This article is a continuation of the recently published text Online Gambling: A Growing Addiction. Part 1.
Hobby or Addiction?
We can define a hobby as the practice of gambling as a form of entertainment and fun, in which the player participates moderately and occasionally, enjoying the gaming experience without taking great risks. This is the usual practice of the general population that does not generate personal problems.
On the other hand, the DSM-IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition) includes pathological gambling as a disorder that falls under behavioral addictions and consists mainly of a loss of control in relation to gambling, a subjective experience of discomfort, and psychological dependence manifested through:
- Craving: an irresistible desire, urge, or compulsion to gamble.
- Mood modification: a growing feeling of tension before gambling.
- Pleasure, relief, or even euphoria while gambling.
- Agitation or irritability if gambling behavior cannot be satisfied.
- Loss of control and powerlessness.
Why is it difficult to stop gambling?
Initially, they don’t want to realize they’re starting to have a problem. They like it, it gives them some money, and they get some reward. They justify themselves and deceive themselves, trying not to lie to themselves. They tell themselves things like “it’s just for entertainment,” “I have it under control,” “it’s just a small amount of money.” They are already in a spiral and have barely noticed. They confuse a pastime with an addictive problem. They make it a habit, a custom. They deceive themselves and deny the problem, claiming they don’t quit because they don’t want to quit. They look the other way, denying the reality in front of them.
Before considering whether you really have a problem and need professional help, it’s worth pausing to reflect. Do you think you have or have ever had problems with gambling? Have you ever felt guilty about gambling or what happens when you gamble? Have you ever tried to stop gambling and been unable to do so?
Although gambling addiction is a psychological disorder that seems very difficult to overcome, 80% of patients manage to quit. Paradoxically, and although most of the time we don’t realize it, it is often the big problems that have solutions. Throughout this process, many do not ask for help until they truly let themselves fall, falling to the depths of themselves. To the very end. Only when they have hit rock bottom do they begin to swim upwards, trying to find a way out. The treatment to help affected individuals break free is long, between nine months and a year, and in it, the patient goes through all the phases typical of an addiction, including relapse. It is a slow and costly therapeutic process, with continuous advances and setbacks, constantly reminding us that often one has to pay tolls to reach certain places. It is necessary to be clear that on the path to detoxification, as in life, things are constantly ending and beginning, but above all, it is essential to always remember that there are certain principles that are worth the price of an end.
How to tackle these types of problems?
ISEP offers a Master’s in Clinical and Health Psychology which addresses addictions such as gambling disorder. If you want more information about it, you can click here.карты с кредитным лимитом оформить онлайн