Gambling Addiction

Will Set a budget for how much you will spend in one session and in one week.Limit the time you will spend gambling. Keep a daily diary to record your gambling. Use a notebook to record the amount of time gambling, number of occasions, wins and losses.Debt or other financial problems. Relationship problems – arguments, disagreements or loss of connection with friends and family,Loss of a job or problems at work due to lack of motivation, absences, inability to concentrate on work, Mental and emotional health concerns – increased stress, depression, panic attacks. Negative impacts on family, especially children – may start getting in the way of being a good parent. Loss of control – gambling can be addictive and starts to take over, it can be hard to stop even when you know it is causing you and your family harm. It can be hard to know if your gambling is getting out of control. A common reaction is to minimise, hide or deny gambling problems and the harm it could be causing. Some people will lie to themselves and others about how much money or time is being spent on gambling. If you suspect you may be developing a gambling addiction, or if you recognise risk in someone you love, get help immediately. Spend more money and time than you intend to gambling, Feel guilty and ashamed about your gambling, Try to win back your losses, Miss important things in life such as family time,

Finically this can destroys lives, result in depression, suicided fatal to those who cannot or refuse to find help due to lack of services in local area, also un-responsible people who serve in gambling areas, or events who neglect to follow procedures or polices on offering help or information where to find it can lead to distress families, as before other health related issues such alcohol, drug abuse lead to physical abuse from lending money, this all down to RESPONSIBLE SERICE OF GAMBLING, we all must follow our training, keep up to date on procedures and new laws and

“Current estimates suggest that three percent of the adult population will experience a serious problem with gambling that will result in significant debt, family disruption, job losses, criminal activity or suicide. Pathological gambling affects the gamblers, their families, their employers and the community. As the gamblers go through the phases of their addiction, they spend less

Gambling addiction also know as compulsive gambling is a type of impulse control disorder. (Healthyplace.com, 2008) It is a progressive disease that can wreck havoc on relationships, work, and finances.

Gambling can be done at a casino, racetrack, or online. Compulsive gambling addiction can lead to criminal behaviors. There are several phases in gambling. The winning phase lead gamblers to win several winnings, which leads them to believe that they will keep winning. The loosing phase often begins with bragging about their past wins and start gambling alone and begin to borrow money. The loosing phase leads to debts. The desperation phase can lead to suicidal thoughts, arrests, divorce and alcohol and drug abuse.

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).

There are many different forms of gambling. Whether one is betting on a lottery ticket, a horse race, a sports game, or slot machines, to name a few, they are spending money with unfavourable odds of winning that money back. Many people cannot control when they walk away from gambling, as they will continue to bet in an attempt to win back the lost money. The issue is - for the most part - that the losses continue to increase. In Victoria, in the fiscal year of 2000-01, gamblers lost a total of $14.38 billion, including $2.36 billion on the leading cause of losses, poker machines (11). This can result in problem gambling. Based on different surveys in Canada, it is estimated that approximately 1 in 20 Canadians either have a gambling problem, or are at serious risk of obtaining one. 1 in 20 Canadians adds up to 760,800 problem gamblers (12). In the US, an estimated 3 million people are problem gamblers, and another 15 million are at risk of developing gambling problems (13). Problem gambling would not be as severe of an issue if it only harmed the gambler themselves, as it is their choice to gamble and displays a only a lack of self control. The issue is that people are indirectly affected by problem gambling. It can result in problems with personal relationships, neglect of ones family, bankruptcy, and stress related disorders such as depression, or insomnia (14). Problem gambling also has a positive correlation with crime. This means that the more problem gamblers there are, the more crimes are being committed. Statistics from a published survey show that only 3.3% of responsible, low frequency gamblers have been convicted of committing a crime, while a staggering 28.3% of problem gamblers have been convicted at least once (15). These numbers show that problem gamblers do not only harm themselves, but the consequences have a continuous ripple effect,

The excitement and risk taking associated with gambling is what gets the adrenaline pumping and stimulates the brain into wanting more. Hence, why gambling and betting on the lottery can lead to addiction in some cases. Other addictions associated with alcohol and drugs have similar effects to a gambling addict. Both addicts are vulnerable to lose themselves by the constant urge and desire to have the adrenaline rush from the substance. Regardless of what harm can come from alcohol, tobacco, or gambling it depends on the individual and how they respond to the

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?”

