March Madness is three weeks of wall-to-wall brackets, betting ads, and office pools — and for anyone in recovery, it can feel like the ground is shifting under your feet. We put together a guide to help you stay steady.
It covers five strategies that come from real recovery experience and solid research: mapping your triggers before the tournament starts, increasing your support (meetings, therapy, or tools like Hope AI), riding out urges instead of fighting them, protecting your finances, and telling someone what March means for you. Each one is something you can act on today.
The guide also walks you through free tools that can help right now — the Browser Shield to block gambling sites, the Urge Surfing Tool for when a craving hits, and Gambling Radar to get alerts before the next high-risk window arrives. Whether you're preparing ahead of time or reading this mid-tournament with your heart racing, there's something here for you.
You don't need to be perfect this month. You just need to not be alone.