Medically reviewed:06/22/2018
Last updated: 04/17/2020 Author: Addictions.com Medical Review Diamond games to play.
Reading Time: 7minutes
What is Gambling Addiction?
A new understanding of compulsive gambling has helped scientists redefine addiction itself, according to the Scientific American article “How the Brain Gets Addicted to Gambling.” Experts used to think of addiction as dependency on a chemical, but they now define it as repeatedly pursuing a rewarding experience despite serious repercussions. For those who fill an emotional need or seek euphoria through gambling, a lot of help is necessary to overcome the driving need to gamble. Helping a true gambling addict to recognize they have a severe problem is the first step towards gambling addiction recovery, but they will need ongoing support to make it to the other side. The standard treatment for gambling addiction, says Berlin, is cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), in which a therapist and addict work one-on-one to change the gambler’s destructive behaviour.
Gambling addiction or gambling disorder is defined as persistent and recurring problematic gambling behavior that causes distress and impairs your overall livelihood. Gambling addiction affects roughly 0.2% to 0.3% of the general U.S. population, and tends to affects males more than females, though this gender gap has narrowed in recent years. Gambling disorder is a behavioral addiction that can be effectively treated using a range of cognitive and behavioral therapies.
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The desire to buy scratch tickets, play slot machines, and visit casinos aren’t necessarily signs of gambling addiction. But when the desire to gamble becomes overwhelming to the point you can’t stop thinking about it until you gamble on something, may be a sign you need help. Those who suffer from gambling addiction will continue to gamble despite negative financial, legal, and social consequences.
Gambling disorder is a brain disease that can cause you to do things you wouldn’t normally do if you weren’t suffering from addiction. Behavioral addictions like gambling disorder are often difficult to manage and control without getting professional help. Addiction treatment centers can help you overcome gambling addiction and teach you important skills aimed at helping you repair problems in your life caused by your disorder.
What are the Signs and Symptoms of Gambling Addiction?
There are no physical health symptoms associated with gambling disorder. Familiarizing yourself with common gambling addiction behaviors can clue you into whether you or a loved one may need professional help.
Chasing after losses is the most common tell-tale sign of gambling disorder. This particular symptom is marked by the urgent need to continue gambling to earn back a loss or series of losses. Individuals diagnosed with gambling disorder may abandon their usual gambling strategies to win back all losses at once and may lie to family, friends, and therapists to hide the severity of their addiction.
The following behaviors are potential signs of gambling addiction:
Those with a mild gambling addiction may exhibit between four and five of these behaviors, while those with a moderately severe gambling addiction may exhibit six to seven of these behaviors. People who suffer from severe gambling addiction will usually exhibit all nine behaviors. Sky vegas casino. Moderate to severe cases of gambling disorder tend to be more common than mild cases.
If you or someone you love is addicted, call our helpline toll-free at 800-926-9037 to speak with a caring treatment specialist that can help you get sober. Who Answers?
You might have a gambling problem if:How To Quit Gambling Addiction
Negative Effects of Gambling Addiction
Gambling addiction can produce many more negative effects than just financial hardship. Gambling disorder can affect your physical health, mental health, and social functioning, and lead to the loss of important relationships with friends and loved ones. You may also suffer a decline in work or school performance, and feel more restless and bored with all other areas of life that don’t involve gambling.
Those who suffer from gambling addiction tend to suffer from higher rates of poor general health than those who don’t gamble. Tachycardia and angina are common health problems among those diagnosed with gambling addiction. Many who suffer from gambling disorder also tend to experience distortions in thinking surrounding their addiction, such as superstitions, overconfidence, and a sense of power over the outcome of chance events. Nearly 50% of those receiving treatment for gambling disorder experience suicidal ideation, while an estimated 17% have tried to commit suicide.
The negative effects of problem gambling include:
How Does Gambling Addiction Interact with Addiction?
Alcohol and cocaine are the two most common substances associated with gambling and binge gambling, respectively. Alcohol is legally available in most gambling settings such as bars and casinos and is often rewarded to gamblers for free at many of these establishments. Roughly 44% of people with gambling disorder in the U.S. also suffer from an alcohol use disorder.
Binge gambling is defined as intermittent episodes of uncontrolled gambling after long periods of abstinence. For instance, a person who practices binge gambling may only visit the casino five times per year but gamble non-stop for long periods during their stay. Cocaine use tends to be common among these gamblers since it produces stimulating effects of increased energy, alertness, focus, concentration, and confidence.
