Accepting a Helping Hand on World Mental Health Day

Sympathetic and Confidential Support Services are Ready to Help

10 October marks World Mental Health Day, an initiative supported by the World Health Organization to raise awareness of mental health issues and promote the services that exist to support people struggling with their mental health.

At IBAS we aren’t experts in mental health, but we do regularly hear how gambling disputes can either be driven by or lead to complications with mental health.

Many people have explained to us how gambling has provided a distraction from depression, anxiety or other similar conditions. Some have written to us about how this has led them to gamble sums of money that are unaffordable to them – others regret the amount of time they have devoted to gambling as a means of escape from other worries or pressures.

We also read occasionally about how disputes concerning bets or other gambling transactions can be mentally draining – sometimes people say that they choose not to pursue a complaint because the potential length or complexity of the process feels depressing.

IBAS takes that on board and we do all we can to make the dispute resolution process as quick and simple as possible.

Help and Support – Free, Sympathetic and Confidential

We can’t emphasise enough how important it is to get help if you are struggling with your mental health, your gambling or both. So many people we have spoken to over many years of ADR work have said how much reaching out for help positively changed their lives.

You won’t be judged or forced to do anything. It’s more about starting a conversation. And if you don’t want to speak to anyone, you can make contact via live chat.

Samaritans

The Samaritans are open 24/7, every day. Their freephone number is 116 123

They say: “If you need someone to talk to, we listen”.

Their live chat service can be found at:

https://www.samaritans.org/how-we-can-help/contact-samaritan/

The National Gambling Helpline

They say: We give confidential information, advice and support, free of charge, for anyone affected by gambling harms in England, Scotland and Wales. We will listen to what is going on for you, and talk through options for support in your local area, online or over the phone.

Their free telephone service is also always open: 0808 80 20 133

Their live chat service can be found at:

https://www.gamcare.org.uk/get-support/talk-to-us-now/#

The National Gambling Helpline can signpost you to other services which might be able to help you – with debt, family issues, work problems or any other side effects of gambling which feel like they are taking over too much of your life.

It isn’t always easy to make the first move. But it isn’t a failure or a defeat to ask for help if you need it. It’s a necessary thing to do for your own health and well-being.