“Betty’s” Story:

There are many defining moments in my journey. I give you here a condensed version of my testimony.

I was working as an EMT for five agencies in New Mexico who sent me to 17 different facilities. I had to work 100 hours full-time a week to keep my compulsion to gambling rolling. I often slept in my car. Hitting the casinos between shifts, my fingernails were cracked and my hair was falling out, from lack of proper nutrition and backbreaking stress.

The week I went to the Evolution Group I had suicidal ideations flashing in my thoughts. One night my futures broker called me stating he had a broken down semi-truck in Tennessee filled with some shoe store mirrors. He needed five grand to bid and had a buyer. I said yes and 8 hours later had $60,000 in my account.

I told all my agencies that I had an emergency and was taking a week off. The week turned into 13 days of sitting at my $100 slot machine at my favorite casino. I lost it all, the entire $60,000, and on the 13th day when I had lost everything, on the way back to my apartment, I stopped at three pawn shops and then at Walgreens for two straight edge razors. I filled my tub with hot water, drank three glasses of wine, and sat down on the end of my bed.

I then recalled a GA meeting I had attended years earlier. The speaker had 20 years without gambling. He stated that if you ever decide to end it by suicide scream out “God! Help me” and he will.  I screamed out, God! Help me”.  My eyes then caught a sentence in an ad in the penny newspaper on my bed stating, “call 505 242-6988 for help with a gambling problem”.  I dialed the number thinking I would get a recording and it would never work. But a pleasant and kind voice told me in our short conversation that I lived one block away from the Evolution Group. That moment became the most defining moment of my life. At that moment I surrendered totally saying “I will do anything to stop this insanity”.

My counselor at the Evolution Group gave me the next defining moment. I was taught that if I find myself at the casino there would be no punishment. I was just asked to please “do the how”.

HOW stands for honest, open-minded, and willing.

I was raised by nuns and no punishment was calming nor felt forgiving. No punishment felt relaxing. I remember how free my walk home from counseling felt. I noticed a pretty tree and how lovely it’s leaves felt. A cat came up to me from a porch I never noticed before. Somehow the “HOW” freed me. Another huge defining moment was a counselor bringing me into the “now” of the moment. He asked me to describe what I was noticing. I did. He then described his moment, even down to the tea bag in his cup. He asked me to get up a few minutes early and set a timer and light a candle only noticing my breath as I inhale then exhale. I was willing to do anything to heal.

Integrity was something I only dreamed of having. That came as I began to work in a workbook called the Integrity Recovery Workbook that the Evolution Group provides as part of a group therapy. I really came to know myself working in this book. My child had left me fragmented. Working the workbook “Integrity Recovery” made me whole. My fragmented parts pulled together into one person. I began to feel grateful, happy, even laughing.

Five of my close friends died last year. I was very sad but I did not get stuck in depression. I did not get stuck in anger. I was able to help their families with the wisdom Evolution Group had taught me.  I have integrity. I look in the mirror every morning and smile saying, “I love you””.  I truly am the happiest person I know. Suffering has been the teacher. The “How” has been the answer;

Honest, open-minded, and willing.

“Jim’s Story:

I pretty much was told by wife that if I didn’t stop gambling and go to therapy, she would leave me and take the kids with her back to North Carolina.  Even so, truth be told, I did not want to quit gambling, and I sure as hell did not want to go to counseling and talk to a therapist!  That’s how it began.  I fought it, kept my walls up, and just complied.

My therapist, who I have come to respect and appreciate, told me at that time that I wasn’t his first rodeo, and that even though I was only there to comply, he was there to help me figure out what was best for me.  That was different and thus I began a slow journey of learning to be honest with myself; I was in denial about my problem with gambling and I was using it to manage my stress at work and the trauma I experienced from the gulf war I served in.  My therapist had me begin by looking at how much time and money I had spent on gambling.  This was contrasted with the time I spent with my wife, kids, and family.  The proportions were not to my liking.  I was grumpy, distant, and gone too often.  My kids and I were not close and my wife was hanging on to the memory of how I was before my tour.

Deep down I wanted things to be different and my counselor kept gently pointing me towards this.  We started with harm reduction, which means I tracked my time and money and set small reduction goals.  We acknowledged progress, setbacks, and eventually, despite my reservations, I began to like coming here, and I could see that my therapist knew what he was doing.

My therapist talked me into doing trauma work once my gambling behavior was more manageable.

That’s when things really began to change.  It was like someone lifted the pressure off my chest.

I can honestly say that I don’t want to gamble anymore even though I still think about it.  My wife likes me better and the kids and I are working on our relationship.

Who It’s For

If your relationship or family life is being destroyed by your gambling, we can help you.

We work with problem gamblers and their partners & family members to establish a connection for positive change. We focus first on harm reduction, enhancing motivation for change, and utilizing peer support.

