[Rek]

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I should make it clear that I don't feel addicted to poker or gambling in any way. I feel like I could quit the game as a whole if a really pressing matter required me to.

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You mean in the same way an alcoholic can give up drink if they really wanted to. Be careful – it is not until you can admit you have a problem that you can then deal with it.

I don’t know you so perhaps you don’t have an addiction here but it does sound a possibility.

In general, people of your age need more sleep than you are getting. However, everybody is different and perhaps you are an exception and don’t need as much sleep. It sometimes feels that people are forcing themselves into a certain hourly night sleep pattern. My mother for instance (and yes, I know you need less sleep as you get older) worries constantly that she wakes in the early hours and then can’t get back to sleep. She lies there fretting about it until “it is time to get up”. I just tell her that if she is not tired then get up and do something. It is not as if the lack of sleep catches up with her. She just doesn’t need it to function fully. Other people may need 9 hours a night.