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Definition of Pathological Gambling
by Jerry "Jet"
Whittaker
Aug 8, 2006
Gambling Disorder
There are many sides to the topic of gambling. For some,
gambling is just a sport or a hobby. For others it is
even a way of earning money. However, there are many
people who get addicted to gambling. This is where the
whole trouble begins. Pathological gambling is a concept
connected to gambling addiction and to the negative
aspects of gambling.
Pathological Issues
So, what exactly does pathological gambling mean? To
define it precisely, pathological gambling is a disorder
related to gambling. The American Psychiatric
Association has explained pathological gambling as a
problem wherein an individual faces impulse control with
respect to gambling. It is a mental sickness that
becomes progressive and chronic. Pathological gambling
can be observed to a great extent among gamblers.
According to the statistics, approximately 4-6% of the
gamblers suffer from this disorder. Also, youngsters
suffer from this disease the most. They are about three
times more prone to it than adults.
With several modifications, the most recent definition
if pathological gambling, has changed slightly. If the
individual shows a constant or repeated maladaptive
gambling behavior then he is said to suffer from
pathological gambling. There are about 4-5 main factors
that determine that an individual has been adversely
affected by gambling. The major factors are as follows:
1)
An
individual constantly thinks about gambling games and
his gambling experiences. They may either be past or
present experiences. They also tend to fantasize future
gambling experiences.
2)
If the
individual has to discontinue gambling or decrease its
frequency he becomes very irritable, restless and
frustrated.
3)
Yet another
symptom of pathological gambling is that the individual
gambles in order to escape from his problems. To escape
from his personal or professional tensions, he finds
solace in gambling.
4)
Gamblers
lose huge amounts of money. To retrieve this lost money,
they gamble even more. This is a vicious cycle that the
individuals find themselves in very often.
5)
Individuals
face severe personal and professional upheavals due to
their constant gambling. Broken families and homes and
low productivity at work are some of the major
consequences of such problem gambling.
6)
Very often
individuals indulge in illegal acts of gambling to try
and win as much money as possible.
All these signs portray the aspect of
pathological
gambling very clearly. As the number of people
indulging in gambling increases, pathological gambling
has also seen an upward trend.
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