All our conversations start this way. Our helpline is open Monday to Friday and Sundays. There, both staff and volunteers are ready to help all callers. Every call is different, and it’s better to reach out one time too many than one time too few.
– I’ve lost everything,” says a female caller. She’s been trying to quit on her own for a long time but knows the bubble will burst soon, and her partner and their two children will be drawn into the consequences of her gambling. She’s desperate, scared, ashamed, and came across our name by chance when googling gambling problems. She didn’t know who else to call.
The woman has a lot on her mind that she’s kept inside for far too long. On our helpline, she got in touch with a fellow gambler who’s been in her shoes and knows exactly how she feels. He recognizes the emotions she’s dealing with and understands how difficult it is to ask for help.
He gives her time to tell her gambling story, how it started, and what went wrong when she tried to quit on her own. She tells, and he asks a few questions along the way to get the best possible picture of her situation.
It can mean so much to finally dare to tell your story to someone. – “Sorry for just rambling away here,” she says with a little laugh through her tears. She has nothing to apologize for, and the small laughter is a healthy sign. Her heart is lighter now and ready to look for solutions.
The one who answered the phone now has a good overview of the steps she’s taken, and he suggests some important points for the way forward. She lives near a healthcare institution that treats gambling addiction and will ask her general practitioner for a referral there. She also hears that Nav (the Norwegian Labor and Welfare Administration) can help her with financial oversight, and she wants a financial guardian. Ideally, she’d like her partner to be the guardian, but she needs to tell him the situation she’s put them in first.
They agree that she should tell her partner. She’s afraid he won’t understand, but she wants to say it anyway. She can send the kids to their grandmother for one more day a week and gets a few days to prepare herself. Our volunteer follows up with her via SMS until the day she lays her cards on the table with her partner. After their conversation, her partner can talk to another family member from Spillavhengighet Norge if he wishes. Regardless, she knows he can be invaluable help to her in the time to come. The volunteer told her that the road is long, but it’s possible for her to reach her goal and become gambling-free. She answers that she’s ready to do what it takes to get her life back.
This is an anonymized retelling of several inquiries to Spillavhengighet Norge. We do not store notes from the calls, so the retelling does not necessarily represent a specific conversation. Through such retellings, we aim to illustrate how you, as a caller, are met by us.
Would you like to get in touch with us?
Contact us by phone at 477 00 200 or send an inquiry here. Read more about our services here.