In 1867, Dostoevsky told his wife that as soon as he began to win, he took risks. A gambling therapist on why a win can make stopping harder, and why knowing that isn’t enough.

Freud suggested some gamblers lose on purpose, to punish themselves. That theory doesn’t hold up as an explanation of gambling disorder, but the question underneath it still matters in treatment.

You had stopped. Then last night you gambled again. A Chicago gambling therapist on what to do in the next 30 minutes, why not to chase the loss, and how to keep one relapse from becoming a spiral.

Live auctions and card breaks can turn collecting into chasing. What the research says, the warning signs to watch for, and when it’s worth talking to someone.

ADHD can make gambling unusually hard to control — impulsivity, immediate reward, boredom, and the difficulty of stopping once you have started. A Chicago addiction therapist on why the risk is higher, and what actually helps.

Gambling rarely stays contained. Here’s how it intertwines with anxiety, depression, and the people closest to you.

Yes — and cognitive behavioral therapy has the strongest evidence behind it. What gambling treatment actually targets, session by session, and where the research is weaker than you’ll be told.

You don’t have to lose your job or empty your savings before gambling is worth addressing. The signs, what treatment does, Illinois self-exclusion, and where to get help in Chicago.

Most people who ask this question are not asking on a whim. Ten signs, what the clinical definitions actually measure, and a free two-minute screen that stores nothing.