Gambling Addiction

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.

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).

Based on information from the National Opinion Research Center (NORC), the National Gambling Impact Study Commission (NGISC) states that there are two and a half million individuals who fall into a state defined as a pathological gambler, another three million are considered problem gamblers, and roughly fifteen million more could be considered “at-risk” (NORC, 1999). A pathological gambler is one who has a severe uncontrollable urge to gamble despite harmful negative consequences or a desire to stop. This project proposes to address the need to keep a casino patron from developing a pathological or compulsive gambling problem. The project will entail investigating the driving factors for a person gambling themselves into problems and

According to the National Council on Problem Gambling, nearly 1.5 million Americans have experienced pathological gambling, which occurs when there is a dependence, harm, or lack of control over gambling habits (Samhsa). Samhsa goes on to explain that pathological gambling can be sparked by gambling as little as once a week. It may even derive by going as little as once a month, or once a week. Unfortunately, this is what transpired to Angie Bachmann, in Charles Duhigg’s Power of Habit. Mother of three and wife to a full-time working husband, Angie was frequently left in an empty home, with nothing to do. Spending her days watching game shows, such as: The Price is Right, Angie would often times find herself lonely and bored (Duhigg 246). Angie decided that if she got through the week without withering of boredom, then she would be rewarded with an excursion to the casino. The trips started off once a week with a few hours and a couple hundred dollars. Her addiction quickly jump started from once a week to three times a week. She was secretly attending the casino, spending a couple thousand, and playing multiple hands at once (Duhigg 247). Angie finally felt as if she had something to be proud of; she wasn’t just an orthodox, stay-at-home mom. The casino did as much as they could to make Angie feel special, almost like a celebrity. For instance, Angie would arrive at the casino in a limo, dine out in the buffet, and live lavishly in the casino suites. In another light, I

“We have all learned that addiction and mental illnesses are illnesses, and I think a lot of people overlook that it is a chemical imbalance; it’s like cancer, a sickness and people need to see that.” (Poppy Delevingne). Gambling an addiction that people harm controls. Addiction is a personal feeling of discomfort which becomes to act out no a signal to connect with others; Addiction is a relationship problem. Addiction affects people and serves their lives like Angie Bachmann and Rebecca. Angie was a mother of three daughters. Her youngest daughter started kindergarten, and the other was in middle school. Angie shouldn’t overcome her addiction to gambling. Angie was unsuccessful in finding a way to stop her gambling addiction while Rebecca found her way to recover. Rebecca felt her mistake in gambling does; she decided to change her life for the better Rebeca asked the pastor to let her work in the church in her spare time instead of gambling. It managed to change her life and the left gambling and became a member of the association.

For my Disorder paper topic, is it okay that I change my topic from learning disabilities to Pathological Gambling instead? I find the topic of Pathological Gambling more interesting and already have my three references for the topic. Plus, the disorder covers the subtopics we are supposed to answer.

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

Problem gambling, also known as ludomania or pathological gambling, is a multifactorial disease classified by the American Psychiatric Association (2013) as a non-substance related disorder which leads to clinically significant impairment to an individual’s social, psychological and biological wellbeing. Social gambling differs to problem gambling in that the risks taken remain within boundaries set by the individual and self-discipline is always maintained. Social gambling generally occurs while the individual is amongst friends and only occurs for a limited amount of time, solely for recreational purposes. Problem gambling however entails periods of manic episodes which occur over a minimum of twelve months in which an individual is at a

In the 2013 National Survey on Problem Gambling Services (NCPG), the total number of states reported funded problem gambling services increased from 37 in 2010 to 39 in 2013. $60.6 million was the total amount of public funding for problem services in the US. There were an estimated 5.77 compulsive gamblers in the US in need of a treatment program in 2012. 10,387 of them were treated in a state-funded problem gambling treatment programs. There were 34 states with active NCPG Chapters during the time the survey was conducted. Across all state, substance use disorder is estimated 3.6 times more common than gambling addiction. Based on the research from GamblingRecovery.Org (2016), around 80% of adults have participated in any activity concerning gambling. 2 or 3% out of these 80% have experienced a gambling problem. State agencies and NCPG Affiliates commonly supported services were helplines (87%; 56%), problem gambling awareness programs (85%; 91%) and problem gambling treatment (82%; 26%). According also to the result of the survey, there is a great disparity level between states in terms of problem gambling service investment and problem gambling treatment infrastructure. It is because of the lack of a clear relationship between the number of persons calling gambling helplines and receiving funded gambling treatments and programs.

Another possible treatment for compulsive gambling would be cognitive-behavioral therapy. Cognitive-behavioral therapy is a goal-oriented psychotherapy treatment. Cognitive-behavioral therapy is generally short term. The treatment takes a practical approach on problem-solving. Sylvain, Ladouceur, and Boisvert, (1997) studied the effects of cognitive behavioral therapy on compulsive gambling. The treatment consisted of four components which were: (a) cognitive correction of inaccurate perceptions about gambling, (b) problem solving training, (c) social skills training, and (d) relapse prevention. The sample consisted of 29 men who were considered to have a pathological gambling problem. The results showed changes in the treatment group when maintaining therapeutic gains. The findings of the study suggested highly significant changes in the treatment group on the entire outcome measures tested for, follow ups also showed maintenance of therapeutic gains (Sylvain et al., 1997). One positive of cognitive-behavioral therapy is that is considered just as helpful as medication. One drawback of this approach was the fact it was a short term treatment a long term treatment may have had more of significant impact on the abstinence of

One aspect common in most addictions and not in compulsive gambling is the presence of withdrawal. Some gamblers do claim they experience withdrawal symptoms. Rosenthal and Lesieur (1992) conducted a study on self-reported withdrawal symptoms of gambling. The study consisted of 222 participants. Sixty-five percent of participants reported experiencing at least one of the following: insomnia, headaches, upset stomach, loss of appetite, physical weakness, palpitations, shaking, cramps, difficulty breathing, sweats, and a chill or fever. Along with, 91% of participants claiming they experienced cravings (Rosenthal & Lesieur, 1992). Despite previous expectations none of the symptoms reported in the study corresponded with gender, type of gambling, extent of alcohol or drug use while gambling, of self-described alcoholism or drug addiction (Rosenthal & Lesieur, 1992).

Gambling disorder involves the urge to gamble continuously despite financial and social consequences or a desire to stop. It is seen as being out of control and dominating the person’s life. It is important to note that most gambling is not associated with a mental disorder as it is often a form of recreation in many cultures around the world. “Gambling can be defined as placing something of value at risk in the hopes of gaining something of greater value” (Potenza, 2008). Pathological gambling affects approximately between 0.1 percent and 2 percent of the population (Petry, 2016).

What is one of the most dangerous and addictive games that you are able to play? Well the answer to that question is gambling. Gambling is a gigantic problem not only in the United States, but also everywhere else in the world. In 2014 the United States, gambling industry ended being worth a total of 240 billion dollars. While gambling has major effects on many different issues, one of the largest issues is the effect it can have on families.

They speed up the action of the brain. They make people feel more alert, more confident and less tired.