Stop
Gambling
Problem gambling is
gambling behavior which causes disruptions in any major
area of life: psychological, physical, social or
vocational. While it may appear that addictions are
pleasure-seeking behaviors, the roots of addiction can
usually be traced to a wish to suppress or avoid some
kind of emotional pain. The term "addiction" used to be
exclusive to chemicals such as alcohol, drugs, or
nicotine. With recent research on the brain and its
processes, we now understand that many behaviors can
become as chemically addictive as a substance. Gambling
can be such an addiction. Problem gambling includes all
gambling behavior patterns that compromise, disrupt or
damage personal, family or career pursuits. The
essential features include increasing preoccupation with
gambling a need to bet more money more frequently
restlessness or irritability when attempting to
stop
"chasing" losses loss of control, manifested by
continuation of the gambling behavior in spite of
increasingly serious negative consequences in extreme
cases, financial ruin, legal problems, loss of career
and family, and even suicide.
Addictive gambling
According to the National Gambling Impact Commission,
the national lifetime gambling population is no less
than 1.2% of the total population (2.5 million). That
would make it twice as prevalent as cancer among
Americans. In mature gambling markets such as Nevada,
more than 5% of the population will develop some problem
with gambling, a prevalence rate about five times that
of schizophrenia and more than twice that of cocaine
addiction. Youth are more troubled and addicted than
adults. There is little logic in the gambling patterns
of the addict. Among the common elements relevant to all
gamblers irrespective of their subgroup are association
of gambling with "subjective excitement, dissociation,
and increased heart rate" often described as "equivalent
to a drug-induced 'high'.
Conclusion
Even if they acknowledge the reality that gambling has
led them into financial problems, they irrationally
believe that gambling will solve their problems
subjective allure of the addiction self-feeding nature
of the addictive cycle predisposition to magical
solutions that are central to the addiction experience.
The pace of gambling seems more important to the addict
than winning or losing. The British Royal Commission
stated that the temptation to bet excessive amounts of
money was induced by the odds of winning and by the pace
that bets were made for a particular game. Internet
gamblers may be more likely to have a serious gambling
problem. In a study of 389 people seeking care at a
health clinic, Internet gambling was reported by 31 of
the participants.
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