The Number Of Women Seeking Help For Gambling Addiction Has Risen By A Shocking 76 Per Cent In The Past Year
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| - | The number of women seeking help for gambling addiction has risen by a shocking 76 per cent in the past year.<br>And new research suggests that for women - unlike men - it's a method of coping with emotional trauma. Sally Williams investigates<br> <br> One evening in 2018, Jessica went for a night out at the dog races.<br><br>Luck was on her side and she won £5,000 from a £1 bet.<br>But what should have been a dream come true for the cash-strapped mental health nurse - who could now pay off her car loan - was the start of a slide into a gambling addiction.<br>For Jessica, now 27, a win at the dogs or on an online game - to which she eventually lost £10,000 - was a way to numb the trauma of her troubled past.<br>Mary, 46, works in PR and lives in Devon, near her cousin, Naomi, 42, a part-time administrator.<br><br>About four years ago, Mary noticed a change in her cousin. Whenever she dropped in, Naomi would be in her bedroom and her two children - then eight and 11 - would be fending for themselves downstairs. Initially, Mary just assumed her cousin was feeling low. | + | The number of women seeking help for gambling addiction has risen by a shocking 76 per cent in the past year.<br><br>And new research suggests that for women - unlike men - it's a method of coping with emotional trauma. Sally Williams investigates<br> <br> One evening in 2018, Jessica went for a night out at the dog races.<br><br>Luck was on her side and she won £5,000 from a £1 bet.<br>But what should have been a dream come true for the cash-strapped mental health nurse - who could now pay off her car loan - was the start of a slide into a gambling addiction.<br>For Jessica, now 27, a win at the dogs or on an online game - to which she eventually lost £10,000 - was a way to numb the trauma of her troubled past.<br>Mary, 46, works in PR and lives in Devon, near her cousin, Naomi, 42, a part-time administrator.<br><br>About four years ago, Mary noticed a change in her cousin. Whenever she dropped in, Naomi would be in her bedroom and her two children - then eight and 11 - would be fending for themselves downstairs. Initially, Mary just assumed her cousin was feeling low. She was dealing with the aftermath of a messy divorce - Naomi had discovered her husband was having an affair - as well as grieving for her recently deceased brother.<br>But then she started asking Mary for money. ‘Just small amounts at first, £10 or £20 once a fortnight,' remembers Mary. ‘It wasn't a big deal. Then larger sums, like £100.' Shortly afterwards, Mary confronted her cousin. ‘She admitted she was gambling at night on her phone.<br><br>Mostly slot machines, but sometimes horses.<br>Over a few months it all came out: she had 11 bank cards and several payday loans and had built up a debt of £70,000 over 18 months. She was depressed and using gambling as an escape.'<br>Professor Henrietta Bowden-Jones, a consultant psychiatrist and founder and director of the National Problem Gambling Clinic in London, believes that problematic gambling (gambling in a way that is disruptive or damaging both to the gambler and those around them) in women often seems to be linked to trauma.<br><br>In an in-depth audit of 80 women aged 25-55 referred to her clinic since 2016, Professor Bowden-Jones noticed a significant proportion had experienced a traumatic life event such as an [https://sportsrants.com/?s=abusive%20marriage abusive marriage] or sudden loss. Of the group studied, most played online casino games (such as roulette, slots, bingo, cards) and some had debts of more than £100,000.<br> Gambling's still seen as a male activity.<br><br>Shame can stop women getting help ‘A lot of the young men I see have inherited a vulnerability to pathological gambling - they gamble compulsively without having had any trauma. In the women, I don't see that genetic disposition. You normally hear a very complex story.<br><br>Attachment, separation issues, mental health issues and trauma are all part of it.'<br>Bowden-Jones stresses that not enough research has been done to make any firm conclusions on gender-based triggers for problematic gambling. But, based on her observations, female gamblers tend to experience an additional layer of distress from the stigma that comes from being a woman with a gambling problem.<br><br>‘I'm not saying there isn't any shame in men, but there is an enormous amount in women.'<br>lion4d</a> kindly visit our web site. |
