If you love someone who has a gambling disorder, then you are no stranger to secrecy, lying, reckless borrowing, unpaid bills, and broken promises. It's time to get help. Start with a professional counselor and step one - support for yourself and the isolation you feel. Next steps: work on change, intervention, and taking actions that can motivate the gambler to enter proper treatment. Loved ones of problem gamblers experience anxiety in the same way that other people do who are in relationships with addicts. Coping fails to help and can make problems worse. Compulsive gambling is a mental disorder, not a willpower failing that resolves itself with a crisis that inspires motivation to quit "this time forever." Talk to your EAP or a mental health professional to help locating an expert who understands gambling disorders and helping the family. In Alabama, free in-patient treatment for gambling addiction is available.