How To Stop Betting

Dan Bullen gambled for over 20 years, letting the losses, the lies, and the shame control his life 

Now in recovery, he hosts the Addicted Recovery Show,  a YouTube channel focused on honest conversations about gambling addiction, recovery, relapse, and life after stopping.

Dan speaks with people who have lived experience, athletes, advocates, authors, and professionals working in addiction and recovery.

Today, we talk to Dan about how to stop betting.

How to stop gambling is a question I get asked all the time.

The truth is, everyone's focused on trying not to want to gamble instead of focusing on making gambling harder.

So put some friction between you and that first bet.

The saying I like is: if you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always got.

Try something different. Do something different. Don't do things that trigger you.

If you gamble on your phone, install a blocker like Gamban.

If you gamble on live sports, you're going to have to not watch live sports for a while.

If watching gambling streamers triggers you, stop watching gambling streamers.

You've got to do something different.

And the second thing I advise is: tell someone.

Addiction thrives in secrecy. Recovery grows with accountability.

Tell somebody. Tell a partner, a loved one, a friend, someone from a support group. Tell someone what's going on. Tell them about your struggles, and they can help hold you accountable.

Remember, you can't always control the urge to gamble, but you can make gambling harder.