gambling addiction
Gambling Gambling addiction can be stressful both personally and financially. The risk of suicide among sufferers is high and addiction treatment is required.
What is gambling addiction?
Like drug or alcohol addiction, gambling addiction includes disorderly and problematic behavior. As such, it falls into the behavioral addiction category that has recently received more scientific attention in the addiction research industry. As of 2013, the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V) reclassified pathological gambling (which is similar to impulse control problems) as a gambling disorder. The changes made by the American Psychiatric Association (the organization responsible for the contents of the manual) were integral to the recognition of this behavior not as a coping mechanism, but as an addiction. Accordingly, gambling addiction is now defined as a core disorder, categorized by uncontrolled compulsions to gamble despite a range of negative consequences – from financial to personal problems.
For every dollar spent on gambling, there is a subsequent $3 in social and economic costs, such as increased crime, lost productivity or unemployment payments.
Not everyone who gambles becomes addicted. Similar to alcohol consumption, a small portion of people who engage in the behavior develop addiction. The National Center for Responsible Gaming estimates that up to 1.6% of American adults (nearly 4 million people) suffer from a gambling addiction. The center, founded by members of the gaming industry, estimates that 5 to 8 million Americans exhibit one or more of the DSM-V criteria for addiction.
Help abroad
Connect with a professional therapist and learn how you can create the life you want. 00201029275503
Symptoms of gambling addiction
People with gambling addiction may have started gambling as a benign diversion. However, when they start hiding or lying about their habit, this is a sign that they may have progressed to an addictive behavior. The lengths to which individuals go to keep their gaming secret (such as creating separate bank accounts to fund gambling) often makes it difficult for loved ones to recognize symptoms.
To be diagnosed with a gambling addiction, an individual must have exhibited at least four of the following symptoms in the past year:
Gambling with increasing amounts of money to achieve the desired result
Becoming agitated or irritable when trying to reduce or stop gambling
Trying to control, cut back, or stop gambling repeatedly without success
Thinking about gambling frequently (such as looking back on past experiences, planning the next visit, and thinking about ways to make money gambling)
Gambling when you feel bad
After losing money, spending more to make up for the losses (otherwise known as “chasing” your losses)
Lying about gambling activities
Endangering or losing an important relationship, job, or educational/professional opportunity due to gambling
Relying on others for help with financial problems caused by gambling
Other signs of a possible gambling addiction include gambling to escape your problems or to deal with feelings of anxiety, guilt or depression. Furthermore, stealing money from family or friends, or embezzling money from a job, is a clear red flag for addiction.
Effect of gambling on the brain
Gambling addiction alters the way the brain responds to certain stimuli (such as wins and losses) similar to the effects of some illegal substances. After a win, dopamine (a chemical released in the brain’s “reward” pathways) causes an individual to experience a fit of euphoria. Enjoying this feeling, the person may continue to gamble in hopes of winning and getting another dose of dopamine. Triggering this response repeatedly in a short period of time causes a tolerance to its effects. Over time, repeated exposure to dopamine impairs the reward response and the individual will feel the need to gamble more to get the same feeling.
Additionally, electric gaming machines (such as slot machines) can cause a dopamine response without anyone hitting the jackpot. Near errors (when the symbol is just above or below the jackpot line and appears to be closer to winning than it actually is) and false winnings (for example, when an individual bets $4 on the multi-line jackpot and wins $1) results in Same dopamine response as a real win. This can keep individuals playing despite losses for extended periods.
According to gambling addiction specialists, casino games are designed to lure customers into a “state of continuous and undiminished possibility that [can] outpace the limited reward of winning.” It is known that players spend more than 12 hours a day in the casino halls without windows and without clocks.
Gambling addiction statistics
20 percent
One in five (or 20%) adults with gambling addiction attempts suicide.4 million
About 4 million American adults are classified as pathological gamblers.10%
Less than 10% of gambling addicts receive treatment.
Gambling addiction and the elderly
By 2016, casino goers spent $37 billion a year on gambling – more than on sporting events, movie tickets and music purchases combined. For fixed-income individuals, usually seniors and people receiving government benefits, the losses associated with gambling can be devastating.
To prevent the development of gambling addiction, the American Psychiatric Association encourages families to talk with elderly members about reasonable amounts of time and money to be spent as well as set aside a fixed amount of money each month. It is important to discuss the warning signs of addiction and educate the whole family about the dangers of excessive gambling. Gambling should not be the only leisure time activity for elderly parents.
Take action and empower yourself
Call now to be in touch with a therapist from Future Hospital 00201029275503
gambling addiction treatment
So most people with addictions of any kind will need help to deal with their problem and quit smoking. Because addiction affects each person differently, there are many treatment methods available to help a person recover. Some treatment approaches include cognitive behavioral therapy, psychodynamic therapy, group therapy, and family therapy. Support groups for individuals and their families (such as Gamblers Anonymous and Gam-Anon) are also great peer support resources. Physical activity has also been shown to help those who recover. Other ways to relieve cravings for gambling include:
Avoid old triggers that make you want to gamble
Call a loved one or attend a peer support meeting
Get distracted by another activity
Postpone gambling until the craving subsides
Consider the consequences of gambling again
Find a healthy way to socialize to avoid isolation
Currently, there are no medications approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat gambling addiction. However, naltrexone (an opioid therapy) has been used with success in some patients to reduce addiction over time. Lithium (a mood stabilizer) and antidepressants may relieve other mental health problems such as depression, bipolar disorder, ADHD and chronic anxiety.
