Gambling is a social activity where you risk something of value on a game of chance, for example a scratch card or fruit machine. If you win you get a prize. But if you lose, you’ll lose your money. There are different reasons for gambling – some people gamble to feel better about themselves, while others use it as a distraction when they’re feeling angry or depressed.

There are also a number of ways that gambling can harm you, including making you lose money, or even causing you to think about suicide. If you’re worried about your gambling, get help from a professional.

Harmful gambling can be treated using Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). This will look at how you think about betting and how you feel when you’re gambling. It can help you to change the way you think about gambling, so that you stop being tempted.

Stigma and shame are two factors that can increase the likelihood of someone developing a gambling problem. This is particularly true of people from deprived communities.

The stigma associated with gambling is very strong, especially in disadvantaged communities and can be felt by the affected person, their family and friends. This is sometimes exacerbated by the fact that people with gambling problems are often incarcerated, which can have an additional impact on their wellbeing and their relationship with others.

Another source of stigma is around the nature of gambling itself, and how it is perceived. This can be reinforced through the media, with some newspapers and TV programmes showing images of people who have a gambling problem and how it affects them.

Relationship harm was a central theme within the data, with both the person who gambled and their affected others reporting experience of harm to relationships in general. This included experiences of relationship distortion, such as a child of the person who gambled taking on carer or parent roles in terms of financial management tasks, checking on their whereabouts and issuing allowances.

In some instances this can result in the person who gambles losing their relationship with their affected other, or becoming withdrawn and disengaged from them. This can be a particularly distressing experience, and can lead to the person who gambles being unable to have contact with their affected other or have any meaningful interaction with them at all.

This can have a negative effect on their ability to manage their gambling, and may create a sense of desperation in trying to recoup losses, as well as feelings of guilt or shame over how they’ve affected their partner. This can result in a lack of trust between the affected other and the person who gambles, which can further increase the feelings of insecurity and loss of control.

This can be a particularly worrying area of harm, and is a crucial point to address when dealing with a loved one who has a gambling problem. Ensure your loved one understands that it is not OK for them to have a gambling problem, and that they need to seek support before their behaviour becomes unmanageable. This can help to avoid a breakdown of the relationship and help them to get the treatment they need.