Individuals with gambling disorders tend to suffer higher rates of co-occurring alcohol and drug use disorders compared to their peers. Gambling often takes place in environments that enable and encourage alcohol and drug use. Gambling can also trigger mental health conditions like anxiety and depression, which many may self-treat using alcohol and drugs like marijuana, painkillers, and other addictive substances.
How Are Gambling Addiction and Substance Use Treated?
Gambling addiction is commonly treated using cognitive and behavioral therapies that treat the root psychological causes of your addiction. These therapies also help you identify and change negative, unhealthy thoughts and behaviors that may have led to your gambling addiction. Treatments for gambling addiction can be tailored especially for you or your loved one based on the factors surrounding your disorder.
Gambling addiction can also be treated using community reinforcement, group therapy, and 12-step support groups like Gamblers Anonymous. These treatments help you identify your triggers that can lead to gambling and teach you ways to overcome and manage those triggers. For instance, if a stressful day at work usually makes you feel like gambling, you may learn yoga, deep breathing, or other healthy methods that relieve stress without putting your health and well-being at risk.
Gambling Addiction Help
If you or someone you love needs treatment for gambling addiction, it’s important that you use a treatment approach that best suits your recovery needs. Gambling addiction treatment is available in many different settings, including inpatient and outpatient treatment settings.
If you or someone you love is addicted, call our helpline toll-free at 800-926-9037 to speak with a caring treatment specialist that can help you get sober. Who Answers?
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Inpatient gambling addiction treatment can greatly benefit those who suffer from severe gambling disorder, and who have suffered severe financial, legal, or social problems. Inpatient treatment includes around-the-clock supervision in a hospital-like setting where you can live for the duration of your treatment program. The intense level of therapy, counseling, and supervision provided by inpatient treatment centers can help significantly reduce the risk of relapse while in recovery.
Compulsive gamblers often need support from friends, family members, and peers to help them stop gambling. Gamblers Anonymous groups can provide peer and social support for those in recovery or for those who wish they can stop gambling. These groups can provide a solid, healthy foundation for a successful and long-term recovery from gambling addiction.
Here’s how to help a family member or loved one suffering from a gambling addiction:How To Beat Gambling Addiction
My name is Guy, and I’ve had a gambling problem for over 20 years. My best friend just chronicled by plight in a book called Inside the Mind of a Gambler. I wouldn’t let him use my real name because I want to keep my anonymity.
I’ve been gambling for about 20 years and have spent in the region of 100,000 pounds and raked up some serious debt problems, been bankrupt and suicidal. I have also had relationships break down due to the debt I was in.
For me, it all started in my early 20s when I won 100 pounds on a lottery scratch card. This opened the door to me exploring the bookies and playing on the machines in the shops. I used to go to the bookies on almost a daily basis with a mate of mine who also gambled. I had some decent wins, but overall it has cost me dearly. What the average person doesn’t realize is that gambling is an illness and if you’re an addict, it’s like taking crack cocaine — except that you’re hooked on betting. Just like drugs, it’s also very difficult to stop.
People think you gamble to win money, but it’s not always the case. As a pathological gambler you don’t value money like the normal person — it doesn’t really mean anything to you. It’s purely something that enables you to keep playing. The gambler is more than likely either betting to escape his or her problems or betting as an “action gambler” with friends (a social aspect). The problem is that as a pathological gambler, I would gamble to escape my depression and anxiety, hoping for the big win. It’s a process; you win, you spend and you lose.
How did I quit? I had to take some radical steps: self-excluding from shops, closing online accounts, controlling my time. I spoke to GamCare on several occasions, which also helped me to quit because they give you tools to help change your thought process. For example, if I thought, “I feel like going to the casino and spending 1,000 pounds in the hopes of winning 10,000,” they would help to change my focus to what I could potentially lose and how that would impact my life. They helped me to focus on the positive things in my life. The key for me was to change my lifestyle, such as spending my time playing sports, keeping busy with work and not going near betting shops. You have to be prepared to make a radical shift in your daily activities, thoughts and focus.
Stephen Renwick writes in Inside the Mind of a Gambler that a gambler has to want to stop, which then makes it possible to curb the addiction. If you don’t really want to quit, you will no doubt fail. I would suggest reading my story in the book and then take stock of your life to see if you are heading down the same road. If you are, I suggest taking a different path in life before it’s too late. Once you’ve read my story, (Guy), look at the advice on how to quit and try to implement some of the ideas. You have to remember that gambling addiction is like taking a drug that will eventually destroy your life. No down load casino.
I wish you all the best in quitting your gambling problem.
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