By Joe Mansfield.
TIME to Talk Day is about starting conversations about our mental health, the story of Scott Baldwin and his gambling addiction serves as a great reminder that it is important to talk about our problems.
The Harlequins hooker and ex-Wales international spoke to the Tee and Eggs podcast in December and urged anybody struggling with addiction to speak to somebody.
In this week's edition we chat to @scottbaldwin2. We're sure you'll enjoy this one! Thanks for your time Scott đź‘Ťhttps://t.co/Z7QdEo4CVs
— The Tee & Eggs Podcast (@eggs_tee) December 14, 2020
Now fully recovered from his addiction, the front-row forward has been helping others to rehabilitate and had this message for people who are battling addiction:
“Don’t be afraid to tell people.
“I think that was my biggest mistake was feeling ashamed I suppose is the right word. Yes you’ve made a mistake but ultimately it’s not the end of the world.
“If you tell someone then it can get better and it’s the day that you admit that you have an issue, I think is when you can start to get a nice breath of fresh air and go out for a walk and your mind is just a lot freer.
“You can focus on what you need to focus on to get better. Until that point you just won’t, you’ll be in denial and it’s not a good place to be.”
Baldwin started betting for “a bit of fun and time-keeping” but it became a problem when he spent time in his hotel room in Italy while on loan at ASR Milano in 2011.
The 31-year-olds addiction peaked when he reached the international stage as he struggled to cope with the new-found wealth.
“When you get to the international stage you get paid well for that and you’ve gone from earning maybe a couple of thousand pounds a month, to having 30-40 grand put in your bank account at the end of a campaign.
“It doesn’t seem real when you’re doing it online. It’s strange because I would never do it in a Casino, it was always just online with roulette, which is quite weird when I look back now.
“It’s quite strange, it’s a machine it’s always going to win.”
If you are reading this and think that you might have a problem, read the advice on the GambleAware website.
Gambling addiction is not uncommon with a study funded by Gamble Aware finding that up to 2.7% or 1.4 million adults in the UK fall into the problem gambler category.
Research carried about by YouGov found that around 5 million people have been harmed by gambling through their habit and people they affect.