Announcements and Upcoming Events in the National Capital Area
2024 Gamblers Anonymous Ottawa Barbecue |
Saturday, August 17
| McNabb Community Centre
|
Area Meetings
-
Download the meeting list
| Date/Time | Location | Details |
| Monday 7:30 -9:00 pm | Ottawa Gloucester Presbyterian Church 91 Pike Street |
Open Meeting Enter by the main door off the parking lot turn right, room at the end of the hall. |
| Monday 6:30 pm | Smith Falls Smith Falls Addictions and Mental Health Services Building 179 Elmsley Street North |
Open Meeting |
| Tuesday 7:30 pm | Gatineau Centre Paroissial St-Rosaire 5 Rue Saint Arthur |
Reunion Fermé Cette reunion aura lieu en francais |
| Tuesday 7:30 pm |
Ottawa Alexander Community Centre 960 Silver Street |
Open Step Meeting |
| Thursday 7:00 -9:00 pm |
Orleans Community Pentecostal Church 1825 St.Joseph Blvd. |
Open Meeting |
| Thursday 7:30 -9:00 pm |
Kanata Kanata Community Christian Reformed Church 46 Castlefrank Road |
Open Meeting Meeting is down the stairs to the left inside the main doors |
| Saturday 10:00 AM - 12:00 | Ottawa McNabb Community Centre 180 Percy Street |
Open Meeting |
20 Questions
How can you tell if you are a compulsive gambler?
1. Did you lose time from work or school due to gambling?
2. Has gambling ever made your home life unhappy?
3. Did gambling affect your reputation?
4. Have you ever felt remorse after gambling?
5. Did you ever gamble to get money with which to pay debts or otherwise solve financial difficulties?
6. Did gambling cause a decrease in your ambition or efficiency?
7. After losing did you feel you must return as soon as possible and win back your losses?
8. After a win did you have a strong urge to return and win more?
9. Did you often gamble until your last dollar was gone?
10. Did you ever borrow to finance your gambling?
11. Have you ever sold anything to finance gambling?
12. Were you reluctant to use "gambling money" for normal expenditures?
13. Did gambling make you careless of the welfare of yourself or your family?
14. Did you ever gamble longer than you had planned?
15. Have you ever gambled to escape worry, trouble, boredom or loneliness?
16. Have you ever committed, or considered committing, an illegal act to finance gambling?
17. Did gambling cause you to have difficulty in sleeping?
18. Do arguments, disappointments or frustrations create within you an urge to gamble?
19. Did you ever have an urge to celebrate any good fortune by a few hours of gambling?
20. Have you ever considered self-destruction or suicide as a result of your gambling?
Most compulsive gamblers will answer yes to at least seven of these questions.
The Program
Gamblers Anonymous is a fellowship of men and women who share their
experience, strength and hope with each other that they may solve their common
problem and help others to recover from a gambling problem.
The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop gambling. There are no dues or fees for Gamblers Anonymous membership; we are
self-supporting through our own contributions. Gamblers Anonymous is not allied with any sect,
denomination, politics, organization or institution; does not wish to engage in any controversy; neither endorses nor opposes any cause. Our primary
purpose is to stop gambling and to help other compulsive gamblers do the same.
Most of us have been unwilling to admit we were real problem gamblers.
The persistence of this illusion is astonishing. Many pursue it into the gates of prison, insanity or death.
Therefore, in order to lead normal happy lives, we try to practice to the best of our ability, certain principles in our daily affairs.
Gamblers Anonymous is a fellowship of men and women who share their
experience, strength and hope with each other that they may solve their common
problem and help others to recover from a gambling problem.
The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop gambling. There are no dues or fees for Gamblers Anonymous membership; we are
self-supporting through our own contributions. Gamblers Anonymous is not allied with any sect,
denomination, politics, organization or institution; does not wish to engage in any controversy; neither endorses nor opposes any cause. Our primary
purpose is to stop gambling and to help other compulsive gamblers do the same.
Most of us have been unwilling to admit we were real problem gamblers.
The persistence of this illusion is astonishing. Many pursue it into the gates of prison, insanity or death.
Therefore, in order to lead normal happy lives, we try to practice to the best of our ability, certain principles in our daily affairs.
