McConville gives stark insight to gambling

Sean McMahon

The more we speak about mental health and gambling addiction, the more we remove the stigma - that’s according to former Armagh ace forward Oisin McConville. The double All Star was in town to give a talk at the Cavan Johnston Library last Tuesday night to coincide with World Mental Health Week.
Oisin revealed that while struggling with his gambling addiction, it was those who mattered most to him who he hurt most, including his brother and sister. It was also to them that he finally turned to in his darkest hour, when he broke down in front of them.
“I suppose from that moment my life started to get better,” he said.
“It was them I went to because, regardless of the acquaintances you have along the way or regardless of who you have trusted - the people whom you trust most will be your family,” Oisin said, speaking to The Anglo-Celt after the meeting. “They are the people who want the best for you. Whenever you want out of the addiction, you realise they are the people that are really going to help you.”
To highlight the extent of the problem of gambling, Oisin offered the startling statistic that for every eight people who start betting, one will become a compulsive gambler.
“When it becomes a habit, it is a very difficult one to shake,” he explains with first hand knowledge.
He said it took him considerable time to realise what addiction was, and its symptoms.
“We are very fast to put labels on things, whether you are an alcoholic, a drug addict or a compulsive gambler, it does not really matter – I think, if it is causing you problems in your life, it is time to address it. That is one thing that I would have picked up along the way.”

Liars
Oisin also informed his audience that compulsive gamblers are also compulsive liars.
“Those two things go hand in hand. One thing about gambling is that it is such a hidden addiction. I have spoke to families who maybe have lost their house, they hadn’t realised that a person in the family gambles it all. In that regard, it is probably the most dangerous of all addictions. It is so secretive and there are so many lies involved in it. It is something society as a whole will have to get to grips with. We know the dangers of alcohol and drugs, we have not really honed in on the whole gambling thing yet.”
When asked if he thought modern life had escalated mental health and addiction problems, Oisin agreed: “It seems to have, I can’t give a definitive answer as to whether it is or it isn’t. The mechanisms to deal with it have never been there in this country. I think we are getting there all the time. The more people we expose to addiction, the more problems we are going to have. That is where talks like tonight and education comes into play.
“Whether society is conducive or not, I think we are at a stage now, the stigma is starting to lift from it. In America, the stigma is completely gone from this sort of thing – we are playing catch-up in that regard. I think when we do get there, it will be a case of us having achieved something.”
Oisin told the audience that he has trained as an addiction counsellor to ensure he does not resume gambling.
“Not that I want to spend the rest of my life working as a counsellor, but it is another mechanism to learn about yourself. When you learn about yourself, you learn about your traits and also your strengths and weaknesses. As a result of that, it has really helped me, not only to stop gambling, but remain stopped.”