Gambling is such an acceptable form of entertainment and that’s how it’s typically framed — as a positive thing, even though there are a lot of people probably struggling with an addiction. Gambling addiction is a topic that doesn’t get much attention and is usually untouched in the personal finance space. For this reason, most people are suffering in silence.
In this episode, I chat with Ambus Hunter about gambling addiction and how to overcome it. Ambus is a Baltimore-based financial counselor, a blogger, and a recovered gambling addict. His financial counseling and content helps millennials achieve their desired life by focusing on aligning values and positive behavior.
Ambus shares how his gambling addiction started and how he came to the realization that he had to stop. He discusses how his addiction affected his mental and physical health and what he did to overcome the addiction and break the addictive cycle.
Learn how he was able to recover his financial losses in only 11 months and how from that moment forward, he became more intentional with spending his money.
What You Will Learn From This Episode
- Symptoms of gambling addiction
- The effects of gambling addiction on your mental health and wellbeing
- How to shift your mindset and behavior to overcome gambling addiction and break the addictive cycle
- Ways to recover your financial losses
- How to apply positive reframing to change your money mindset
“I definitely hit what I consider to be for my life a bit of a bottom at that particular point but I didn’t really know what I should do or could do until I had that realization of like, Ambus, you can do this, create a plan, you can get yourself back to where it was it’s just going to take a crap ton of time and a lot of effort on your part but you can get through this if you’re willing to stick to it” – Ambus Hunter
“It’s acceptable to gamble, it’s not viewed as a problem until it really becomes a problem on the individual level.” – Ambus Hunter
“If I get myself into it, I can get myself out of it.” – Ambus Hunter
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Timestamps
2:16 – How Ambus’ gambling addiction (specifically with roulette) started
8:49 – Symptoms of gambling addiction – what led him to become more addicted to roulette
11:22 – How much he won and lost in gambling
14:08 – When and how Ambus realized his gambling addiction
17:51 – What he did to recover his financial losses in 11 months
20:08 – Recognizing an emotion/feeling as a warning sign to reassess oneself
23:15 – The effects of the addiction on Ambus’ mental health and wellbeing
28:11 – What helped Ambus to change his behavior and break the addictive cycle
34:19 – Why gambling is uncommon in the finance space and in particular a taboo subject
38:20 – How people are silently struggling with gambling addiction
44:38 – Effects of gambling addiction on money mindset and how Ambus shifted his money mindset with positive reframing
51:10 – Advice for people who are struggling with gambling addiction
Resources
- From Drug Abuse and Prison to Being Financially Free: An Interview with Bill of Wealth Well Done
- Alcohol Addiction and Mental Health: An Interview with “The Sober Sexpert” Tawny Lara
- Bigger Pockets Podcast
- Amanda Abella
Connect with Ambus
Connect with Melanie
- mentalhealthandwealth.com
- melanielockert.com
- Contact: mentalhealthandwealthshow@gmail.com
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