Gambling Addiction
Many view gambling as a fun pastime. Something to do while on holidays to add a little excitement to the day. And, for most people, that is all a friendly game of cards or even a few pulls of the slot machine really amount to. Fun and entertainment. But for thousands of individuals, gambling means addiction, and all too often homes are lost, families are destroyed, and people sink to their lowest levels committing crimes and other unsavory acts. Despite the fact that gambling is not a toxic chemical like alcohol and drugs, it can cause irreversible effects in the lives of the individuals who experience gambling addiction, and those people closest to them.
Indeed, the biggest problem with gambling is that people do not think clearly nor logically. They really believe that somehow the "stats" are in their favor. They rationalize mathematical formulas, trying to apply them to gambling. For example staying at the same slot machine until it pays out. There is absolutely no guarantee that it will pay out, and if it does, that it will cover the money used while waiting. Likewise, believing the odds that if a number has not come up in a long time, then it will all of a sudden appear, making it rich on the roulette table. Again it may never be the winning spot.
Gambling is a strange event because there are professional gamblers. Those who spend their lives making their income from gambling. And some may say that these people are addicted. But there is a difference between being able to afford the lifestyle, and losing everything to gambling (something that is becoming even more problematic with the rise of online gambling addiction. If someone has the means to lose their money, and they can still continue with their normal interests outside of gambling, then that behavior is not considered a gambling addiction. The problem lies with individuals whose lives change for the worse. They start to miss days at work, they lie about where they are, they are consumed with finding the next best game to play to get rich quick. Greed and desperation take over their thought processes.
To complicate the issue, gambling addiction is difficult to detect. It is not like drugs where physical changes in a person's health or body exist. As long as gamblers can find the money, they can continue to gamble unnoticed. The problem usually starts to unfold when credit cards remain unpaid or have high balances, or the mortgage is not paid on time one month, or the emergency cash fund is missing. The spouses and other family members start to question where the other person has been and what he/she has been doing. The deeper in debt the addict, the greater propensity to violence and crime.
Additional indicators that might bring attention to individuals who have gambling addictions are their exterior behaviors, how they interact around others. Some begin to brag about their winnings, making themselves look important, yet, not disclosing that they in fact lost in order to make the amount won. Others being a pattern of requesting advances on their paychecks and vacation monies. Yet others become confrontational, secretive, and disinterested in their regular lives. They lose sight of their priorities and neglect their duties.
Lastly, those with gambling addictions need to satisfy their cravings to bet on anything and everything. Not only are they interested in casinos and sports games, but also, activities in their lives become events upon which they can make a wager and possibly win if they find others to participate in the bets.