Rob's Blog

I was recently shocked to hear of one woman’s battle with a gambling addiction. She had originally approached Vancouver Hypnotherapy for some help, but instead went to her doctor. She was short of money, and felt that working with a solution covered by her government health insurance was the better bet (pardon the pun). Her doctor referred her to a psychiatrist. She had a four month wait before seeing a psychiatrist, during which her addiction cost her a further $16,000, and the psychiatrist then prescribed antidepressants. Asked how long she would have to take them she was told “We’ll see”. After two months, with no benefit she returned to the psychiatrist. She was concerned that she felt she was becoming addicted to the antidepressant, but that it was not having any effect on her gambling. His response was to  raise the dosage level. After a further three months she found she had no benefit whatsoever from her prescription, and n...

Gambling addictions are among the most difficult addictions to treat. Unlike many addictions, a serious gambling addiction may show few apparent signs to the people around the addict. With the easy availability of credit and the apparent respectability of casinos, gambling is a sad affliction that can decimate the life of an addict and their family. Our proven track record in this field is backed up with quality follow up and ongoing support. Few gamblers accurately monitor how much they have spent, and how much they have lost during the night out. Only later do they really understand the cost of their habit. While narcotics addictions are frequently accompanied by health issues, it would be wrong to think that gambling addiction differs from other addictions in this way. Many gamblers suffer depression, struggle with many aspects of moderation (such as binge drinking or eating), and suffer a higher than average rate of heart disease. Insomnia is also quit common among gambling addicts...