Support in Recovery

Many years ago, I began the journey of entering a PhD program in Psychology. I knew what I was up against. Lots of hard work and not getting paid for it! Possibly 6-7 years of classes, writing papers, and of course the dreaded dissertation.

I started the program and after a few classes, I thought I can do this. But that was just the class part of the PhD program. After the first two years of classes, I was ready to take the comp review exam, and get started on my research. Again, I was okay and ready to move forward.

I passed the comp exam on the first try and what a relief. Now on to the dissertation. I knew I wanted to research gambling disorder but in what context? It took a good year or two to figure that out.

After much thought and this is the abridged version, I wanted to research what a problem gambler can do to be successful in recovery. Gambling disorder is an insidious one that takes lives and ruins many in financial and spiritual ways. But there are those out there with months or years of staying away from gambling behavior. What do they have that maybe others do not.

Well, the answer is support. All of my participants stated having support was the single most important factor in staying away from gambling.

So what is this support? In a nutshell, it is whatever you want it to be. It comes in many different forms and you will need to figure out what kind of support you need to stay gambling free.

For me, it was GA meetings, my husband, my family, friends, therapy, and groups.

Recovery should never be done alone. You will need people to talk to and to find those that share in your recovery efforts. Stay away from those who might say, you can’t do this, or you will relapse again. Surround yourself with positive individuals.

Now that we have groups online, you can also find support there.

Find your support however you need to. Be consistent and honest about yourself and what you are facing each day you are in recovery.

I will continue to post here and other places as a way to support those that might need it.