PATHOLOGICAL GAMBLING: SYMPTOMS, CAUSES, CONSEQUENCES AND TREATMENTS - ARTE - 2025

The gambling addiction is a psychological disorder characterized by an uncontrollable addiction to gambling and betting. The term comes from the Latin words ludus (game) and patia (disease). Its symptoms are similar to those of other addictions, such as those related to substances such as alcohol and drugs, or other risky behaviors.

Despite the fact that gambling does not have to be dangerous or harmful at first, people with gambling suffer all kinds of negative consequences due to this disorder. Thus, those affected by this problem may suffer difficulties in areas such as their economy, their relationships or even their health.

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The American Psychological Association (APA) recognizes problem gambling as a mental disorder, classified within the addictive type. This psychological illness is related to games whose reward is given immediately and intermittently to certain behaviors. It usually appears in settings such as casinos or bookmakers.

Gambling addiction can bring all kinds of negative consequences to the lives of those who suffer from it. Due to this, in the last decades more research has begun on this problem, in an attempt to prevent its appearance and alleviate the symptoms once they have already appeared. In this article we will tell you everything about this disorder.

Symptoms

A person with compulsive gambling has symptoms that are very similar to those of other addictive or compulsion disorders. At the same time, others also appear that are specific to this psychological problem. Next we will see which are the most common.

Uncontrollable repetition of a behavior

The clearest symptom of gambling addiction is the inability to stop performing an action that is initially pleasant. As in the case of drug addicts, a person with compulsive gambling feels that they need to participate in gambling in order to feel good, and is unable to stop.

In general, the time spent on the specific problem behavior (such as playing card games or using slot machines) progressively increases, until it takes up a significant part of the individual's life. This often has very negative consequences in your life.

On many occasions, the person with problem gambling does not realize that they have a problem, and believes that they could stop gambling or gambling whenever they wanted. However, most of the time this is not true: the individual continues to play in an increasingly compulsive way, being truly unable to stop.

Anhedonia

Although at first the person with gambling gambling because it is pleasant to do so, after a while this behavior ceases to be positive. When the addiction fully develops, the individual is still unable to stop, but now he no longer even enjoys the activity.

On the other hand, this inability to enjoy generally extends to other areas of your life as well. Due to this, the person stops enjoying what normally interested them, becoming more and more dependent on the game to feel good.

Anhedonia is related to the brain's reward mechanism. Winning a bet releases a large amount of neurotransmitters like dopamine. When this happens often, our mind becomes resistant to this substance, and we need more and more to feel good.

Altered mood

Due to the resistance to dopamine caused by gambling, and the problems derived from compulsive gambling, people with compulsive gambling often have their mood significantly altered. Usually these individuals end up suffering from depressive symptoms, at the same time that they become much more irritable than normal.

As in other addictive-type disorders, people with compulsive gambling tend to develop a depressed mood. This can affect all areas of your life, leading to major depression or an equally serious psychological problem.

On the other hand, people close to someone with compulsive gambling often find that the individual is much more sullen and irritable than normal. Fights and arguments are frequent, especially when trying to talk about the problem with gambling.

Performing risk behaviors

One of the most dangerous symptoms of gambling is the one that induces those who suffer from this disorder to carry out all kinds of dangerous actions that they would not have done under normal conditions.

This may involve, for example, gambling money that the person cannot afford to lose, drinking excess alcohol or taking drugs of all kinds.

On the other hand, people with problem gambling tend to neglect other areas of their life because gambling occupies most of their minds. Because of this, they can lose their jobs, break their personal relationships, neglect their health, and suffer all kinds of unpleasant consequences.

Denial

Finally, one of the most common symptoms of problem gambling is denial by the person that there is some kind of problem. This symptom can occur even when it is evident that the individual's life is being negatively affected by the gambling addiction.

When a person with problem gambling is confronted by loved ones, the most common reaction is for them to become defensive and deny that they need any help.

Due to this symptom, it can be difficult for those affected to receive the treatment they need, so in many cases the situation tends to get worse.

Causes

There is no single cause that causes a person to develop a gambling addiction. On the contrary, there are a series of risk factors that can play a more or less important role in the appearance of this mental illness. Next we will see the most common ones.

Addictive nature of the game

Probably the most important cause of problem gambling is the fact that gambling and betting, by their very nature, tend to be highly addictive.

When you participate in them, rewards are received intermittently, causing the behavior to persist and become more intense over time.

Every time a card game is won or a prize is received in a casino, our brain rewards us with a dopamine rush. This substance, despite being natural, is extremely addictive, so we unconsciously tend to repeat the action that has caused us to release it.

However, despite this feature, not everyone who tries the game ends up addicted to it. This is due to certain individual differences that we will see below.