Steps to Recovery
- We admitted we were powerless over gambling - that our lives had become unmanageable.
- Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to a normal way of thinking and living.
- Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of this Power of our own understanding.
- Made a searching and fearless moral and financial inventory of ourselves.
- Admitted to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
- Were entirely ready to have these defects of character removed.
- Humbly asked God (of our understanding) to remove our shortcomings.
- Made a list of all persons we had harmed and became willing to make amends to them all.
- Make direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
- Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong, promptly admitted it.
- Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
- Having made an effort to practice these principles in all our affairs, we tried to carry this message to other compulsive gamblers.
F A Q
What is compulsive gambling?
The explanation that seems most acceptable to Gamblers
Anonymous members is that compulsive gambling is an illness, progressive in its nature, which can
never be cured, but can be arrested.
Before coming to Gamblers Anonymous, many compulsive gamblers thought of themselves as morally weak, or at
times just plain 'no good'. The Gamblers Anonymous concept is that compulsive gamblers are
really very sick people who can recover if they will follow to the best of their
ability a simple program that has proved successful for thousands of other men
and women with a gambling or compulsive gambling problem.
Home
What is the first thing a compulsive gambler ought to do in order to stop gambling?
The compulsive gambler needs to be willing to accept the fact
that he or she is in the grip of a progressive illness and has a desire to get well. Our
experience has shown that the Gamblers Anonymous program will always work for any person who has a desire to stop
gambling. However, it will never work for the person who will not face squarely the facts about this illness.
Home
How can you tell whether you are a compulsive gambler?
Only you can make that decision. Most people turn to Gamblers
Anonymous when they become willing to admit that gambling has them licked. Also in Gamblers
Anonymous, a compulsive gambler is described as a person whose gambling has
caused growing and continuing problems in any department of his or her life.
Many Gamblers Anonymous members went through terrifying experiences before they were ready to accept help. Others were faced with a slow, subtle
deterioration which finally brought them to the point of admitting defeat.
Home
Can a compulsive gambler ever gamble normally again?
No. The first bet to a problem gambler is like the first small
drink to an alcoholic. Sooner or later he or she falls back into the same old destructive pattern.
Once a person has crossed the invisible line into irresponsible uncontrolled gambling he or she never seems to regain control. After
abstaining a few months some of our members have tried some small bet experimentation, always with disastrous results. The old obsession inevitably returned.
Our Gamblers Anonymous experience seems to point to these alternatives: to gamble,
risking progressive deterioration or not to gamble, and develop a better way of life.
Home
Why can't a compulsive gambler simply use will power to stop gambling?
We believe that most people, if they are honest, will
recognize their lack of power to solve certain problems. When it comes to gambling, we have known
many problem gamblers who could abstain for long stretches, but caught off guard
and under the right set of circumstances, they started gambling without thought
of the consequences. The defenses they relied upon, through will power alone,
gave way before some trivial reason for placing a bet. We have found that will
power and self-knowledge will not help in those mental blank spots, but adherence to spiritual principles seem to solve our problems. Most of
us feel that a belief in a Power greater than ourselves is necessary in order for us to
sustain a desire to refrain from gambling.
Home
Do Gamblers Anonymous members go into gambling places to help former members who are still gambling?
No. Families and friends of these people have asked us to intercede but we
have never been able to be of any real help. Actually, sometimes we felt we retarded a member's eventual recovery by giving them this unsolicited
attention. It all goes back to the basic principle that a gambler ought to want help before he or she is approached by us.
Home
I only go on gambling binges periodically. Do I need Gamblers Anonymous?
Yes. Compulsive gamblers who have joined Gamblers Anonymous
tell us that, though their gambling binges were periodic, the intervals between were not
periods of constructive thinking. Symptomatic of these periods were nervousness,
irritability, frustration, indecision and a continued breakdown in personal
relationships. These same people have often found the Gamblers Anonymous program
the answer to the elimination of character defects and a guide to moral progress in their lives.
GAMBLING , for the compulsive gambler is defined as follows : Any betting or wagering, for self or others, whether
for money or not, no matter how slight or insignificant, where the outcome is uncertain or depends upon chance or 'skill' constitutes gambling.
Home
If I join Gamblers Anonymous won't everyone know I am a compulsive gambler?
