Index of contents
1.Important facts about gambling addiction
1.0.1.anxiety and restlessness
1.0.2.passivity and tolerance
1.0.3.feeling of withdrawal
1.0.4.they play to avoid
1.0.5.The recuperation
1.0.6.natural mythomaniacs
1.0.7.control is lost
1.0.8.Crimes or illegal acts
1.0.9.Relationships lose importance
1.0.10.they borrow
1.1.The biological bases and their relationship with other problems
1.1.1.Numbers and statistics on compulsive gambling
1.1.2.Assessing the problem and ways to deal with it
1.1.3.taddiction and culture
Gambling, also known as “pathological gambling”, is a disorder characterized mainly by totally uncontrolled behavior on the part of the sufferer in relation to both gambling and shopping. It is often seen, as in most cases of addiction, that the sufferer faces enormous denial and that he claims that he is only pursuing his fantasies of having a lot of money.
In addition to producing economic and family problems, gambling can lead the sufferer to suffer psychological disorders caused by the stress of losing and stoning all the existing money by virtue of the same addiction.
As we mentioned before, gamblers are those who are forced to play progressively and constantly by virtue of a psychological compulsion that becomes uncontrollable and forces them to repeat this behavior even knowing that it is wrong and that it can seriously harm them. It was previously treated as an “impulse control disorder”, but in recent years more specific studies have been carried out and it has been considered more appropriate to introduce it into the classification of “substance- related disorders and addictive disorders “.
Within the classification where pathological gambling is located, we also find other types of problems such as pyromania, kleptomania and trichotillomania. All these disorders have a similar diagnostic system and are considered a substance addiction problem where there is no external substance that is incorporated, only those that the body itself generates and produces this type of impulse control problems.
Among the fundamental characteristics of compulsive gamblingWe must begin by mentioning the enormous difficulty that people who suffer from it have in being able to control their impulses. Due to the latter, gamblers end up compulsively practicing and repeating certain activities, in this specific case gambling. In daily life, it affects practically all cases, not only because of the money that is stoned and causes serious problems in the economic situation of the person affected, but it also usually means a change in other aspects such as sexuality and even something as simple as diet. . Treating pathological gambling as a vice is not only a serious mistake, but it is downplaying something that is considered internationally as an addiction, also adopted by health organizations and clinics around the world.
Important facts about gambling addiction
- anxiety and restlessness
- passivity and tolerance
- feeling of withdrawal
- they play to avoid
- The recuperation
- natural mythomaniacs
- control is lost
- Crimes or illegal acts
- Relationships lose importance
- they borrow
- The biological bases and their relationship with other problems
- Numbers and statistics on compulsive gambling
- Assessing the problem and ways to deal with it
- addiction and culture
Important facts about gambling addiction
Several years ago, the American Psychiatric Society recognized pathological gambling as a mental health disorder, which led to the incorporation of this disease into all diagnostic manuals and health statistics worldwide. Previously it was considered a vice, but as we mentioned before, it is a serious mistake.
On many occasions, pathological gambling can be confused with manic episodes, but the truth is that it is a separate and independent pathology that must be treated with the seriousness that its severity deserves. In order for a person to be diagnosed as a gambler, it is essential that at least five of the symptoms that we will mention below be met:
anxiety and restlessness
The person who suffers from compulsive gambling often has thoughts directly related to the game. These can be linked to real events of the past or present or be based on some kind of internal fantasy created by the person in his own mind.
passivity and tolerance
At this point, pathological gambling works very similar to drug addiction , as time goes by, the gambler requires to make bets of more and more money in order to experience the emotion that he is looking for as the main objective of his addiction. .
feeling of withdrawal
Those who suffer from compulsive gambling will feel feelings of restlessness and even a lot of irritability when they spend a long time without playing. Again, this behavior can be easily linked to what happens in the case of drug-addicted subjects .
they play to avoid
Gamblers often take advantage of game situations to escape their reality and evade their problems, a very typical characteristic of those who suffer from impulse control disorders.
The recuperation
It is very common that those who suffer from a disorder related to gambling tend to seek revenge when they lose money, they will want to get it back no matter what and this will lead them to repeat their addictive behavior indefinitely .
natural mythomaniacs
In general, gamblers will look for all possible ways to hide certain amounts of money from their closest environment so that they do not know that they want to spend it on games of chance or bets. If they see that someone in their circle
control is lost
If the person tried by all possible means to avoid gambling or at least reduce the frequency with which this entertainment is accessed, it is very likely that we are dealing with a gambler and we have to take action on the matter as soon as possible.
Crimes or illegal acts
If the subject in question has violated the law at some point to pay the debts caused by the game or even to get money to invest in his addiction , we must be vigilant since it is one of the most important alarms in the diagnosis of the pathological gambling It definitely means that we are dealing with a person who cannot control her impulse and is desperate.
