familiar with addiction? There is treatment for all of this - maybe medical intervention is necessary?
Lots of people don't have self-destructive obsessions. There are lots of ways to engage an active brain that don't involve hypersexuality, gambling, or substances. Hobbies that don't steal your soul are all over the place!
Have you discussed honestly your behaviors with a psychiatrist who is familiar with addiction? There is treatment for all of this - maybe medical intervention is necessary?
Member
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: Australia
Posts: 1,499
That sounds pretty extreme.
I switched from drinking to fitness and running. I did get a good dose of the running bug. I use Strava and obsess about my metrics constantly.
There are quite a few people on SR who are also fitness fanatics. You see the same laser-focused behaviour - daily tabs of workouts, diet obsessions etc.
But society forgives a fitness obsession. It's seen as productive while gambling is destructive.
If you need to shut your brain up, have you tried float tanks? I use them about once a week, sometimes I skip a week but not more than 2 weeks.
Also, I think it might be a good idea to see a psychologist. We don't diagnose here of course but you remind me of a friend of mine who had a hyperactivity-related issue ... just a thought.
I switched from drinking to fitness and running. I did get a good dose of the running bug. I use Strava and obsess about my metrics constantly.
There are quite a few people on SR who are also fitness fanatics. You see the same laser-focused behaviour - daily tabs of workouts, diet obsessions etc.
But society forgives a fitness obsession. It's seen as productive while gambling is destructive.
If you need to shut your brain up, have you tried float tanks? I use them about once a week, sometimes I skip a week but not more than 2 weeks.
Also, I think it might be a good idea to see a psychologist. We don't diagnose here of course but you remind me of a friend of mine who had a hyperactivity-related issue ... just a thought.
Administrator
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Australia
Posts: 211,385
I didn't manage to shut my brain up - but I did stop being afraid of letting it run free and I did manage it to retrain it into doing healthy life affirming things, like Sober Recovery, music, writing etc.
The idea that one is doomed to be addicted. or one needs to be addicted. is just our addicted self looking to survive whatever way it can.
D
The idea that one is doomed to be addicted. or one needs to be addicted. is just our addicted self looking to survive whatever way it can.
D
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