Summarize the following:
To stop gambling requires you to reach a conclusion: that your life will be improved by quitting. Write down your reasons for wanting to stop and review them when the urge strikes. Good reasons to stop might be to free up to start spending that time with your children, to get out of debt, or to save your marriage or relationships. Put off your gambling for a short time whenever you get the temptation. Tell yourself you can do it after 15 minutes. In the meantime, distract yourself by playing a game on your phone or watching TV. Once your delay period ends, the urge will likely have passed. If you still have the urge to gamble after the time elapsed, set a new 15-minute delay. Over time, you will get better at controlling your urge to gamble. Instead of giving in to the urge, reach out to a loved one. Ask this person to distract you or remind you why gambling is not a good idea. Say, "I'm trying to stop gambling. Will you help hold me accountable?"  You might designate a few people to hold you accountable. Agree on times when you can contact them for support, so you're not intruding on any one person's life too much. If you’d prefer not to involve your loved ones too much and you’d like alternative ideas on how to get support and hold yourself accountable, go to http://www.gamblersanonymous.org/ga/. Prevent yourself from being able to gamble by letting go of your financial reins. Have a partner, parent, or close friend control your finances until you get a handle on your gambling problem. This might involve them setting up automatic drafts to pay your bills and blocking any spending to gambling sites or establishments. or apps related to gambling. Limit your access to gambling opportunities by deleting the apps and blocking the websites you typically frequent. It may be a good idea to stay away from forums or social media groups where you can interact with other gamblers, too. To block sites on your computer, you will need to compile a list of URLs. You must also have administrative privileges on the computer in order to add blocked sites to your local C drive block list. Stop visiting all casinos, tracks, and any other environments that cater to gambling. If you don't trust yourself to stay away, tell the operators that you have a problem with gambling and ask them restrict your entry. Many gambling establishments have a 1-800 number that you can call to have your name added to a restricted entry list. This will also stop you from receiving email and snail mail advertisements. If you tend to gamble socially, it’ll be much easier to stop if you stop associating with those who you typically gamble with. Especially if they aren’t trying to stop, spending time with these people can quickly lead to temptation. Spend your time with friends and family members who aren’t interested in gambling to keep it off your mind as much as possible.

summary: List reasons why you need to stop gambling. Postpone the urge for 15 minutes. Call someone for support and accountability. Put someone else in charge of your money for a while.  Block websites Steer clear of gambling establishments. Stay away from friends and family members who gamble.


Summarize the following:
No one plans or expects to have a mental health crisis when they are traveling.  However, studies suggest that about 10% of travelers with mental illness experience a psychiatric problem while on their trip. You can handle an emergency much more effectively if you already have a crisis plan in place just in case.  Ask your mental health professional to help you create your plan. You might ask them, “What should I consider including in my crisis plan?” Include things like emergency numbers to your primary mental health provider, primary pharmacist,  pharmacist in your destination area, a crisis center and mental health provider there. Include insurance information, a list of your medications, and any other important information. It can be frustrating, scary, and possibly detrimental to be in a mental health crisis and not know where to get help. Before you leave for your trip, take some time to find out about emergency mental health services in the area that you're traveling to. This way you’ll know where to turn for help if you should need it.  In the U.S., you can call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or Safe Alternatives at 1-800-366-8288. The International Association for Suicide Prevention at http://www.iasp.info/resources/Crisis_Centres/ provides a great list of crisis services worldwide. Knowing that you have someone whom you can alert if there’s a problem and will be checking in on you can help you manage a mental health emergency when you’re traveling. This might be your travel companion, a person you trust in the destination location, or someone at home.  Ask someone close to you at home to check on you every so often.  You might ask your friend, “Could you call me every few days just to check in and make sure everything's going well?” Make sure your emergency contact has up-to-date information regarding how to get in contact with you, where you’re staying, insurance information, medications,  etc.
summary: Create a crisis plan. Research crisis support in that area. Have an emergency contact.