Most people made quite a name for themselves as full-fledged
gamblers by the time they turned to Gamblers Anonymous. Their gambling was not usually a well
kept secret. It would then be unusual if the good news of their abstinence from gambling did not cause comment. However, no disclosure of any
affiliation with Gamblers Anonymous can rightfully be made by anyone but the member themselves.
Even then, it should be done in such a way that will work no hardship on the Gamblers Anonymous fellowship.
Home
If I stop gambling won't it make it difficult for me to keep some desirable business and social contacts?
We think not. Most of the world's work of any consequence is done without
the benefit of monetary wagering. Many of our leaders in business, industry and professional life have attained great success without knowing one card
from another or which way the horses run around the track. In the area of social relationships, the newcomer will soon find a keen appreciation of the
many pleasant and stimulating activities available - far removed from anything that is remotely associated from gambling.
Home
How does someone stop gambling through the Gamblers Anonymous program?
One does this through bringing about a progressive character change within
oneself. This can be accomplished by having faith in -- and following -- the basic concepts of the Gamblers Anonymous Recovery Program.
There are no short cuts in gaining this faith and understanding. To recover from one of the most baffling, insidious, compulsive addictions
will require diligent effort. HONESTY, OPENMINDEDNESS, AND WILLINGNESS are the key words in our recovery.
Home
Can a person recover by himself/herself by reading Gamblers Anonymous literature or medical books on the problem of compulsive gambling?
Sometimes, but not usually. The Gamblers Anonymous program works best for
the individual when it is recognized and accepted as a program involving other people. Working with other compulsive gamblers in a Gamblers Anonymous
group the individual seems to find the necessary understanding and support. They are able to talk of their past experiences and present problems in an area where
they are comfortable and accepted. Instead of feeling alone and misunderstood, they feel needed and accepted.
Home
Is knowing why we gambled important?
Perhaps, however insofar as stopping gambling, many Gamblers Anonymous
members have abstained from gambling without the knowledge of why they gambled.
Home
What are some characteristics of a person who is a compulsive gambler?
- INABILITY AND UNWILLINGNESS TO ACCEPT REALITY. Hence the escape into the dream world of gambling.
- EMOTIONAL INSECURITY. A compulsive gambler finds he or she is emotionally comfortable only when "in action". It is not uncommon to
hear a Gamblers Anonymous member say: "The only place I really felt like I belonged was sitting at the poker table. There I felt secure and
comfortable. No great demands were made upon me. I knew I was destroying myself, yet at the same time, I had a certain sense of
security."
- IMMATURITY. A desire to have all the good things in life without any great effort on their part seems to be the common character pattern of
problem gamblers. Many Gamblers Anonymous members accept the fact that they were unwilling to grow up. Subconsciously they felt they could avoid mature
responsibility by wagering on the spin of a wheel or the turn of a card, and so the struggle to escape responsibility finally became a subconscious
obsession.
Also, a compulsive gambler seems to have a strong inner urge to be a 'big
shot' and needs to have a feeling of being all powerful. The compulsive gambler is willing to do anything (often of an antisocial nature) to maintain
the image he or she wants others to see.
Then too, there is a theory that compulsive gamblers subconsciously want to lose to punish themselves. There is much evidence to support this
theory.
Home
What is the dream world of the compulsive gambler?
This is another common characteristic of compulsive gamblers. A lot of time
is spent creating images of the great and wonderful things they are going to do as soon as they make the big win. They often see themselves as quite
philanthropic and charming people. They may dream of providing families and friends with new cars, mink coats, and other luxuries. Compulsive
gamblers picture themselves leading a pleasant gracious life, made possible by the huge sums of money they will accrue from their 'system'. Servants,
penthouses, nice clothes, charming friends, yachts, and world tours are a few of the wonderful
things that are just around the corner after a big win is finally made.
Pathetically, however, there never seems to be a big enough winning to make
even the smallest dream come true. When compulsive gamblers succeed, they gamble to dream still greater dreams. When failing, they gamble in reckless
desperation and the depths of their misery are fathomless as their dream world comes crashing down. Sadly, they will struggle back, dream more dreams, and
of course suffer more misery. No one can convince them that their great schemes will not
someday come true. They believe they will, for without this dream world, life for them would not be tolerable.
