[beset7]

I came from the same background. Family (and personal) history of extreme addictive behavior. I'm still dealing with it w/r to my concerned family. The thing I realized a while ago is that if I am truly OK with my decisions around gambling, then there is nothing to be insecure about. My co-dependent relatives can bounce off the walls all they want. If their concerns put me off center and have me feeling embarrassed, guilty and ashamed, then I need to take a good moral inventory, examine my motivations and decide whether I am making good decisions. If I am, then I need to let go of my irrational attachment to what others think of me (which takes a lot of help for an obsessive person).

I, like one of the other posters in this thread, have an addictive personality and it affects ANYTHING i find interesting. This has allowed me to often get very good at doing very unhealthy things. So I have to constantly safeguard myself against myself but having people around me who love and support me and who aren't afraid to question me and help me get perspective on my own behavior. "Managing" an addictive personality takes support from like-minded people, a good spouse/girlfriend/whatever helps, and a willingness to always be open to question whatever I think the truth may actually be about my “self” and the world around me.

What a pain in the ass.