Chapter 5 : Gambling And Other Modern Compulsions

In " The Neurology of Free Will," Charles Duhigg puts a special importance on habits –their inner working and how they can change. Duhigg describes how habits work through the cycle of cue, routine, and reward. Angie Bachmann from being a bored housewife to losing all her money through uncontrollable gambling.

There is no specific treatment option that is more beneficial. However, there are a variety of treatment options available for gambling addiction such as Gambler’s Anonymous, which is a support group and psychotherapy that involves cognitive behavioral therapy. Family therapy or group meetings with professional counselors can assist family members. In addition, there is the National Problem Gambling Helpline Network and Gamblers Anonymous that help love ones with their gambling problems (www.casino.org). The medication that is used to treat compulsive gambling is antidepressants and mood stabilizers (www.mayoclinic).

However, this claim is far from the truth. The addiction of gambling has lead researchers and psychologists to prove that money, is not the only reason people get hooked. According to Sevencounties.org, researchers have created four key components that have addressed why gambling has become an addiction throughout the human brain. The first component are the changes to the brain's cerebral cortex which are associated with impaired decision-making, impulsivity, and compulsivity. These changes make it more likely that someone may act on risky or unhealthy impulses, while also fighting the urge. Secondly, the brain’s reward system is being blocked by the addictive feeling of winning, therefore halting the ability to stop playing. This feeling also releases copious amounts of dopamine in which the brain will naturally request more of, until it is satisfied. Third, the brain’s reward system is also associated with memory and emotion. For example, card counters, receive the feeling of reward due to the ability to count cards in a manner that will make winning the hand easier and the probability higher, compared to an individual who is merely playing on luck. This in effect tells the individual’s brain that it is doing well in the memory stage, therefore releasing dopamine and continuing the second and third concept all over again. Lastly, addiction has a significant

It is important to know if there is a link between gambling disorders and substance use because it can assist in finding treatment that works more effectively for comorbidity of these disorders. It is also important to note that it could also help figure out the neurological explanation to addiction because drugs can change the shape and processes of a brain, and gambling is a form of addiction that does not. Pathological gambling and substance abuse/ dependence have similar classifications. This paper will provide evidence to answer the question “what is relationship between gambling disorders and substance use in adults?”

Although social and cultural factors are sometimes acknowledged within the field of neuroscience as contributing to addiction “the brain reward system” is the focus of the new approach to addiction.

While there are many myths about addiction we will only be looking at a few of them to establish if these myths are true or false. The number one assumption is that an addict can stop if they choose to. While a very small amount might be able to quit, research has shown that long term use of substances like nicotine, alcohol or other drugs alters the user’s chemistry in their brain, challenging the addicts’ self-control and resistance to the intense urge of whatever the addiction is to (drug, food, shopping, sex, video game).

In today's society, addiction is not viewed as brain disease. Many believe the act of taking illicit drugs or indulging in addictive behaviors, such as gambling, is a voluntary act. However, studies of the past few decades support the idea of addiction as brain disease. Unfortunately, this concept is still questioned because the behaviors of addiction have not yet been fully linked to neurobiology.

The harm principle states that the actions of individuals should only be limited to prevent harm to other individuals. The harm principle applies to Sarah Jones due to her negligence of her (3) minor children. Sarah had been a gambler for over three years, and that time she’s a slightly stressful situation into a major problem addiction. She began betting on bingo but soon that wasn’t a satisfying high any longer. So, Sarah started going to the casino’s. Gambling is an addiction for some, and for her, it was just that. For her to lose $85,000, and have to take out a second mortgage on her house; or to never be at home during the afternoon or evenings that's a serious problem. The fact that she is gone so often that her children aren't getting

A pathological addiction is a strong habit or compulsion that continues regardless of the obvious harmful consequences, like pathological gambling or PG. PG has gained increased global attention from clinicians and researchers over the past few decades, due to expanding gambling opportunities. About 0.2% to 5.3% of adults worldwide are affected by gambling disorders (Jazaeri & Habil, 2012). There are various distinct treatments that have been favorably evaluated, such as cognitive behavioral and brief treatment models and pharmacological interventions. Gambling disorders are comorbid, normally seen with other mental health and substance use disorders. As of today, many authors have noted that is

