Problems with gambling or gambling addiction

Gambling addiction is considered one of the impulse control disorders, according to the DSM psychological reference manual. Below we present 9 possible behaviors that may be occurring in someone you know, or even in yourself. If these behaviors occur, or at least 5 of them, we can talk about a gambling problem.

1) If thoughts revolve around the idea of ​​playing, recurring and frequent desires to play.
2) More and more time is needed to satisfy pleasure in the game. Before, the person was happy with less time, now they need to increase that time.
3) The person who has problems with gambling may have repeated attempts to want to quit the game, but is unable to do so.
4) The game is used as a way to escape from problems and reduce symptoms of anxiety and sadness.
5) When you try to stop playing or are not playing, you have feelings of irritability and persistent desire to play and restlessness.
6) He usually loses money and tries to keep playing to see if he can recover it.
7) He usually lies to those around him.
8) Illegal acts (theft, fraud, etc.) may occur in order to obtain the lost money.
9) You may lose loved ones, whether they are your partner, friends, etc.

Types of players

Gamblers usually have social, family, economic and legal problems, since most of their time is spent playing, leaving aside other important areas of life. There are several types of players: we can differentiate the social player (which is the one who has no problems with the game, enjoys it and can abandon it whenever he wants), the professional playerwho knows perfectly well not only how to control the game but also knows strategies to win money, the problem gambler, who is the player who already plays almost daily, and who is already receiving the first complaints from people around him and from contacts, although the situation is not yet completely out of control. Lastly, the pathological gambler which is one who has all or most areas of his life affected.

The pathological gambler

The pathological gambler can go through a series of phases:

1) Precontemplation phase: the player does not think that he is ‘in’ a problem, he enjoys playing and does not pay attention to the advice of others.
2) Contemplation phase: the person already has some problem and begins to think and consider possible ways to seek help.
3) Phase of preparation for action: the person already has many problems, he has even been left alone, he has tried to stop playing, he can’t and he seeks professional help to get out.
4) Final phase (recovery or relapses).

Remember that psychological and medical evaluations can only be carried out by professionals. Don’t diagnose yourself. If you meet the diagnostic criteria or are in any of the phases, remember that problems can be overcome with professional help. In many cases combining psychological therapy with medicine. In the case of psychology, problem-solving techniques, relapse prevention, cognitive therapy, relaxation and exposure techniques are used.

The first step to solving a problem is to recognize that you have it.