Donna Z, 63, seemed to have it all. She is a mother of 5 and a grandmother of 7; she had been married for 36 years. But, Donna was missing something important. 
“I grew up as a lonely child… my parents always worked… and I am an only child…. I felt depressed as a child. At age 8 or 9 I tried to commit suicide. My father was having an affair… my mother a breakdown.”
“When I was 9, I was traumatized, and maybe molested by a construction worker… I never told my parents because I wasn’t supposed to be in that house… I still can’t remember the events, but I can remember screaming.”
“I have been in therapy a long time… but no one ever said I had a gambling problem…something set me up for this… As an adult, I started with church bingo, then we got the lottery. It was recreational and fun. A dollar a day wasn’t a problem. My husband hated gambling, but he was happy if I won.”
“Then the casinos came.” At first, “it didn’t appear there was a problem.” 
“My marriage started to deteriorate… my husband worked long hours and got involved in outside activities. The kids were growing up and out of the house. I got hypertension and stopped working. I was alone and started to go to the casino on the way to the beach or the way back.”
“When you go into a casino, you leave your problems at the door… but after you lose, you have your old problems and new ones. I also did a lot of shopping — before, while, and during my gambling. When I was gambling heavy, I was shopping heavy. I would buy things for everyone else… I would buy things I never used.” Donna didn’t want her husband to know about her mounting bills. “I had to juggle the mail and the bills all of the time.”
“Many times I went and just talked with people; I never even gambled. I made friends with other gamblers and watched them play. When I gambled, I gambled hearty…. I gambled with doctors, lawyers, priests and judges. For a 
time, my best friend was a slot machine. I stole checks from a neighbor and friend of 30 years, forged her name to support my addiction.”
“My shopping and gambling stopped about the same time–during 2001. I was arrested and
convicted; I served a 5 year probation period. I got treatment for gambling and depression. I have taken medication. The day I stopped gambling, I stopped shopping. Now, I can look and not buy.”
Donna has not gambled for 7 years. “It was very difficult to start all over again with nothing… I must say it’s a wonderful feeling to know there is help out there for this addiction and there is a much better life after gambling.”
Donna now dedicates herself to helping others with gambling problems.