Gambling and Mental Health: Anxiety, Depression, Crisis

Gambling harm and mental health problems feed each other. Gambling can bring shame, anxiety, sleeplessness and low mood, and people who are already anxious, depressed or lonely can use gambling to escape, which can deepen the problem. If you are struggling with either, you can get help for both, and the first step can be a call to a helpline, a doctor or a crisis line.

How gambling harm and mental health interact

The National Council on Problem Gambling describes problem gambling as an emotional problem with financial and other consequences. In severe cases it says problem gambling can lead to bankruptcy, legal trouble, the loss of a job or family, and suicidal thoughts. The American Psychiatric Association says people with gambling problems have an increased risk of suicide.

The links run both ways:

• Gambling can worsen mood. Losing money, hiding it, strain on relationships and shame all weigh on mental health.
• Low mood can drive gambling. One of the criteria clinicians use is gambling when feeling distressed, for example helpless, guilty, anxious or depressed. See Signs of Problem Gambling: What to Look For.
• Other conditions often come with it. The APA notes that medications may be used for co-occurring depression or anxiety, though there are no FDA-approved medications for gambling disorder itself.
• Money pressure adds stress. Debt is a heavy load by itself. See Gambling and Debt: Where to Get Money Help.

Correlation is not blame. Having depression or anxiety does not make gambling your fault, and gambling problems do not make you a bad person.

Warning signs

Pay attention to these in yourself or someone else:

• Persistent sadness, emptiness, or loss of interest in things you used to enjoy.
• Constant worry, panic, or a racing mind, especially about money.
• Sleeping much less or much more than usual.
• Withdrawing from people, or hiding.
• Irritability or anger that is out of character.
• Hopelessness: feeling that nothing will get better or that there is no way out.
• Talking about being a burden, feeling trapped, or having no reason to live.
• Giving away possessions, saying goodbye, or searching for ways to harm oneself.
• Using alcohol or drugs more.

The last four are warning signs of crisis. Act on them straight away.

Getting help

In a crisis (US). Call or text 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org. The lifeline says it is for anyone who needs emotional support, including people in emotional distress or struggling with mental health, and it also helps people who want to support a friend or loved one. Text and chat are available in Spanish.

Anywhere. If you might act on thoughts of harming yourself, call your local emergency number or go to the nearest emergency department. Do not wait until you are sure.

For gambling and money worry. Use the gambling helplines in the help box below and Gambling Helplines by Country (Checked Oct 2026). Say if you are feeling low or unsafe; they can talk about that too.

The SAMHSA National Helpline. In the US, SAMHSA's helpline gives free, confidential, 24/7 treatment referral and information for mental health and substance use. It is a referral service rather than counselling and is not specific to gambling.

Your doctor. Tell a GP or family doctor about your gambling and your mood. They can check for depression and anxiety, talk about treatment and refer you. In England the NHS has a page on getting urgent help for mental health.

A therapist. Cognitive behavioural therapy is the best-supported therapy for gambling problems and is also widely used for anxiety and depression. A therapist who understands both is ideal; ask when booking.

Crisis safety statement

If you are thinking about ending your life:

1. Tell someone now: a crisis line, an emergency service, a doctor or a person you trust.
2. Stay with another person or go where others are.
3. Put distance between yourself and anything you could use to harm yourself, or ask someone to hold it for you.
4. Remember that help is available, and that there are people whose job is to help with debt and loss, however large they feel.

You do not have to be sure you are in crisis to call.

Supporting someone in crisis

If you are worried about someone else:

• Ask directly and calmly if they are thinking about suicide. Use plain words.
• Listen without arguing or minimising, and without promising to keep it secret if their life is at risk.
• Don't leave them alone if you think they are in immediate danger. Call the local emergency number.
• In the US, call or text 988 with them or for advice about how to help. The lifeline supports people who want to support a loved one.
• Help them connect to a doctor, helpline or counsellor afterwards.
• Look after yourself. Supporting someone in crisis is exhausting. Lean on others, and see How to Help Someone With a Gambling Problem.

If someone has died by suicide after gambling harm, the NHS lists Gambling with Lives as a support service for people bereaved by gambling-related suicide.