Together, these are proven to be successful in interrupting the cycle of compulsive gambling and developing the groundwork for abstinence & eventual recovery from other addictions such as with substances or sex.

“Betty’s” Story:

There are many defining moments in my journey. I give you here a condensed version of my testimony.

I was working as an EMT for five agencies in New Mexico who sent me to 17 different facilities. I had to work 100 hours full-time a week to keep my compulsion to gambling rolling. I often slept in my car. Hitting the casinos between shifts, my fingernails were cracked and my hair was falling out, from lack of proper nutrition and backbreaking stress.

The week I went to the Evolution Group I had suicidal ideations flashing in my thoughts. One night my futures broker called me stating he had a broken down semi-truck in Tennessee filled with some shoe store mirrors. He needed five grand to bid and had a buyer. I said yes and 8 hours later had $60,000 in my account.

I told all my agencies that I had an emergency and was taking a week off. The week turned into 13 days of sitting at my $100 slot machine at my favorite casino. I lost it all, the entire $60,000, and on the 13th day when I had lost everything, on the way back to my apartment, I stopped at three pawn shops and then at Walgreens for two straight edge razors. I filled my tub with hot water, drank three glasses of wine, and sat down on the end of my bed.

I then recalled a GA meeting I had attended years earlier. The speaker had 20 years without gambling. He stated that if you ever decide to end it by suicide scream out “God! Help me” and he will.  I screamed out, God! Help me”.  My eyes then caught a sentence in an ad in the penny newspaper on my bed stating, “call 505 242-6988 for help with a gambling problem”.  I dialed the number thinking I would get a recording and it would never work. But a pleasant and kind voice told me in our short conversation that I lived one block away from the Evolution Group. That moment became the most defining moment of my life. At that moment I surrendered totally saying “I will do anything to stop this insanity”.

My counselor at the Evolution Group gave me the next defining moment. I was taught that if I find myself at the casino there would be no punishment. I was just asked to please “do the how”.

HOW stands for honest, open-minded, and willing.

I was raised by nuns and no punishment was calming nor felt forgiving. No punishment felt relaxing. I remember how free my walk home from counseling felt. I noticed a pretty tree and how lovely it’s leaves felt. A cat came up to me from a porch I never noticed before. Somehow the “HOW” freed me. Another huge defining moment was a counselor bringing me into the “now” of the moment. He asked me to describe what I was noticing. I did. He then described his moment, even down to the tea bag in his cup. He asked me to get up a few minutes early and set a timer and light a candle only noticing my breath as I inhale then exhale. I was willing to do anything to heal.

Integrity was something I only dreamed of having. That came as I began to work in a workbook called the Integrity Recovery Workbook that the Evolution Group provides as part of a group therapy. I really came to know myself working in this book. My child had left me fragmented. Working the workbook “Integrity Recovery” made me whole. My fragmented parts pulled together into one person. I began to feel grateful, happy, even laughing.

Five of my close friends died last year. I was very sad but I did not get stuck in depression. I did not get stuck in anger. I was able to help their families with the wisdom Evolution Group had taught me.  I have integrity. I look in the mirror every morning and smile saying, “I love you””.  I truly am the happiest person I know. Suffering has been the teacher. The “How” has been the answer;

Honest, open-minded, and willing.

“Jim’s Story:

I pretty much was told by wife that if I didn’t stop gambling and go to therapy, she would leave me and take the kids with her back to North Carolina.  Even so, truth be told, I did not want to quit gambling, and I sure as hell did not want to go to counseling and talk to a therapist!  That’s how it began.  I fought it, kept my walls up, and just complied.

My therapist, who I have come to respect and appreciate, told me at that time that I wasn’t his first rodeo, and that even though I was only there to comply, he was there to help me figure out what was best for me.  That was different and thus I began a slow journey of learning to be honest with myself; I was in denial about my problem with gambling and I was using it to manage my stress at work and the trauma I experienced from the gulf war I served in.  My therapist had me begin by looking at how much time and money I had spent on gambling.  This was contrasted with the time I spent with my wife, kids, and family.  The proportions were not to my liking.  I was grumpy, distant, and gone too often.  My kids and I were not close and my wife was hanging on to the memory of how I was before my tour.

Deep down I wanted things to be different and my counselor kept gently pointing me towards this.  We started with harm reduction, which means I tracked my time and money and set small reduction goals.  We acknowledged progress, setbacks, and eventually, despite my reservations, I began to like coming here, and I could see that my therapist knew what he was doing.

My therapist talked me into doing trauma work once my gambling behavior was more manageable.

That’s when things really began to change.  It was like someone lifted the pressure off my chest.

I can honestly say that I don’t want to gamble anymore even though I still think about it.  My wife likes me better and the kids and I are working on our relationship.