Misunderstood

In searching to find sources with which to reach out with a good word, I stumbled upon a real downer. A Yahoo! Answers user asks, "Why don't gambling addicts get it?" First of all, I don't consider myself to be an addict. I will accept that I am plagued by addiction, but I find the word "addict" to be offensive. Then to say that we don't understand our predicament, this person must be some kind of ignoramus.

Let me further detail the asker's rant. Apparently, we are willing to throw away our hard-earned money because gambling will solve our problems. The asker claims that we are unaware of any problem and that a person is "better off talking to a wall." We are considered "so blind and so stupid." I have found myself out of character, in the moment, and highly pissed.

We are not willing to throw away our money. We often try not to gamble, but we fail. Gambling only offers an escape from our problems, and we are well aware that those problems will be waiting for us when we return to normalcy. Perhaps the opportunity to escape is our incentive to gamble for extended periods of time and until we lose it all. Most importantly, we are neither "blind" nor "stupid." We can see the problem, but we can't see the solution.

I would rather talk to a wall than to people that insult my intelligence, degrade the person that I am, and know so little about compulsive gambling yet flaunt their stubborn ideas about the topic. I understand that compulsive gambling is misunderstood. I just wish that others could see the misunderstanding. Therefore, I blog.