When you hear the word ‘gambling’, what is the first image that pops up in your mind? Is it that of a dimly lit room with a table surrounded by people staring at decks of cards and stashes of cash? Or is it one from old Hollywood movies in which rich men play poker somewhere in Las Vegas? Do you ever wonder what would compulsive gambling treatment be like?
There is a lot more to gambling than just that. So if you know someone who has a habit of gambling or wishes to learn more about compulsive gambling treatment, read on!
WHAT IS PATHOLOGICAL GAMBLING?
Gambling can be defined as the act of betting money on the outcome of either a game or any other event.
Pathological gambling, on the other hand, refers to an impulse control disorder in which one experiences persistent failure to resist the urge to indulge in gambling. This goes on to such an extent that disruption is caused in their personal, familial, and vocational life. Moreover, the betting may occur for a variety of wagers, such as the following:-
- Casinos
- Matches and games
- Horse races
- Betting sites,
- Book-makers etc.
SIGNS OF A COMPULSIVE GAMBLER:
Look out for the following signs and symptoms if you wish to determine whether someone is a compulsive gambler or not:-
- Obsession with gambling: The preoccupation with gambling may be so high in people with troubles of compulsive gambling that they cease to care about anything besides it!
- Inability to stop: These people may find it more or less impossible to stop gambling even if they wish to do so.
- No care for consequences: Gambling may lead to problems such as loss of job and relationship problems more often than not. Overlooking these consequences is a very prominent sign of compulsive gambling.
- Psychological withdrawal: Withdrawal may be defined as, “The onset of symptoms-both physical and mental- when a previously abused substance is either reduced or not given to the body.” Signs of psychological withdrawal in the case of gambling can include irritability, restlessness, and depressed mood.
- Stealing or disobeying the law: Compulsive gamblers may risk stealing money from others, indulging in fraudulent behavior, or breaking the law when they run out of money to gamble with. They may also do so in order to recover the money lost.
- Gambling to feel happy: This behavior may cause people to experience elevated moods that cause them to indulge in it repeatedly.
- Refusing to see the elephant in the room: Denial, or stating that there is no issue of addiction at all, is one of the most common patterns of behavior in many cases of addictions of various kinds.
- Financial problems: People with compulsive gambling may suffer from financial problems because a major part of their earnings is either spent on gambling or on paying expenses occurring in the process of doing so. They may also owe large sums of money to others either because they need to repay debts or because they lost bets.
- Mood swings: These are more prevalent in cases where the gambling behavior is hidden from family and friends. The foul mood may then be mistaken for being upset in general.
GAMBLING AND DEPRESSION:
It is very common to feel elated in times of success and disappointed in times of loss. However, people with compulsive gambling problems may move beyond the usual signs of sadness and show signs of depression after a loss. A few such signs are:-
- Increased frustration and irritability
- Loss of interest in activities enjoyed earlier
- Feeling tired for the most part of the day
- The feeling of guilt and worthlessness
- Change in the sleeping and eating patterns
- Difficulty in concentrating and making decisions
- Experiencing low mood
GAMBLING AND ANXIETY:
Findings of the Harvard Medical School claim that gambling and anxiety may often come packaged together. The 2001-02 National Epidemiological Survey on Alcohol and related condition established that among people suffering from pathological gambling, over 11% receive an additional diagnosis of Generalized Anxiety Disorder, 15% suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, around 22% have Panic Disorder and 52% struggle with phobias of some kind or the other.
COMPULSIVE GAMBLING TREATMENT:
Although treating compulsive gambling can be tricky, three of the most effective way of going about the same are:-
- Psychotherapy – Behavior therapy and Cognitive therapies are the most useful in these cases. The former helps you unlearn an unwanted behavior and develop skills to reduce urges for indulging in the same. The latter, on the other hand, focuses on identifying unhealthy and irrational beliefs which are then replaced with healthier ones.
- Medication– Medicines such as antidepressants and mood stabilizers are often prescribed 9to cater to the mental health problems that go hand in hand with compulsive gambling, such as Depression.
- Self-help group– People looking for compulsive gambling treatment may also benefit from group therapy and self-help groups.
GAMBLING COUNSELING AND THERAPY: WHAT TO EXPECT?
If you are looking for treatment for compulsive gambling actively for yourself or someone you know, then you must be applauded for the initiative itself!
Once you do make your way to the doctor’s, the first session shall include questions that elicit a detailed history of the client’s experience with gambling. This will include questions about when did they gamble for the first time, how often do they do it now, how much do they bet, and whether they have tries to quit in the past or not.
Once the history has been elicited and a timeline of the problem has been established, the symptoms experienced by the client are tallied against the symptom criteria in a diagnostic manual in order to confirm the diagnosis of a gambling disorder.
It is only after these steps that treatment is commenced using the aforementioned modalities.
LENGTH OF THERAPY:
Like in the case of treatment for any kind of addiction, the time taken to treat compulsive gambling depends largely on the following factors:-
- The stage at which the client is brought for therapy
- Their compliance with the treatment
- Whether they live in an environment with a high chance of relapse or not
However, it is safe to say that it can take anywhere between a few months and a few years.
CONCLUSION:
We may thus conclude that compulsive gambling is pretty much like an addiction of any other kind. Nevertheless, it can be cured with the help of compulsive gambling treatment provided at the right time!
Feel free to reach out to us for counseling and psychotherapy sessions from our trained psychologists, and psychotherapists.
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