Gambling Boyfriend

Here is just a touch of what I am going through. My boyfriend of 5 1/2 years is a very bad gambler. He has pawned my 10,000 baseball cards from 1965-present, sold me all the furniture he owns and is going to resell it to pay gambling debts, kept all my pay checks and now after he bought me a computer and printer to do my scrapbooking, he has sold all of it to pay debt. He makes it sound like all the money he borrows is for bills, which in fact he would have but gambling is first. We have decided to go our separate ways now because I can't save him but I am trying so hard to save myself. I am moving this month and he is already taking my check for this week and talking about my next checks so I can help him pay his bills. He just can't see that it is gambling. He went from casinos to home games and now is into Party Poker. He owes just his friends over 60,000 dollars. I am stuck!! He refinanced his truck that I drive so that I can't even afford to take over payments. I am 45 years old and feel like I am starting over. If I ever spend any money on myself I am thoughtless because of all the debts we owe. I am looking for a gamblers group that meets in Denver or Englewood so I can really try to understand. I know he has a sickness but I need to get myself back. He has gambled all his life but every loss becomes my fault and when he quits for a few days he goes through withdrawal and takes it out on me. I need help.

Gambling works as narcotics. An alternative to finding a gambler's group might be psychotherapy by a therapist with competence on gambling addiction. A therapist with competence on substance abuse might also do, since the causes and treatment of substance abuse and gambling are similar.

He might also get a psychiatrist to prescripe Naltrexone for him. Naltrexone is a medicine for treatment of substance abuse, but it can also help when quitting gambling.

Psychotherapy and Naltrexone are not alternatives, they may be more effective if combined.

More information on use of Naltrexone to treat gambling addiction.
More information about gambling addiction.

Letter from a reader: I am sorry to hear about your situation. You need to help yourself first. I am a member of Gambler's Anonymous in Denver. I would suggest you go to www.coloradoga.org for help. It has meeting locations with days and times they meet. I would look for a meeting that has GAM-Anon there. That meeting is there for people like you who have a friend, spouse, or other family member that has a gambling problem. From there you will gain strength to help the problem gambler seek help also. Do not try to handle it on your own. Help is only a click away. Also, our GA Info. line is (303) 754-7119. I wish you the best. P.S. The website has books and pamphlets that you can read online and print. There is also a 20 question list to determine if he is a compulsive gambler.