Gambling Addiction: Do Something Before It Goes To Far
The term ‘gambling addiction’ is often used to describe those unable to control their gambling. The majority of gamblers are trying to escape life, which has become overwhelmingly difficult and dull or they see gambling as a quick fix for their problems. What is not immediately obvious is that some gamblers are playing without any intent of winning at all, just excitement and thrill that keeps them in the game. Their actions may be considered highly risky by both the individual and society when in reality it could be a behavior with little consequence when compared to other activities commonly found in society such as driving fast or working too hard.
Although it has been clearly established that some gamblers are incapable of controlling their behavior, the same could be said of many other addictive behaviors. This leads to the question if gambling is truly an addiction and how it should be viewed relative to other addictive behaviors.
A common theme with other addictions as well as gambling is the development of dependence. The medications one takes for pain relief, whether physical or even mental, can create a dependency in which the body's natural ability to heal becomes suppressed and requires increased dosages until a balance is achieved between what's needed and what will cause adverse reactions from overuse. For example, the disease of alcoholism is called a "disease" because just like cancer, the body can no longer heal itself by itself. Depending on the severity of consumption and duration, some addicts develop physical dependence which leads to tolerance, in which their bodies require higher and higher dosages to achieve the same effect. With other addictions such as cocaine, heroin and crystal meth this physical dependence becomes even more pronounced because of the instant gratification which these drugs provide. Another similarity is that like alcoholism, gambling addiction can manifest similar symptoms such as decreased impulse control and impaired judgment.
Gambling addiction is often overlooked as a real addiction and is considered only a bad habit. However, like any other behavior which leads to harm, it potentially could be an addiction. Even though some people may be able to control their behavior at times, others are unable to stop despite the negative consequences. Therefore, these impulses are involuntary as it is in the case of other addictions and it also causes dysfunction in their lives. However, due to society's perception that gambling is harmless fun, there tends to be a less intense social stigma compared to other addictive behaviors despite its similarities in terms of denial and obsession.
Despite being mentioned in the same context, there are some clear differences between gambling and alcohol. One major difference is that alcohol is legally sold throughout North America, despite the resulting problems which develop. While there are some organizations which focus on helping individuals with gambling addiction and raise awareness in society, there does not appear to exist any organizations with the same objective for treating alcoholism. Due to the legal precedent granted to alcohol by our society, it seems unlikely that there will be any such organizations in the near future.
As previously mentioned, another difference between gambling addiction and alcoholism is that it's harder for gambling addicts to hide their problem from others because of its outward nature whenever someone gambles. This is different from alcohol, where a person can appear to be “out of it” even if they've consumed large amounts of alcohol. Also, alcoholism does not directly affect the person's day to day functioning and vice versa for gambling addiction.
Many people who gamble are not considered as high risk gamblers because their behavior does not show obvious signs of addiction and do not display any other addictions either. Alcoholism, however, is an obvious public health issue because depending on the health factors, one can have a significantly higher chance of developing the disease. This leads to further complications in terms of treatment and management.
The use of gambling in sports entertainment is one of the reasons it is commonly perceived as harmless and therefore one of the reasons it has not been as much of an issue for society. Another reason is that there does not exist a federal law which specifically addresses gambling addiction. The current regulations which do exist focus on money laundering and organized crime rather than directly addressing a relatively new problem such as gambling addiction.
While many people consider themselves to be lucky and never experience problems entering into casino environments, their behavior can be considered compulsive because they feel compelled to continue when they had no intention of doing so. One of the reasons being that they may be feeling anxious or even excited in the situation, which leads to feelings of euphoria.
The majority of all countries have gambling legislation and it has been stated that governments are not permitting gambling in all the countries which have them. The regulation process varies from country to country and each have a different set of regulations for different types of gambling businesses. However, there are some common issues found across many nations in regards to gambling, just like other addictive behaviors such as alcoholism and drug addictions. These issues include some form of prohibition for minors as well as problems with marketing through social media as well as advertising.
According to the Global Commission on Internet Governance, there are many ways in which gambling addiction can affect individuals, such as family and friends as well as employers when one is addicted to gambling. This can lead to problems with trusting loved ones, losing friends and not being able to hold down a job. It has also been found that this type of addiction can negatively impact the individuals lives because it is frequently linked with other health problems such as depression and anxiety disorders. The Commission concluded that governments should take measures worldwide to promote prevention initiatives and ensure that all the citizens be educated about the issue of problem gambling for them to have better control over their behaviors.
Many researchers have attempted to draw a correlation between problem gambling and psychiatric disorders. However, according to the National Council on Problem Gambling, the link between these two types of problems is not yet well understood as there have been many conflicting studies. There does not appear to be any solid evidence for any specific disorder existing in individuals who are addicted to gambling, such as an addiction or depression. However, the applications of valuable information in these studies are the significant correlations found between different psychiatric conditions and problem gambling behavior.
There have been many researches attempting to find the similarities and differences of gambling addiction and alcoholism. Some studies have compared these addictive behaviors by looking at various brain structures as well as genetics. However, the results have been mixed at best, which is why many researchers do not believe there are any significant differences between these two problems.
The most commonly cited difference between these two addictive behaviors is that while they are both associated with increased risk of developing a psychiatric disorder, gambling addiction has been associated with an increased risk of developing a mood disorder, whereas alcoholism has been linked with an increased risk of developing an anxiety disorder. This difference may be due to the fact that alcohol consumption can be less challenging for addicts because people are more likely to drink alcohol in social situations.
Conclusion
Since the gambling addiction is a relatively new problem, it has not been widely recognized in many countries. The current treatment methodologies used to diagnose addiction to gambling are not applicable to people who are addicted to other types of addictions such as alcohol. Therefore, the accepted international approach would be to focus on developing effective prevention and treatment methods for gambling addiction only since it is an emerging problem. Strengthening gambling legislation across all countries would help reduce the problem by making it harder for gamblers to gamble illegally and also tougher for them to get away with it.
References:
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