Since its inception, the East Midlands Gambling Harms Service has helped hundreds of people struggling with their gambling, both male and female. Made up of psychologists, therapists, mental health practitioners and psychiatrists, the team helps people to overcome problem gambling and gives them the tools to build an alternative, more meaningful lifestyle, free from gambling and with new ways of coping.
As Andrew held his baby daughter and pressed his face to her downy head, his friend smiled and said: “You can’t beat that newborn baby smell, can you?”
But for Andrew, there was nothing. Just two weeks after his daughter was born, he contracted Covid and lost his sense of smell and taste. It would be two years before he got it back, meaning he missed that same sensation with his second child too.
“It may seem very insignificant compared with the suffering others experienced but it was devastating not to be able to taste or smell. Everything tasted like vomit so I lived off protein shakes and milk and lost six stone; I was like a skeleton,” he said.
Having always been someone who relished his meals, Andrew, 33, struggled to cope but instead of reaching out for help, he turned to alcohol and gambling.
But with help from the East Midlands Gambling Harms Service, he has managed to stop gambling and is now focusing on a better life with his wife and children.
“It started off with betting on the horses and I won quite a bit of money,” he said. “I won nearly £2,000 over the course of about two months. It made me feel good about myself and I started to think about what I could spend the money on.
“Finally my brain was focusing on something other than the after-effects of Covid.
“I never really bet big, just a few quid here and there and at one point was probably winning more than I was spending but I ended up focusing on nothing but my phone. I was thinking about gambling more than my kids or my family.”
The realisation that Andrew’s seemingly harmless hobby had turned into a problem came after a huge argument with his wife.
“She was furious with me because I was spending all my time on my phone and not taking any notice of our kids. I was hiding my habit from her,” he said. “I realised that if I didn’t give up gambling I could lose my family.”
Andrew, a transport manager from Leicester, found a counsellor who encouraged him to reach out to the East Midlands Gambling Harms Service. One phone call later, he had registered to take part in group work on Teams.
“That was October and I haven’t gambled since,” he said. "I had managed to stop by myself for a bit before that but the therapy with EMGHS really helped me to stay away from it. I really learned from other people’s experiences and what they used as coping mechanisms to stop gambling.”
He admits he was sceptical about group work in the early days rather than one-to-one sessions. “I thought I would be judged but it was great to meet people in the same position as me. The sessions were all really good, it was just lots of people trying to help each other out.”
Andrew says avoiding gambling adverts on social media was a struggle in the early days of recovery. “Gambling is just too accessible now. It’s constantly in your face, with scratchcards, lotteries and TV ads.”
Many people who struggle with gambling miss the dopamine hit when they give it up, and Andrew says he’s had to find something with which to replace it.
“I’ve started playing football again, I do stuff with the kids and I’m back in the gym now I’ve put some weight back on,” he said. “I’d recommend the service to anyone who’s struggling – you don’t have to be at rock bottom, it’s for anyone who needs the help. It’s changed my life.”