Compulsive Gambling

There is probably no individual who has not gambled at least once in his/her lifetime. Most people are able to monitor the frequency of their gambling according to their income, the enjoyment they receive and the appropriateness of the social situation in which gambling may take place. However, this is not so for the compulsive or pathological gambler. Unlike the social or professional gambler, the pathological gambler cannot stop for interest id focused solely on the next bet. Pathological (compulsive) gambling is a destructive, dangerous and potentially deadly disorder. Gambling, for the compulsive gambler, is defined as any betting or wagering, for self or others, whether for money or not, no matter how slight or insignificant, where the outcome is uncertain or depends upon chance or “skill” constitutes gambling. Compulsive gambling very simply, is gambling which is beyond the emotional control of the gambler.

For the compulsive gambler, gambling is an emotional illness, because the need to gamble in uncontrollable. The compulsive gambler gambles even when it is not the appropriate response to a social or personal situation, and will bet just as readily to celebrate the birth of a child as to forget the death of a loved one. The need to gamble dominates the thinking and energy of the compulsive gambler. So much energy is spent by the compulsive personality in planning how, when, and where to gamble that eventually the enjoyment fades and is replaced by anxiety over the ability to get money for the next gambling venture, and to pay debts. Once the gambler has yielded to the urge to wager, the compulsion to continue becomes stronger than any desire to stop. Life for the compulsive gambler becomes unmanageable. The pathological gambler loses self-control and eventually may be convinced that it is impossible to refrain from gambling, which in turn becomes another excuse to continue gambling.

Those who gamble compulsively usually feel that they have no choice in carrying out their actions. Compulsive gamblers feel compelled to gamble, and even though they know gambling is harmful, they are powerless to stop. Such powerlessness, however, should not be considered as “morally weakness.”

The social gambler has no difficulty in recognizing choices – to bet or not to bet – and the result of this recognition is seldom painful. However, the pathological gambler has no such objectivity. Even the realization of the harm the pathological person does to themselves or to others is secondary to the overriding compulsion to gamble.

The compulsive gambler lives in a perpetual state of tension, unable to relax for any length of time because of the obsessive need to make bets and to raise money to gamble or pay gambling debts. While gambling may be stressful, being away from it can be worse for compulsive gamblers. Furthermore, they cannot cope with the stress and pressures of everyday living; the circumstances of life seem to be filled with tension. This cycle of behavior becomes more and more destructive. Even though there are alternatives, the compulsive gambler does not have the perspective to see them or the control to choose a healthier behavior pattern.

Another element of the compulsive gambling personality is the inability to handle responsibility; any of the responsibilities and obligations of adulthood such as those that come with a job, marriage or children can trigger a compulsive gambling response in these individuals. The compulsive personality does not know how to cope adequately with responsibility, looks away from it, preferring instead to retreat into the unreal world of pathological gambling.

For more information on how to deal with, and/or recover from, Compulsive Gambling, please feel free to contact us anytime at 32-2331881 or 32-2315229, or visit us at Recovery House, Sanson Road Extension, Lahug, Cebu City.