Signs & Symptoms

The holiday blues refers to specific feelings and symptoms that can mimic depression such as:

1. Loosing track of time when you gamble

2. Gambling with money needed for essentials (food, clothing, utilities, mortgage, etc.)

3. Often gambling more money than you intended.

4. Having few interests outside of gambling.

5. Hiding any of the following from your friends, family and/or loved ones:

-- your gambling
-- the amount of time you spend gambling
-- the amount of money involved

6. Trying to win back money you have lost (continue to chase your losses).

7. Betting with money you can't afford to lose.

8. Maxing out your credit cards and/or borrowing money in order to gamble

9. Compromise your personal values in order to keep gambling.

I came into the world in 1949. My father was a radio and TV repairman.The US army had trained him to be a radar technician during world war II, and he transferred the skills to civilian life. According to my parents, Peoria was a rather dismal depressed area at the time, and my father moved the family to southern California.

Do you worry all of the time?

Do you worry about what may happen in the future? about bills? your health? your loved ones? what could happen?

Does worry consume your thoughts and life?

If this describes you, it is possible that you have generalized anxiety disorder, or GAD -- a condition marked by a perpetual state of worry about most aspects of life. According to David Barlow, professor of psychology at Boston University, “the key psychological feature of GAD is a state of chronic, uncontrollable worry.” A little anxiety is normal, but constant worry is not.

Generalized anxiety disorder involves excessive anxiety and unrelenting worry. GAD makes it impossible to relax or lead a normal life.

Signs of GAD:

Signs of needing Recovery

• Behavior that sabotages successful management of our lives
• Feeling the necessity to shut down feelings and to keep everything inside. (As children we learned that expressing our own wants
  and needs resulted in rejection. This in turn fueled intense feelings of inadequacy. No matter how hard we tried things
  only got worse). When we express our needs we risk being rejected.
• low self esteem
• insecurity, anxiety
• Trying to save face rather than to acknowledge reality and accept the consequences of our actions. Hiding from our true feelings by staying "busy." By staying busy we allow ourselves to ignore our true feelings and thus deny them.
• Tendency to isolate

Read the following lists of relapse warning signs. Place a check mark next to any that have happened to you. Place a question mark next to any that you do not understand. Underline any words that cause you to have strong thoughts or feelings, make you want to do something.

Phase I: Internal Warning Signs

• ___ Trouble thinking clearly: Sometimes I cannot understand what is going on. At times, it is hard to think, or I can only think about the same thing over and over. At times I cannot think at all, or when I do, I make mistakes that I usually would not make.

Alcohol dependence, sometimes referred to as alcoholism , is the most severe type of alcohol problem and is characterized by three of seven symptoms experienced during a one year time period. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, the symptoms of alcohol dependence include:

Symptoms of Alcohol Dependence

Neglect of other Activities: Important social, occupational, or recreational activities are given up or reduced because of alcohol use

Excessive Use: Alcohol is consumed in larger amounts over a longer period than intended

Impaired control: Ongoing, unsuccessful efforts to cut down or control alcohol consumption