When most people think of the word “addiction”, most people’s minds automatically shoot to an image of AA or stoners. Sometimes people may think about gambling, porn, or even sex. There’s not one perfect idea of what addiction can and should be. Everyone has their own perception.
I’ve been in that realm of addiction several times. I was in alcohol’s grasp for a while, although luckily it was never to the point of drinking several times a day, seven days a week. There was a point that I was getting drunk maybe two to three times a week. Some would consider this mild, some would consider this addiction. I would personally call it addiction, but definitions can vary from person to person.
I would like to think I got over that addiction after coming back from Dublin. That’s something the USA does horribly: having the legal drinking age at 21. I think by having drinks fairly often in Ireland, it prepared me better to come back to the US. I threw up once in the first few nights, then haven’t thrown up since. For reference, that’s about two full years since I barfed from alcohol (I have barfed since, but because of sickness).
That’s not the addiction that I want to address though. This entire blog post is dedicated to another addiction I’ve fallen victim to: sports betting. I tried really hard to normalize the addiction and say it was nothing more than just a little hobby and fun activity to make a little bit of money.
Betting apps and sports books draw you in with all of these promotions to earn extra cash. It might be a profit boost or free bets, they use these bright neon signs to come back to.
I think I finally hit a stopping point the other day when I wagered about $70 in different bets. Even though I came out of it with $53 more than what I wagered, I’ve never put down that much money in a single day. It was completely unlike me and I hated seeing that I put down just $30 short of a full hundred. What started as making $2 or $3 bets to double my money, I’m making the same odd parlays with $10 each time.
So realistically, it’s not that I went super negative that I’m quitting. It’s that I’m a smart enough person, and I’m happy I have the ability to see this in myself, and I notice the addiction. Sports betting takes a lot of money from men my age and it’s time that I stop throwing money so blindly into this addiction. I will no longer be putting money into any sports books for future reference. I think this will be an addiction I must go cold turkey.
Overall Feelings: Okay