Pathological Gambling Substance Abuse

Up to 90% of adults in Australia have gambled at some point in their life.more statistics The promises made, were lies, and the same errors relapsed over and over again.We will be waiting when you can tell yourself there’s so much more to life than just gambling.We will be waiting for you gamblers to take a step back and think about the love ones whom you are destroying, but when will this happen? and will it not re- occur?. We now so well the difficulties in limiting money and/or time spent on gambling, which leads to adverse consequences for the gambler, their family or friends and for the community. The latest research suggests that about one per cent of the population has a gambling problem. These ranges from increasing levels of debt,

“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

“As we go through the day we pause, when agitated or doubtful, and ask for the right thought or action. We constantly remind ourselves we are no longer running the show, humbly saying to ourselves many times each day ‘Thy will be done.’ We are then in much less danger of excitement, fear, anger, worry, self-pity, or foolish decisions. We become much more efficient. We do not tire so easily, for we are not burning up energy foolishly as we did when we were trying to arrange life to suit ourselves” – Alcohol Anonymous. Alcohol and gambling are two addictions that impair an individual judgment, decision making, learning and memory, and behavior control. Moreover, the focus of this paper will explore the two different types of meetings I attended and then compare and contrast both.

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

The current analysis included 4121 individuals whose data was collected via the Quinte Longitudinal Study (QLS) over a period of five years (2006-2011) (Williams et al., 2015). The QLS gained ethics approval from the Human Subject Research Committee at the University of Lethbridge and was conducted with the purpose of furthering research and understanding on problem gambling and other behavioural addictions. The authors of this paper were given permission to conduct the current analyses from all those involved in the QLS. Essential demographic information is presented in Table 1.

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,

One study that supports the use of the ASI outside of drug addiction is Nancy Petry’s article “Concurrent and predictive validity of the Addiction Severity Index in pathological gamblers”. The purpose of this study was to gather the information through the ASI and evaluate psychometric properties in pathological gamblers seeking treatment. The ASI measured the seven domains effected by abuse or addiction: Social interaction, mental health, employment, health and well-being, alcohol or drug abuse, criminal behavior, and relationships. Information was gathered through the ASI from today going back three months and then a lifetime history was completed. This was done and the severity of problems was rated to assess the areas where treatment is needed. Additionally, this provided the baseline for the client’s treatment and clinical sessions. The information gathered for on the Addiction Severity Index met the standard of reliability and were consistent. In this particular study, the drug and employment severity were low and the medical, alcohol, and psychological ratings were high. The results overall were consistent with the exception of the employment scores (Petry, N.,

According to national surveys, 73% of British adults wagered on gambling activities (including National Lottery) in 2010 [2]. In some instances, this behaviour can become problematic and is characterised by persistent gambling that precedes gambling-related harms [6]. Whilst personal accounts of disordered gambling behaviour and harms related to specific gambling products have garnered a large amount of media exposure and research interest in the UK, the provision and understanding of treatment-seeking behaviour has received less attention. Conservative estimates indicate that approximately 1% of the UK population report gambling behaviour that warrants a diagnosis of either pathological gambling (ICD-10, [7]) or gambling disorder (DSM-5, [5])

“The state Department of Health and Mental Hygiene conducted a study before the first Maryland casino opened in 2010, and published it in 2011. They found that nearly 90 percent of Marylanders had gambled, and that 3.4 percent were either pathological gamblers or problem gamblers.” (Massimo) There has been numerous stories of addicted gamblers in debt, gamblers that have lost family and friends from their addictions. There was a man $400,000 in debt, his wife threw him out of the house and told him he could not see his kids again unless he gave up gambling. Also, another gambler went on a 48 hour binge without sleeping and barely eating. A woman faced a jail term for stealing $135,000 to feed her gambling

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

Relating to the issue of subgroups, pathological gambling was originally classified as an impulse control disorder by the DSM-IV-TR (APA, 2000), though, based on its criteria similar to substance dependence, some researchers preferred to consider it a behavioural addiction (Blanco et al., 2001; Potenza et al., 2002). Goudriaan et al. (2006) provide a similar argument, stating that pathological gambling and alcohol dependence share common EF deficits, and it has since been amended to be a behavioural addiction the in the DSM-V (APA, 2013). The divisive topic of screening and diagnosis could have serious consequences on the quality of care, or form of therapy, a pathological gambler may receive or decide to enter. Whether they legitimately

RCP also suggest that a person is more predisposed to becoming addicted to gambling if someone else in the family – particularly a parent is or has been a problem gambler. This can be partly due to learnt behaviour – by seeing a parent gamble or having been taught to gamble by them, the child will feel that this activity is acceptable and a family activity. Often children are taken to dog or horse racing and encouraged to have a bet. This early initiation into gambling will mean that the symptoms of euphoria and excitement of the activity will be embedded at an early age. Another group of people who are more likely to become addicted to gambling are those who are already dependent or alcohol or illegal drugs and thus are already presenting as having an addictive personalities. It is interesting to note the location of many bookmakers in relation to pubs and social clubs in city centres and housing estates.

     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

Gambling is also associated with health problems. Approximately one in every four moderate to severe gamblers is seeing a doctor for stress related problems and approximately one in three gamblers have habitual feelings of depression.[vi] Many gamblers are also dealing with existing illnesses such as cancer, HIV, Parkinson's disease and chronic pain. They are often using gambling as an outlet for their pain and suffering. Another problem that gamblers develop is poor sleep and nutrition habits.