Home
Isn't compulsive gambling basically a financial problem?
No, compulsive gambling is an emotional problem. A person in the
grip of this illness creates mountains of apparently insolvable problems. Of course, financial problems are created, but they also find themselves
facing marital, employment, or legal problems. Compulsive gamblers find friends have been lost and relatives have rejected them. Of the many serious
difficulties created, the financial problems seem the easiest to solve. When a compulsive gambler enters Gamblers Anonymous and quits gambling, income is usually
increased and there is no longer the financial drain that was caused by gambling, and very shortly, the financial pressures begin to be
relieved. Gamblers Anonymous members have found that the best road to financial recovery is through hard work and repayment of our debts. Borrowing and/or
lending of money (bail outs) in Gamblers Anonymous is detrimental to our recovery and should not take place.
The most difficult and time consuming problem with which they will be faced is that of bringing about a character change within themselves. Most
Gamblers Anonymous members look upon this as their greatest challenge, which should be worked on immediately and continued throughout their lives.
Home
Who can join Gamblers Anonymous?
Anyone who has a desire to stop gambling. There are no other rules or regulations concerning Gamblers Anonymous membership.
Home
How much does it cost to join Gamblers Anonymous?
There are no assessments in connection with Gamblers Anonymous membership. The newcomer signs nothing and pledges nothing. However, we do have
expenses relative to our group meeting and our Gamblers Anonymous service facilities. Since Gamblers Anonymous has traditionally been fully self supporting
and declines outside contribution, these expenses are met through voluntary financial support by the members. Experience has shown that acceptance
of these financial responsibilities is a vital part of our individual and group growth process.
Home
Why are Gamblers Anonymous members anonymous?
Anonymity has great practical value in maintaining unity within our
fellowship. Through its practice at the level of press, radio, films and television we have eliminated the possibility of fame and recognition
being given to the individual member; hence, we have not been faced with any great internal struggles for power and prestige which would prove highly
detrimental to our essential unity.
Anonymity also has great value in attracting new members who initially might
feel there is a stigma attached to the problem. Therefore, we guarantee the newcomer as much anonymity as they choose.
More importantly, we are beginning to realize that anonymity has tremendous
spiritual significance. It represents a powerful reminder that we need always place principles above personalities.
Our survival as individuals demands that we renounce personal gratification . . . so our Gamblers Anonymous movement not only advocates but tries
to practice true humility and it is through greater humility that we will be able to live in peace and security for all the years to come.
Home
Is Gamblers Anonymous a religious society?
No. Gamblers Anonymous is composed of people from many religious faiths along with agnostics and atheists. Since membership in Gamblers
Anonymous requires no particular religious belief as a condition of membership, it cannot be described as a religious society. The Gamblers Anonymous recovery
program is based on acceptance of certain spiritual values but the member is free to interpret these principles as he chooses.
Home
What is compulsive gambling?
The explanation that seems most acceptable to Gamblers Anonymous members is that compulsive gambling is an illness, progressive in its nature, which can never be cured, but can be arrested.Before coming to Gamblers Anonymous, many compulsive gamblers thought of themselves as morally weak, or at times just plain 'no good'. The Gamblers Anonymous concept is that compulsive gamblers are really very sick people who can recover if they will follow to the best of their ability a simple program that has proved successful for thousands of other men and women with a gambling or compulsive gambling problem.
Home
What is the first thing a compulsive gambler ought to do in order to stop gambling?
The compulsive gambler needs to be willing to accept the fact that he or she is in the grip of a progressive illness and has a desire to get well. Our experience has shown that the Gamblers Anonymous program will always work for any person who has a desire to stop gambling. However, it will never work for the person who will not face squarely the facts about this illness.Home
How can you tell whether you are a compulsive gambler?
Only you can make that decision. Most people turn to Gamblers Anonymous when they become willing to admit that gambling has them licked. Also in Gamblers Anonymous, a compulsive gambler is described as a person whose gambling has caused growing and continuing problems in any department of his or her life.Many Gamblers Anonymous members went through terrifying experiences before they were ready to accept help. Others were faced with a slow, subtle deterioration which finally brought them to the point of admitting defeat.
