New Free Resource: Understanding the Gambling Cycle
- Kenneth Pecoraro
- Dec 15, 2025
- 2 min read
With Bonus Resource for Taking the Escalator Members...
At Taking the Escalator, we don’t create content just to fill space, we create it in response to real questions, real needs, and real requests.
Over the past several weeks, we’ve received multiple requests from clinicians and group facilitators asking for practical, engaging materials on gambling, While gambling-specific resources weren’t originally on the content calendar, the volume and quality of these requests made it clear that this was a topic worth addressing.
As a result, we are sharing a new free worksheet:
Understanding the Gambling Cycle
Compulsive gambling rarely happens “out of nowhere.”It tends to follow a predictable cycle involving triggers, thoughts, urges, behavior, short-term payoff, and long-term consequences.
This worksheet is designed to help individuals:
Recognize their personal gambling patterns
Understand where and how the cycle gains momentum
Learn that interruption and intervention is possible at every stage
Reduce shame by shifting from “what’s wrong with me?” to “what’s happening here?”
The earlier someone can intervene, the easier it usually is, but the worksheet also emphasizes that all hope is not lost once the cycle is already in motion. Later interventions may be more challenging, but they are still meaningful and effective.
Click below to download this free resource:
Bonus for Taking the Escalator Members: “Sure Thing” Icebreaker
For Taking the Escalator Members there is a bonus icebreaker worksheet tailored to the gambling theme but useful in any type of group scenario.:
“Sure Thing” — A Gambling Reframe Icebreaker
The phrase “It’s a sure thing” is one of the most dangerous ideas in gambling. This icebreaker flips that concept by inviting group members to identify real, reliable “sure things” in life — outside of gambling and substances.
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