Neurodiversity & gambling

[TheTinMan87]

I’ve been on a bit of a journey of self-discovery since becoming a father to two, one diagnosed at a young age with autism, the youngest on the pathway for potentially autism and ADHD. Seeing the children growing up and observing their struggles as a result of their neurodivergence led me to reflect on my own struggles as a child, some similar experiences to my children. I’m not diagnosed myself but there are some clear areas of struggle which would be indicative of having autism.

I bring this up because some of these struggles caused me issues and eventually led to me stopping gambling entirely. Part of my profile sees me regularly develop ‘special interests’ and horse racing quickly became one. A useful side of my profile is the ability to remember facts about my special interest but less useful is that I’m very routine driven and my special interests become unhealthy obsessions to the detriment of my personal life and dare I said it probably impacted on my performance in my job. I would fine myself having to place my bets at a certain time regardless of what was going on in my life. The other big issues that stem from my profile are I’m incredibly risk averse and I get depressed quite easily, neither useful traits when you start gambling. When I say risk averse by the way I mean no risk taken at all, we’re talking £1-2 stakes for about 5 years which is obviously pointless given the time I was putting in.

Anyway a lot of this came to a head, I found myself getting depressed from losing bets despite the small values involved. I was neglecting lots of aspects of my life. I was addicted to gambling on horses just not with the money side driving the addiction. I’m quite fortunate in that some will have the opposite risk profile to me and they’ll be incredibly impulsive too. They really are incredibly vulnerable. There is some good research being done on the subject and I suspect more will follow.

Sorry if this was a bit of a rant just wanted to share my journey and hopefully if others are in that boat and struggling they’ll be able to resonate with it and seek help

[He Didnt Like Ground]

Hi Tim man , i reckon most of us understand what your talking about , with regards to my gambling I’m also to small stakes and we all get frustrated , lol Klarc Kent yesterday a prime example yesterday , I look at racing as my hobby , I’m going to Musselburgh today , first day racing in 8 months , free tickets and I’ve got a betting fund inc some Euros I can’t cash in , I’ll be honest I’ll spend more on lunch than the day at the races

[Red Rum 77]

Thanks Tin-Man for sharing, it’s been on my mind what conditions do you decide when NOT bet on a race. I usually do it when I’ve no strong opinion or can’t afford to lose the money concerned. I do have a weakness for the Grand National but I do budget for it.

P.S. Other conditions are where the horse is too short in it’s price.

You've got to accentuate the positive.
Eliminate the negative.
Latch on to the affirmative.
Don't mess with mister in between.

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