More recent research reports that combining the twelve step program with professional psychotherapy increases abstinence rates to between 27% and 39% (Russo et al., 1984; Lesieur and Blume, 1991). The added psychotherapy could improve attrition rates even further using ‘Motivation Enhancement Therapy’ (Miller and Rollnick, 1991), a directive form of counselling that sees the therapist engage with the client in unravelling their uncertainty around the changes that will occur during treatment. This might include, for example, anxiety regarding re-integrating into society when ones addiction has rendered them socially withdrawn. Hodgins, Currie, & el-Guebaly (2001) found that adding even just a phone call, in which a therapist applies this technique, to their on-going therapy can achieve a significant reduction in gambling over the following twelve months as compared to controls. Indeed, the main causal factor in the attrition rates for any therapy could be motivation – socially withdrawn or generally socially anxious gamblers may not feel comfortable undergoing therapy with a group of strangers, and we may be able to extrapolate from nicotine studies that suggest that greater anxiety can lead to greater withdrawal symptoms (Zvolensky et al., 2004), which, in turn, is associated with reduced motivation to quit (Piasecki, Fiore, & Baker,

There has been a strong demand for gambling in American, long before this country declared its independence. Playing cards were first introduced to the Native Americans by Spanish conquistadores and they subsequently made their own cards from tree bark. Likewise, card and dice games were popular among the settlers, but horse racing was arguably the most prominent form of gambling in the colonies. The first American race track was built in Long Island, NY in 1665 and many more emerged throughout the colonies, particularly southern colonies. Notably, some of our founding forefathers were fans of the sport, including George Washington who even documented his gambling wins and losses. This English tradition, dubbed the “sport of kings,” had

In 2013, the release of the updated Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) added gambling disorder to the category titled Substance-Related and Addictive Disorders. (The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 2013) In the previous edition of the DSM, gambling, along with other behavioral addictions were in the Impulse Control Disorders category of the DSM-III and DSM-IV (Clark, 2014). Behavioral Addictions are said to be around for hundreds of years. For example, gambling was part of daily life in ancient Greece. (Hekster, 2002). In the first edition of American Psychiatric Association in 1812, there was detailed mention of excessive sexual desire (Rush, 1812). Yet, behavioral

Addictions come in different forms for instance, there are behavioral addiction and substance addictions. Both of these addictions are similar and have some of the same results. For someone who has a substance addiction they can not control themselves from consuming whatever drug they are addicted to, if they did try and stop their body could relapse, or they become could become ill. Behavioral addictions in some cases can be just as severe. For instance Gambling is a behavior that can become very addictive, and lead to many problems if one lets it. Gambling is still a topic that has not been studied enough, the research available on it is very limited. However, when abused gambling is a serious behavioral addiction and the more research that

The debate on whether or not gambling should be regarded acceptable from a moral point of view has been ongoing for quite a while. However, one aspect of gambling that has been overlooked frequently has got to do with individual freedom. Ordinarily, people should have a right to choose whether or not to engage in gambling. Indeed, the freedom accorded to individuals to engage in activities of their choice as long as they do not interfere with the freedom of others can be regarded one of the key determinants of a truly free society.

There are several concerns regarding the ethics of gambling whether in an online setting or in a public setting. Gambling has many benefits for both gamblers and casinos, but it’s crucial to acknowledge the psychological repercussions of gambling as it isn’t always just “harmless fun.” We can consider the negative and positive implications of gambling on non-gamblers as well. However, how would ethical theories and perspectives differ in their approach to the effects of gambling? When people think of gambling, they usually see flashing Vegas casinos and large sums of cash. The gambling arena is much larger just as the significance of the effects gambling has on the casinos and people involved. Gambling addiction is a very prevalent factor