Post 21
A Giving-Thanks Screen
So often, emphasis is given on assessing whether or not – or how severe – an individual’s gambling problem exists. Commonly, we hear of GA’s and Gam-Anon’s sets of Twenty Questions, the South Oaks Gambling Screen, the SOGS for Adolescents, the Significant Other Gambling Problem Severity screen, the DSM IV Diagnostic Criteria, the FCCG Screen for Older Adults, and several other assessment tools. These are important and should not be omitted when working with clients.
Still as recovery work continues, it is significant for both the client and the therapist to make note of mile markers that chart progress being made. Again, there are therapeutic tools for such purposes as well as client homework questions geared to make note of positive wellness signs.
As Thanksgiving quickly approaches, my reviewing-the-year-thoughts have started in earnest. Asking myself what progress has been made on personal goals and new year’s resolutions (made months ago), the idea to reformat a diagnostic tool into a Giving-Thanks Screen began to take shape.
Looking at GA’s Twenty Questions and several DSM IV Diagnostic Criteria prompted me to put together such a model. Prayerfully, the following questions will not only provide progress assessments but also measurable reasons for giving thanks!
1. Throughout your day, do thoughts of being thankful often come to mind?
2. Do you give thanks for the increasing amounts of money that now enter your bank account due to the fact that money is no longer spent on gambling?
3. Is your day spent in a mode of thanks-living, now that you have passed the stage of restlessness and feelings of irritability associated with unsuccessful attempts to cut back on gambling?
4. Are you thankful that you are free from the lies and excuses you have had to live by, in order to cover up gambling losses and time spent gambling?
5. Do you give thanks for the following that have improved since you no longer gamble: personal relationships, increased performance at work, and sharpened focus within educational/self-improvement pursuits.
6. Are you thankfully relieved that you are no longer trying to obtain money from persons, creditors, or other resources?
7. Thankfully, do you now experience restful sleep, fewer feelings of guilt, and increasingly, fewer arguments?
8. Do you give thanks that every time you now pay a debt, you know that you are making progress in lowering a staggering amount of debts.
9. Are you relieved and thankful that triggers to gamble do not automatically control your actions?
10. Do you feel thankful for new hobbies, interests, and friends made since gambling does not preoccupy your time?
**** Do you tell yourself THANK YOU! for not following through with self-destruction?
**** Do you tell yourself THANK YOU! for saying YES to RECOVERY?
HAPPY AND BLESSED THANKSGIVING!!!
For more information on problem gambling recovery issues, go to www.grmumc.org
Rev. Janet Jacobs
Director, Gambling Recovery Ministries
