Change Your Gambling, Change Your Life (eBook)

Howard Shaffer, PhD, a pioneer in the field of gambling addiction, is an associate professor of psychology at Harvard Medical School and the director of the Division on Addiction at the Cambridge Health Alliance. He has an active private practice and consults internationally to a variety of organizations in business, education, human services, law, and government. Ryan Martin, PhD, is an assistant professor in the Department of Health Education and Promotion at East Carolina University. John Kleschinsky, MPH, spent three years at the Cambridge Health Alliance's Division on Addiction and is currently pursuing a DrPH in social and behavioral sciences at the Boston University School of Public Health. Liz Neporent, MA, is an award-winning health and medical journalist who has written fifteen best-selling health titles.

Preface ix

Acknowledgments xv

Introduction: How to Use This Book 1

Part One How to Begin 9

1 Assessing Your Problems 11

2 Connecting the Dots 23

3 Setting Goals to Help You Change 29

Part Two How to Change 41

4 Getting Your Gambling Under Control 43

5 Anxiety and Gambling 69

6 Mood Disorders and Gambling 103

7 Impulse Control and Gambling 127

8 Substance Abuse and Gambling 155

Part Three How to Stay the Course 187

9 Preventing Relapses 189

Resources and Further Reading 205

References 211

About the Authors 217

About Harvard Medical School 219

Index 221