Recovery in focus in the new edition of The Gambling Harm Podcast
The different journeys towards recovery from gambling-related harm are the focus of the latest edition of The Gambling Harm Podcast, now live on all leading podcast platforms.
EPIC duo Craig Cornforth (harm prevention manager) and Andy Margett (insights executive) both reflect on their own progress in an episode named ‘The Road To Recovery’.
Among other topics, they discuss their personal experiences of gambling harm, why recovery doesn’t have a one-size-fits-all approach, dealing with temptation in the initial stages of recovery and the process of re-earning trust from those closest to them.
Marathon runner Andy explains how giving up gambling was the hardest thing he has ever done, including a recounting of the time he had to forcefully over-pay a takeaway delivery driver with all the money in his possession, in order to take away the temptation to place another bet after vowing to give up.
Detailing how deeply entrenched gambling had become as part of every activity he undertook, Craig told how his every waking thought invariably turned to betting.
“The first decision that I had to make in the morning was, ‘when am I having my first bet?’, not ‘when am I getting to work or am I going to get washed?’ or ‘am I going to get clean clothes on?’,” he recalled. “That was priority number one.
“You make time for that. Everything else becomes a by-product of your gambling.”
He also identified that it’s not just the individual engrossed in the gambling activity that ends up suffering harm, adding that it can often take longer for those around them to come to terms with what has happened:
“The family’s forgotten about. As an addict, I recovered at a much faster rate than people around me did.
“There are still some people I haven’t had a chance – and hopefully one day I will – to maybe not make amends, but at least have a chance to be able to apologise or whatever I need to do for them.
“But they don’t recover at the same rate as somebody on the way back up does, and it’s important that they’re recognised.”
Listen now to episode four of The Gambling Harm Podcast via each of the following platforms…
• Spotify
• YouTube (video format)
Trigger warning: This episode includes mentions of suicide ideation and attempt.
The insightful podcast has one further episode to launch in its initial run, which will be unveiled next week.
