YOU ARE NOT ALONE - A companion online community discussion board for The Mental Illness Happy Hour podcast with Paul Gilmartin

Hello! Thanks for posting. I am so very glad you used your voice here.

You sound like a really caring, thoughtful, loving person.

As someone who has struggled with debt (albeit the non-gambling type), I am sorry to report that things are probably just as bad as you think, and very possibly worse.

I encourage you to take care of yourself, your financial future, and your academic career. If you like, I can offer some blunt suggestions, but only if you feel willing to want to hear them.

In general I suggest you tell people what you told us here, and keep telling people until someone cares.

There is help out there, caring people with good ideas, for both you and your husband. I hope you find them. You're worth it.

Be strong.

Being an alcoholic myself, I can relate to his side of things,

Unfortunately, your being nice and understanding will not help his problem at all. You sound like a great person but its time to direct your energy elsewhere.

Go to a http://www.al-anonuk.org.uk/ meeting. If you want to understand his problem, and how to help, these meetings are great places for that.

The only way addicts quit that I know of, is through consequences. If they are simply supported and soothed about their addiction, they will continue to manipulate and keep doing what they are doing.

When my husband was going through addiction of drugs and gambling one of my friend suggested me to take him to Out patient drug treatment denver which has really helped him to overcome the addiction and now he is totally recovered from it now.