Why My Period Made My Gambling Addiction Worse

Abbie Harvey's gambling addiction was truthful terrible that she could not thrust for 20 minutes without pulling complete to stake - and felt nan impulse became worse conscionable earlier and during her period.

"To get complete being emotional, I would usage gambling arsenic a coping strategy," said Abbie, who mislaid much than £20,000 during her decade-long struggle pinch nan addiction.

Abbie is not alone. Kiki Marriott, besides a erstwhile gambling addict, noticed an summation successful her gambling habits during nan week earlier her period.

Both women person received curen astatine nan Parkland Place Rehabilitation Centre successful northbound Wales, wherever objective unit opportunity they judge nan menstrual rhythm tin person an effect connected gambling behaviours.

Researchers astatine nan University of Birmingham are now moving pinch nan Gordon Moody gambling harms kindness to found whether location is simply a nexus betwixt hormonal fluctuations - caused by periods, ovulation, menopause and childbirth - and gambling addiction.

Warning: This article contains references to suicide

Abbie would predominantly bet connected her telephone utilizing online slots.

"The scheming, nan lying, it conscionable took complete my full life," nan 34-year-old from Barry successful southbound Wales said.

"I would do it astatine 4 o'clock successful nan morning, I would do it astatine 2 o'clock successful nan afternoon. I would aftermath up successful nan mediate of nan nighttime and each I wanted to do was bet online.

"I'd beryllium driving location from my sister's, which is for illustration 20 minutes distant from me, and I couldn't moreover hold 20 minutes earlier pulling complete and doing online slots."

Like Abbie, Kiki would besides bet connected her phone, often for much than 24 hours until she ran retired of money.

The 40-year-old said her gambling addiction made her consciousness suicidal.

"I didn't attraction whether I lived aliases died. It was for illustration a slow and achy death," Kiki told nan BBC.

"I utilized to believe to dice and conscionable deliberation 'I can't hold for this to beryllium over'.

"Your mindset was conscionable to do thing that you needed to do to still alteration you to gamble.

"I was going without nutrient shopping, I didn't person gas, nan only logic why I had electrical and wi-fi is because I needed that to gamble."

Kiki noticed her gambling wont became worse during nan week earlier her period.

"Impulsivity and compulsive behaviours are much apt to radiance agleam successful nan week earlier my play - and that's erstwhile I'd make moreover worse decisions astir that week," said Kiki from Woolwich successful south-east London.

"I deliberation location is simply a large relationship betwixt mediocre decision-making and impulsive behaviour during your menstrual cycle."

Kiki said she reached her "catastrophic constituent and stone bottom" erstwhile she stole a sizeable magnitude of money from her erstwhile partner's slope relationship to bet with.

"I wrote letters to nan train driver, to nan passengers, and apologised for nan trauma that I was astir to origin them by ending my life astatine nan train station," she said.

Instead, Kiki called nan GamCare National Helpline - an organisation that provides free support for anyone affected by gambling harms.

"I knew that my decease would person caused much trauma connected different group and I conscionable couldn't do it," she said.

The BBC has been fixed uncommon entree to Parkland Place, a rehabilitation centre successful Colwyn Bay, Conwy county, wherever Abbie and Kiki some received curen for their addictions.

Run by nan Adferiad gambling charity, it is simply a 16-bed portion which focuses connected gambling, alcoholism and supplier addiction done group sessions and 1 to 1 counselling.

Despite being mixed gender, only 25% of group arriving for curen are women.

Cheryl Williams, head of nan centre, acknowledged nan challenges women could look while attending a six-week programme.

"It could beryllium that they're nan main caregivers for nan children," she said.

"There's nan stigma because they're besides seen arsenic nan homemakers truthful they can't past needfully spend nan clip for them to travel into rehab.

"But actually, that's a fraction of their life really, compared to what they've missed retired connected while they've been gambling."

Cheryl said nan squad astatine Parkland Place recognised nan effect of nan menstrual rhythm connected gambling behaviours.

"We've noticed nan females who are owed connected their menstrual cycle, gambling increases earlier nan rhythm has kicked in," she said. "We return that into information while they're here."

The Gordon Moody gambling harms charity, which has residential curen centres crossed nan country, said nan number of women gambling successful nan UK - and nan number of women pinch gambling addictions - was astatine an all-time high.

Dr Rosalind Baker-Frampton, objective head of nan charity, said she had noticed women were much apt to bet successful a harmful measurement during a hormonal fluctuation.

"You're much apt to prosecute successful risky behaviours astir nan clip of ovulation, truthful that's erstwhile an ovum is released," she said.

"That's nan clip you're astir fertile. We besides cognize of that earlier a women's period, erstwhile she's had a driblet successful progesterone.

"That includes things for illustration chasing losses, spending much money than they want to spend, staying longer than they'd different determine to stay.

"They extremity up spending much money and making much risky choices astir gambling and not stopping astatine different points successful their cycle."

The kindness said its investigation task pinch nan University of Birmingham would return astir 4 years to complete.

"We're going to beryllium looking astatine women who travel into our curen centre successful Wolverhampton, truthful everyone who comes successful will person nan action to participate successful nan research," said Rosalind.

The Gambling Commission, which licences and regulates commercialized gambling, has said they are "always willing successful caller research" to "help pass our ongoing thrust to make gambling safer".

Researchers will besides research whether hormone-regulating medicine could thief pinch addiction.

"We person a mentation that women who are connected nan pill aliases who are connected hormone replacement therapy, because their hormones are astatine a much unchangeable level passim nan month, whitethorn beryllium little apt to acquisition these terrible gambling cravings," Rosalind added.

Kiki said she now recognised her triggers and her likelihood to bet during definite points of her menstrual cycle, and has a strategy for tackling them.

"For me, it's made a monolithic quality successful really I grip situations successful those peculiar weeks of my cycle," she said.

"I cognize I request to move emotion into myself nan week earlier my period, I cognize I person to usage my devices more, I person to beryllium astir different women successful recovery, I person to thin connected my group."

She is encouraging further investigation into women's wellness and addiction.

"I deliberation there's a hellhole of a batch much activity to beryllium done erstwhile it comes to your menstrual rhythm and addiction and really that tin correlate to making those bad decisions."