Living with Addictions

We know that addictions can become an issue for any individual and it can impact the people closest to them. We’re committed to encouraging you to tell us if ever you’re going through this so we can explore anything we can do to support you.

Gambling can harm many aspects of a person’s life. It can cause problems with your relationships, your physical and mental health, and your finances.

Sometimes it can be hard for someone to recognise if gambling is causing them problems.

The NHS Addiction Support recommends answering the following set of questions which might help you realise you’re likely to be experiencing gambling-related harms.

Score 0 for each time you answer ‘never’
Score 1 for each time you answer ‘sometimes’
Score 2 for each time you answer ‘most of the time’
Score 3 for each time you answer ‘almost always’.

If your total score is then 8 or higher, you are likely to be experiencing gambling-related harms.

Do you bet more than you can afford to lose?
Do you need to gamble with larger amounts of money to get the same feeling?
Have you tried to win back money you have lost (chasing losses)?
Have you borrowed money or sold anything to get money to gamble?
Have you wondered whether you have a problem with gambling?
Has your gambling caused you any health problems, including feelings of stress or anxiety?
Have other people criticised your betting or told you that you had a problem with gambling (regardless of whether or not you thought it was true)?
Has your gambling caused any financial problems for you or your household?
Have you ever felt guilty about the way you gamble or what happens when you gamble?

We realise it can feel hard to ask for help for gambling problems. This may feel especially difficult if you also struggle with your mental health.

We now have some new functionality within our mobile banking app which can help you control your spending.

Once you are logged into the app:

Tap on More
Tap on Cards
Tap on the Triodos Visa debit card image with your name in capital letters
The next screen provides your Card settings options.
Tap on Card daily limits

Here you can change the limits for your Point of sale payments (eg, in shops); your Online payments (eg, when spending online); and your Cash withdrawals (eg, when withdrawing from an ATM)
- You can set all of these limits to be £0.00 or as low as you feel might help
- This might help you control your spending by having these limits in place
- You can also turn your Contactless payments off if that control might also help you.

If there is a particular time of day or particular days of the week that you know you most often spend money on gambling, it might help you to set your limits to £0.00 or to a low limit for those periods to act as a control on your own spending.

A spending or shopping addiction means someone feels an uncontrollable need to make purchases, regardless of the need for the items bought or the ability to afford them.

If this continues without any support or help it can lead to financial distress. It can also impact the individual’s personal relationships and overall mental and physical well-being. It is behaviour which often causes a cycle of moods, from initial feelings of euphoria or relief, but then giving way to feelings of guilt, anxiety or frustration.

If someone can recognise that they are going through this and can understand the symptoms and causes, they can seek support to find a path to recovery.

We realise it can feel hard to ask for help for spending or shopping problems. This may feel especially difficult if you also struggle with your mental health.

We now have some new functionality within our mobile banking app which can help you control your spending.

Once you are logged into the app:

Tap on More
Tap on Cards
Tap on the Triodos Visa debit card image with your name in capital letters
The next screen provides your Card settings options.
Tap on Card daily limits

Here you can change the limits for your Point of sale payments (eg, in shops); your Online payments (eg, when spending online); and your Cash withdrawals (eg, when withdrawing from an ATM)
- You can set all of these limits to be £0.00 or as low as you feel might help
- This might help you control your spending by having these limits in place
- You can also turn your Contactless payments off if that control might also help you.

Help with drug addiction

Frank
Provides friendly support and guidance across a wide range of drug related topics.
www.talktofrank.com
SMS number: 82111
Helpline: 0300 123 6600

Families Anonymous
Provides help for families of drug users on their website.
www.famanon.org.uk
Helpline: 0207 498 4680

UK Narcotics Anonymous
Provides an option of regular self-help meetings for addicts who have a desire to stop using and who wish to support each other in remaining drug-free.
www.ukna.org
Helpline: 0300 999 1212

OK Rehab
Provides focused support on offering addiction treatment options for all, no matter what the situation they may be facing right now.
www.okrehab.org
Helpline: 0800 326 5559

QUIT
Provides focused support on helping smokers to quit and for young people to never start.
www.quit.org.uk Email: [email protected]
Helpline: 0800 00 22 00

Help with alcohol addiction

Drinkaware
Provides information and tools to help people make better choices about their alcohol consumption.
www.drinkaware.co.uk
Email: [email protected]
Helpline: 0300 123 1110

AA (Alcoholics Annoymous)
A community of people who come together focused on staying sober and helping other people seeking help to stop drinking.
www.alcoholic-anonymous.org.uk
Email: [email protected]
Helpline: 0800 917 7650

Help with gambling addiction

GamCare
A leading provider of information, advice and support for anyone affected by gambling harms.
www.gamcare.org.uk
Helpline: 0808 8020 133

BeGambleAware
Helps people struggling with gambling and people who are worried about someone else’s gambling.
www.begambleaware.org
Helpline: 0808 8020 133

NHS
Help for problems with gambling - NHS (www.nhs.uk)

GamStop
A free online self-exclusion service. It helps you control your online gambling. Once registered you will be prevented from using gambling websites and apps run by companies licensed in Great Britain for a period of your choosing.
www.gamstop.co.uk

Gamban
Provides support to help people quit online gambling. It provides a gambling blocking service and also a series of tools to help you quit online gambling.
www.gamban.com

Help with spending or shopping addiction

UKRehab
Helps those struggling with addiction and their loved ones get the advice and support they need.
www.uk-rehab.com
Helpline: 0808 250 2626

UK Addiction Treatment Centres UKAT
A leading addiction treatment provider dedicated to empowering individuals on their journey to recovery.
www.ukat.co.uk
Helpline: 0808 258 1773

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Spending or Shopping Addiction

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