Relationships lose importance
If we see that a person puts all their personal relationships at risk in order not to lose the chance to play, again we may be dealing with a gambling addict. Even on many occasions the gambler is not even afraid of losing his job as long as he can play and satisfy his impulses.
they borrow
Gamblers often turn to anyone to ask for money to allocate to their addiction. If we notice that someone in our environment is asking for loans very often, we must observe carefully.
The biological bases and their relationship with other problems
Recent studies carried out by scientists specialized in the subject have shown that gambling addiction is an addiction that works in a similar way to chemicals. Many of the pathological gamblers demonstrated lower levels of norepinephrine, a substance that the body usually releases in situations of stress and threat, so those who suffer from this disorder usually go to the game to generate the release of this element in the body and raise their levels.
Another type of study in which certain people were subjected to situations inside a place that simulated being a casino led to the conclusion that the brain activity that is generated in the gaming situation, especially in stimulating places such as casinos, is very similar to what can be seen in a cocaine addict when taking a dose.
On the other hand, a low level of serotonin can also generate compulsive-type behavior, thus leading a subject to become a gambler, among the many impulse control disorders that exist and that we have mentioned before.
Gambling, like all physical or psychological disorders that a person may suffer, has certain consequences that negatively affect the person who suffers from it. Among them, depression, anxiety , heart problems due to stress are very common, and it is even very common to find gamblers with suicidal tendencies.
Numbers and statistics on compulsive gambling
According to surveys and statistical centers, pathological gambling and its prevalence have affected around 2% of the population. Although the number may seem small, it affects millions of people around the world. One of the countries with the highest rate of gamblers is Spain. On the other hand, compulsive gambling is much more prevalent in spread bets than in fixed bets.
Taking into account the scientific knowledge that is available to date, everything would seem to indicate that pathological gambling is a disorder that goes from within and that those who suffer from it can end up risking absolutely everything they have in any type of game they play. within reach, without making differences. Although they are not usually selective, it can be noted that games that have a rapid development are chosen primarily, such as slot machines or even roulette, gamblers usually seek the experience that stimulates them in the shortest possible time, which is why they choose those games that have a progressive and slow development such as poker or blackjack. Besides,
According to Henry Lesieur, a psychologist specializing in the treatment of pathological gambling, around 30% of the economic benefits generated by casino machines come from people who suffer from compulsive gambling . On the other hand, a recent study carried out in Spain has shown that around 76% of the money generated in slot machines in bars or places of passage comes from subjects with this disorder to a lesser or greater extent .
Assessing the problem and ways to deal with it
One of the most common and effective ways to detect a person with possible gambling behaviors is through the “South Oaks Gambling Screen” test. Although it has been a highly criticized method due to the large number of false positives that have resulted from it, it continues to be one of the few specific techniques for detecting this psychological disorder.
Once the problem has been correctly detected and we are certain that a subject suffers from compulsive gambling, there are a large number of alternatives to treat this disorder. From medication, self-help groups to behavioral therapy to modify behavioral impulses. We will review each of them below.
anonymous gamblers
Those who know the group “Alcoholics Anonymous” can easily understand how this treatment works. It is a model of 12 steps in total that places a lot of emphasis on helping each other in the group, mutual check-ins and emotional support.
Cognitive and behavioral therapy
There is a type of psychological therapy that is highly recommended to treat impulse control disorders and even some chemical addictions. Cognitive-behavioral therapy is very effective in helping to reduce the symptoms that surround this disease, in addition to learning to control the feeling of urgency that causes a gambler to fall into temptation. On the other hand, it is also emphasized that the patient can identify those mental processes that lead him to play, to increase awareness and reduce the subject’s vulnerability to the need to repeat the behavior that is sought to be eliminated.
Medication
Paroxytone is a drug that seems to be efficient in the treatment of compulsive gambling. Lithium has also shown in recent studies to be highly effective in controlling this problem. Although many believe that this is the final solution, there is still no final ruling on the subject.
addiction and culture
Gambling is a psychological disorder that in many cases is not treated as such, it is very easy to see this type of simplification on the subject within Western culture when turning on the television or even when going to see a play. This can lead to a naturalization of a disease that must be taken seriously, which is why it is essential to avoid trivializing the issue in this way. Let’s see some examples:
Gambling in fiction
Some television series such as the popular “How I Met your mother” allude to gambling normally and even branding this problem as something nice and almost socially acceptable. On the other hand, within the popular series “The Simpsons” there are some episodes where you can see the woman, “Marge Simpson”, suffer from certain mental illnesses, including gambling. In this case, she is taken for what she should be and it is notorious how she is given the connotation of a mental disorder, a label that she fully corresponds to.
Gambling in art
Within the artistic and theatrical environment, compulsive gambling has been seen as the protagonist on several occasions. Going more towards the classic, Dostoevsky wrote a well-known work called “The Player” where the subject is discussed and you can see a person constantly acting as a gambler, making it clear what the symptoms and evidence of this addiction are.
Gambler in psychology
Finally, Sigmund Freud did not want to leave out this very important psychological disorder and wrote numerous essays on the subject, including one alluding to the work that we mentioned in the previous topic, “The Player” by Dostoevsky.