Data also indicates high levels of suicidality, with 25% of pathological gamblers in England reporting a suicide attempt in their lifetime, and 20% describing past-year ideation [4]. Adverse consequences extend beyond the individual, and include impacts on families through debt, relationship dysfunction [9] and domestic violence (DV). A recent evidence synthesis [10] suggests 37% of pathological gamblers report DV perpetration (38% report victimisation), and rates of gambling disorders in perpetrator samples that are also high (11%). In the UK, gambling problems predict overuse of NHS services including primary care (2-fold increase relative to no problems), hospital inpatient care (5-fold increase), and psychological counselling (8-fold increase) [4]. Notwithstanding these public health impacts, and overrepresentation in health care services, there is limited awareness of gambling problems and low levels of identification in these contexts. In the context of increased gambling participation and public health consequences [11], [12], there is strong need for initiatives to minimise excessive gambling and related harms. These initiatives include provision of psychological treatments with demonstrated efficacy

In 2011, Nady el-Guebaly, Tanya Mudry, Joseph Zohar, Hermano Tavares, and Marc Potenza aimed to use DSM-V to describe an emerging focus on addiction and compulsion factors in the research of pathological gambling (PG). They examined the possible overlying of addiction and compulsivity relative to PG, substance use disorders (SUDs), and obsessive compulsive disorders (OCD), and treatment suggestions. To collect data, they conducted a meticulous literature review of existing evidence for the recommended reclassification of pathological gambling as an addiction. From their results, it was concluded that PG is more like SUDs than OCD. Also, although addictions and OCD share certain similarities, they are neurobiologically different, have lower comorbidity frequencies, and responds differently to treatments. Regarding recognized behavioral addictions, pathological gambling seems to be the only disorder with sufficient evidence for it to be progressed into classifying as an

     Gambling addiction is an issue found in numerous areas where gambling is legal. People who are addicted to gambling, also know as problem gamblers, face many health risks including depression, suicidal thoughts, loss of sleep, loss of appetite, migraine and anxiety in addition to marriage breakdown, problems at work and bankruptcy (9). About 2 percent of adults are thought to be problem gamblers (1). In today’s society this costly addiction is not often considered to be a common problem among those who gamble. Only a small amount of states in the U.S. give enough attention toward this rising problem of people that are sometimes even willing to commit crimes just to aid their addiction. In the past our

Compulsive gambling is a disease among many people. "The American Psychiatric Association classifies compulsive gambling as an impulse-control disorder." (MayoClinic) Which means compulsive gamblers are people who cannot control the urge gambling. They don't set spending limits and don't realize that they odds of winning are not in their favor

According to Fisher and Harrison (2013) and Custer and Milt (1985), gamblers can be categorized into six broad categories: professional, antisocial, casual social, heavy social, relief-and-escape, and compulsive; furthermore, professional and antisocial gamblers are relatively rare. When taken into context of compulsivity, loss of control, and abundance of negative consequences, I see the later three categories as presenting the most problems. The challenge is

Research suggests that for every problem gambler there are 10 to 17 people around him that will be negatively affected.[iv] Excessive spending on gambling can have serious consequences for the gambler's family. For the most part, bills and necessary expenses are not paid and the burden will fall onto the spouse or children.[v] There can also be a negative impact on the gamblers' work environment. If the gambler is not focused or absent from work, he may be fired which could add to his financial difficulty that started with his gambling habit. Crime is sometimes used to support gambling habits after bank accounts are exhausted.