I Robbed Banks To Fuel My Gambling Addiction | John's Story

Описание: John Schmidt shares his incredible gambling addiction story

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Gambling addiction doesn’t just take money. It takes time, sleep, attention, self-respect, and eventually it can take your entire life off track. And when it gets severe, it doesn’t stay contained to casinos or apps. It spreads into your relationships, your work, your identity, and your decision-making.

Today’s guest is John Schmidt, Director of Youth Prevention Services for the Delaware Council on Gambling Problems. John shares the full story of how early exposure to gambling in childhood, sports betting as a way to bond with his dad, and the slow normalization of risk escalated into a full-blown addiction. What starts as habits and “homework” turns into obsession, chasing losses, and living inside gambling logic where every problem feels solvable with one more bet.

John breaks down how gambling addiction warps your thinking. The blaming. The excuses. The urgency. The cognitive distortions that make you feel like you’re one break away from being okay again. And how that mindset can push someone into choices they never believed they were capable of making.

John talks about how a major gambling debt in the mid-90s led him to plan and commit a bank robbery in 1996, how he ran, got caught, and served time in federal prison. And even after that, how addiction can pull you back in if nothing changes internally. He shares what it was like to return home, spiral again, and end up committing multiple robberies over time, leading to a massive prison sentence and years lost that he can never get back.

John explains how, in his words, he woke up day after day and didn’t change his life, until the consequences finally forced a turning point.

There are moments in this conversation that are uncomfortable, because they’re honest. The mania of a big win that immediately turns into bigger risk. The inability to stop even when the money is right there. The secrecy. The double life. The desperation. The way addiction can distort your character and turn you into someone you don’t recognize.

🙏🏻 Recovery Resources: https://odaatgamblingawareness.com/re...
👀 Do you have a gambling addiction? Watch this to find out:    • Do You Have A Gambling Addiction?  
1️⃣ First day trying to stop gambling? Start here:    • Your First 7 Days Quitting Gambling  
🧐 Recently Relapse? Watch This:    • 9 Steps To Stop Gambling Relapses  
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20 question quiz to determine if you have a gambling addiction (if you answer yes to 7 or more, you likely have a gambling problem)

1. Did you ever lose time from work or school due to gambling?
2. Has gambling ever made your home life unhappy?
3. Did gambling affect your reputation?
4. Have you ever felt remorse after gambling?
5. Did you ever gamble to get money with which to pay debts or otherwise solve
financial difficulties?
6. Did gambling cause a decrease in your ambition or efficiency?
7. After losing did you feel you must return as soon as possible and win back your
losses?
8. After a win did you have a strong urge to return and win more?
9. Did you often gamble until your last dollar was gone?
10. Did you ever borrow to finance your gambling?
11. Have you ever sold anything to finance gambling?
12. Were you reluctant to use "gambling money" for normal expenditures?
13. Did gambling make you careless of the welfare of yourself or your family?
14. Did you ever gamble longer than you had planned?
15. Have you ever gambled to escape worry or trouble?
16. Have you ever committed, or considered committing, an illegal act to finance
gambling?
17. Did gambling cause you to have difficulty in sleeping?
18. Do arguments, disappointments or frustrations create within you an urge to
gamble?
19. Did you ever have an urge to celebrate any good fortune by a few hours of
gambling?
20. Have you ever considered self destruction or suicide as a result of your gambling?

CHAPTERS:
0:00 - 1:15 Introducing John
1:15 - 9:57 Johns background early exposure
9:57 - 20:39 Losing time chasing action and the debt starts
20:39 - 21:04 Gamban message - Sponsored
21:04 - 30:45 1996 bank robbery running and federal prison
30:45 - 39:47 Release relapse Atlantic City and hiding the truth
39:47 - 55:29 The manic spiral big wins violence secrecy and laundering money
55:29 - 1:07:44 Getting caught sentencing and the turning point