Home
Can a compulsive gambler ever gamble normally again?
No. The first bet to a problem gambler is like the first small drink to an alcoholic. Sooner or later he or she falls back into the same old destructive pattern.Once a person has crossed the invisible line into irresponsible uncontrolled gambling he or she never seems to regain control. After abstaining a few months some of our members have tried some small bet experimentation, always with disastrous results. The old obsession inevitably returned.
Our Gamblers Anonymous experience seems to point to these alternatives: to gamble, risking progressive deterioration or not to gamble, and develop a better way of life.
Home
Why can't a compulsive gambler simply use will power to stop gambling?
We believe that most people, if they are honest, will recognize their lack of power to solve certain problems. When it comes to gambling, we have known many problem gamblers who could abstain for long stretches, but caught off guard and under the right set of circumstances, they started gambling without thought of the consequences. The defenses they relied upon, through will power alone, gave way before some trivial reason for placing a bet. We have found that will power and self-knowledge will not help in those mental blank spots, but adherence to spiritual principles seem to solve our problems. Most of us feel that a belief in a Power greater than ourselves is necessary in order for us to sustain a desire to refrain from gambling.Home
Do Gamblers Anonymous members go into gambling places to help former members who are still gambling?
No. Families and friends of these people have asked us to intercede but we have never been able to be of any real help. Actually, sometimes we felt we retarded a member's eventual recovery by giving them this unsolicited attention. It all goes back to the basic principle that a gambler ought to want help before he or she is approached by us.Home
I only go on gambling binges periodically. Do I need Gamblers Anonymous?
Yes. Compulsive gamblers who have joined Gamblers Anonymous tell us that, though their gambling binges were periodic, the intervals between were not periods of constructive thinking. Symptomatic of these periods were nervousness, irritability, frustration, indecision and a continued breakdown in personal relationships. These same people have often found the Gamblers Anonymous program the answer to the elimination of character defects and a guide to moral progress in their lives.GAMBLING , for the compulsive gambler is defined as follows : Any betting or wagering, for self or others, whether for money or not, no matter how slight or insignificant, where the outcome is uncertain or depends upon chance or 'skill' constitutes gambling.
Home
If I join Gamblers Anonymous won't everyone know I am a compulsive gambler?
Most people made quite a name for themselves as full-fledged gamblers by the time they turned to Gamblers Anonymous. Their gambling was not usually a well kept secret. It would then be unusual if the good news of their abstinence from gambling did not cause comment. However, no disclosure of any affiliation with Gamblers Anonymous can rightfully be made by anyone but the member themselves. Even then, it should be done in such a way that will work no hardship on the Gamblers Anonymous fellowship.Home
If I stop gambling won't it make it difficult for me to keep some desirable business and social contacts?
We think not. Most of the world's work of any consequence is done without the benefit of monetary wagering. Many of our leaders in business, industry and professional life have attained great success without knowing one card from another or which way the horses run around the track. In the area of social relationships, the newcomer will soon find a keen appreciation of the many pleasant and stimulating activities available - far removed from anything that is remotely associated from gambling.Home
How does someone stop gambling through the Gamblers Anonymous program?
One does this through bringing about a progressive character change within oneself. This can be accomplished by having faith in -- and following -- the basic concepts of the Gamblers Anonymous Recovery Program.There are no short cuts in gaining this faith and understanding. To recover from one of the most baffling, insidious, compulsive addictions will require diligent effort. HONESTY, OPENMINDEDNESS, AND WILLINGNESS are the key words in our recovery.
Home
Can a person recover by himself/herself by reading Gamblers Anonymous literature or medical books on the problem of compulsive gambling?
Sometimes, but not usually. The Gamblers Anonymous program works best for the individual when it is recognized and accepted as a program involving other people. Working with other compulsive gamblers in a Gamblers Anonymous group the individual seems to find the necessary understanding and support. They are able to talk of their past experiences and present problems in an area where they are comfortable and accepted. Instead of feeling alone and misunderstood, they feel needed and accepted.Home
Is knowing why we gambled important?
Perhaps, however insofar as stopping gambling, many Gamblers Anonymous members have abstained from gambling without the knowledge of why they gambled.Home
What are some characteristics of a person who is a compulsive gambler?