Personality factors

Various studies on gambling seem to indicate that one of the greatest predictors of the development of this disorder is the personality of each individual. While some people are more prone to addiction and have trouble controlling themselves, others generally have no difficulty in this regard.

The exact origin of these differences is unknown. However, we do know that they are due to a mixture of genetic and biological factors (such as the abnormal development of some parts of the brain), and learned during the individual's childhood and adolescence.

Existence of other psychological problems

On many occasions, gambling seems to occur at the same time as other psychological disorders or in people who had a previously altered mood.

Therefore, it seems that those individuals with certain problems such as depression or anxiety would be more likely to develop this addiction.

Consequences

If not treated in time, problem gambling can have all kinds of very negative consequences in the lives of people who suffer from it. The more the addiction develops, the more likely these difficulties are to appear, and the more serious they become. Next we will briefly see the most common ones.

Money problems

One of the areas most affected by gambling is economic. Gambling addicts tend to waste a lot of money on their addiction, being unable to control themselves and sometimes wasting savings that they really cannot afford to lose.

As if this weren't enough, people with problem gambling often neglect other areas of their lives due to the time they spend gambling. On many occasions, this leads them to lose their jobs, which makes the financial aspect of their lives even worse.

Loss of relationships

Due to the mood swings and stress experienced by people with problem gambling, it is often practically impossible to maintain a normal relationship with them.

As a consequence, these individuals very often lose the support of their family, friends and partner, which tends to make their addiction even worse.

Impaired physical and mental health

Although gambling does not directly affect the physical in the same way that other addictions do, such as alcoholism, most people with gambling end up seeing their health very deteriorated.

Among the main reasons, we can highlight the abuse of substances that generally accompany gambling, stress and an unhealthy lifestyle.

On the other hand, compulsive gambling does directly affect the mental health of those who suffer from it. As we have seen previously, it is relatively common for patients with this disorder to end up developing more serious ones such as major depression or generalized anxiety.

Suicide

Unfortunately, various studies on the prevalence of gambling in different countries of the world have shown that a significant number of patients with this condition can try to end their life if they are not treated in time.

This consequence is probably the result of the previous ones and of the very precarious situations that those affected by gambling addiction end up living. However, due to the increasing number of suicide attempts related to gambling, many experts recommend treating this symptom separately.

Treatments

As with other addictive disorders, treating gambling can be extremely difficult. Once the brain's reward mechanism has been altered, it is difficult to get out of the negative spiral that this leads to, since the person only feels pleasure when they are gambling or making bets.

However, as in the case of alcoholism or drug addiction, there are certain approaches that can greatly help reduce symptoms and return to a normal life. We can divide them into three types: individual therapy, group therapy, and use of psychotropic drugs.

Regarding individual therapy, approaches such as cognitive behavioral therapy or acceptance and commitment therapy have shown to be relatively effective in the treatment of problem gambling. However, these are often not enough, and the patient must also use one of the other two.

Group therapy is generally based on a twelve-step model, similar to that used in Alcoholics Anonymous. This system usually gives very good results, although it requires a very firm commitment on the part of the patient and can be very difficult to follow.

As for psychotropic drugs, it has been found that some medications commonly used to treat problems such as depression can help to some extent to alleviate the symptoms of gambling. In this way, the person can try to eliminate their addiction with less difficulty.

Prevention in children and adolescents

Preventing gambling is not easy. With the normalization of Internet gambling, and certain types of video games that could generate similar symptoms, symptoms of addiction are increasingly observed at younger ages. However, with a joint effort of families and society in general, it is possible to achieve this.

To prevent children and adolescents from falling into this problem, it is necessary that they have an adequate social support network. In addition, it is also essential that they are informed of the dangers of gambling and betting, so that they do not adopt these hobbies without knowing what they are doing.

Lastly, providing young people with healthier and more rewarding leisure options can greatly prevent harmful hobbies such as gambling. Some of the most effective alternatives in this regard are sports or art.

References

1. "What is problem gambling?" in: National Council on Problem Gambling. Retrieved on: February 01, 2019 from the National Council on Problem Gambling: ncpgambling.org.
2. "Gambling Addiction and Problem Gambling" in: Help Guide. Retrieved on: February 01, 2019 from Help Guide: helpguide.org.
3. "Gambling disorder" in: Psychology Today. Retrieved on: February 01, 2019 from Psychology Today: psychologytoday.com.
4. "Pathological gambling: symptoms and causes" in: Mayo Clinic. Retrieved on: February 01, 2019 from Mayo Clinic: mayoclinic.org.
5. "Problem gambling" in: Wikipedia. Retrieved on: February 01, 2019 from Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org.