‘ART GAIN’ is a program I researched, initiated and launched on the web. Linking to weekend workshops, it is a curriculum for early prevention of gambling addition for ‘escape gamblers’. This latest teaching program has been acknowledged by the Ballarat City Council. I have developed ‘Art Gain’ as a stop gambling program with a focus on low risk behaviour being targeted and therefore giving an insight into ways we might channel this energy into more productive forms of behaviour. Current research shows that students have greater access to gambling than alcohol or cigarettes and my program is based on meditation, and skill development that any age group can master. The program is now live on the web and will be an ongoing curriculum process that will address a social issue at the entry level of this activity. Nationally no curriculum with art skills and meditation as the core exists and most programs are designed for people who have hit rock bottom.
THE LURE OF GAMBLING
PART 1
BY JEFFREY R. AMBROSE
MARCH 10, 2005
Like an infectious disease, it spreads throughout the nations of the world. It infects virtually every household, young and old, rich and poor, ignorant and educated. From high-stakes casinos and government-run lotteries to penny ante bingo matches, raffles and office pools, gambling is everywhere—and is becoming more common with each passing year.BBC News reports that, from 2001 to 2002, Australians wasted more than $15 billion (AUD) on gambling—an average loss of $1,017 per adult! This should not be surprising, since more than 20 percent of the world’s poker machines are in Australia.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics reports that 330,000 Australians (2.3 percent of adults) have “significant gambling problems, with 140,000 experiencing severe problems.” On average, such gambling problems can last nine years. Each of these 330,000 problem gamblers has lost an average of $12,000 per year! Once again, as a result, the pressures of this mounting debt have led one in ten to contemplate suicide.
Yet, even though an astounding eight out of ten Australians gamble, two other Western nations—Sweden and New Zealand—have surpassed this. There, nine in ten adults gamble!
LUCK is SOMeTIMES ART is TiMeLeSS.
A Skill Development Program.
Compulsive gamblers are divided into two categories: "action gamblers" and "escape gamblers." The personality of the gambler, and thus the motivation to gamble, determine one's type.
The typical action gambler is described as a domineering, manipulative male, who is confident, energetic, and has an IQ over 120. This is the most pervasive type of compulsive gambler in both legal and illegal gambling.
The action gambler's motivation is tied to the goal of beating other individuals at his chosen game and "beating the house." He seeks to gain wealth and status at the expense of other players and the betting establishment (for example, a casino). These individuals often believe that they can devise a personal "system" to achieve these victories.
Conversely, escape gamblers are typically considered to be caring, nurturing, and introverted, with no apparent tendencies toward egotism or narcissism. Their profile is essentially opposite that of the action gambler. Here, the motivation is relief—escape—from emotional pain, which is a result of present or past trauma.
If you gamble to escape your thoughts an art program may be a way of redirecting this energy. It will be less costly and the fun of making art is traditionally an escape from everyday worries to a calm focused and skilled way of expressing ideas feelings and views. Winston Churchill described his depression as the 'black dog' and his remedy was to paint landscapes in order to refocus. I will give you the skills to do the same.
This program is for people who are drifting without a real focus and for friends who want to help a friend.