- INABILITY AND UNWILLINGNESS TO ACCEPT REALITY. Hence the escape into the dream world of gambling.
- EMOTIONAL INSECURITY. A compulsive gambler finds he or she is emotionally comfortable only when "in action". It is not uncommon to hear a Gamblers Anonymous member say: "The only place I really felt like I belonged was sitting at the poker table. There I felt secure and comfortable. No great demands were made upon me. I knew I was destroying myself, yet at the same time, I had a certain sense of security."
- IMMATURITY. A desire to have all the good things in life without any great effort on their part seems to be the common character pattern of problem gamblers. Many Gamblers Anonymous members accept the fact that they were unwilling to grow up. Subconsciously they felt they could avoid mature responsibility by wagering on the spin of a wheel or the turn of a card, and so the struggle to escape responsibility finally became a subconscious obsession.
Home
What is the dream world of the compulsive gambler?
This is another common characteristic of compulsive gamblers. A lot of time is spent creating images of the great and wonderful things they are going to do as soon as they make the big win. They often see themselves as quite philanthropic and charming people. They may dream of providing families and friends with new cars, mink coats, and other luxuries. Compulsive gamblers picture themselves leading a pleasant gracious life, made possible by the huge sums of money they will accrue from their 'system'. Servants, penthouses, nice clothes, charming friends, yachts, and world tours are a few of the wonderful things that are just around the corner after a big win is finally made. Pathetically, however, there never seems to be a big enough winning to make even the smallest dream come true. When compulsive gamblers succeed, they gamble to dream still greater dreams. When failing, they gamble in reckless desperation and the depths of their misery are fathomless as their dream world comes crashing down. Sadly, they will struggle back, dream more dreams, and of course suffer more misery. No one can convince them that their great schemes will not someday come true. They believe they will, for without this dream world, life for them would not be tolerable.Home
Isn't compulsive gambling basically a financial problem?
No, compulsive gambling is an emotional problem. A person in the grip of this illness creates mountains of apparently insolvable problems. Of course, financial problems are created, but they also find themselves facing marital, employment, or legal problems. Compulsive gamblers find friends have been lost and relatives have rejected them. Of the many serious difficulties created, the financial problems seem the easiest to solve. When a compulsive gambler enters Gamblers Anonymous and quits gambling, income is usually increased and there is no longer the financial drain that was caused by gambling, and very shortly, the financial pressures begin to be relieved. Gamblers Anonymous members have found that the best road to financial recovery is through hard work and repayment of our debts. Borrowing and/or lending of money (bail outs) in Gamblers Anonymous is detrimental to our recovery and should not take place.The most difficult and time consuming problem with which they will be faced is that of bringing about a character change within themselves. Most
Gamblers Anonymous members look upon this as their greatest challenge, which should be worked on immediately and continued throughout their lives.
Home
Who can join Gamblers Anonymous?
Anyone who has a desire to stop gambling. There are no other rules or regulations concerning Gamblers Anonymous membership.Home
How much does it cost to join Gamblers Anonymous?
There are no assessments in connection with Gamblers Anonymous membership. The newcomer signs nothing and pledges nothing. However, we do have expenses relative to our group meeting and our Gamblers Anonymous service facilities. Since Gamblers Anonymous has traditionally been fully self supporting and declines outside contribution, these expenses are met through voluntary financial support by the members. Experience has shown that acceptance of these financial responsibilities is a vital part of our individual and group growth process.Home
Why are Gamblers Anonymous members anonymous?
Anonymity has great practical value in maintaining unity within our fellowship. Through its practice at the level of press, radio, films and television we have eliminated the possibility of fame and recognition being given to the individual member; hence, we have not been faced with any great internal struggles for power and prestige which would prove highly detrimental to our essential unity.Anonymity also has great value in attracting new members who initially might feel there is a stigma attached to the problem. Therefore, we guarantee the newcomer as much anonymity as they choose.
More importantly, we are beginning to realize that anonymity has tremendous spiritual significance. It represents a powerful reminder that we need always place principles above personalities.
Our survival as individuals demands that we renounce personal gratification . . . so our Gamblers Anonymous movement not only advocates but tries
to practice true humility and it is through greater humility that we will be able to live in peace and security for all the years to come.
Home
