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While it may appear that addictions are pleasure-seeking behaviors, the roots
of any addiction can usually be traced to a wish to
suppress or avoid some kind
of emotional pain. Getting lost in hours at a casino table, at the horse track,
or in the fantasy of how one will spend those millions if winning the lottery
may provide relief from an unhappy life. Addiction is a way to escape from
reality, from something that is either too full of sadness (such as living in a
violent family) or too devoid of joy (an emotionally hollow life). Emotional
trauma in early life may be at the source of many addictions.
Gambling provides a chemical "rush," a feeling of aliveness and excitement.
If a person has "numbed out" emotions that have been too painful to process,
other feelings have become dulled as well. Because the brain craves novelty and
the body wants to feel "alive," it is not surprising that risky behavior such as
gambling creates that emotional charge, and that the rate of adrenaline pumping
through the body results in an intense "high" that becomes more and more
desired, addictive as many kinds of drugs.
How can you break the addiction to compulsive gambling?
As in any treatment program, the primary step to take in the path to recovery
is to accept and not refute "denial," a defense mechanism that addicts
frequently employ and that effectively stops them from
accepting treatment. Once
this obstacle is conquered, treatment can be performed more effectively than it
would otherwise.
If you are grappling with this addiction, seek professional treatment. Once
you admit and address the problem, other pieces of your life will fall back into
place. Treatment for compulsive gambling is similar to therapies for other forms
of addiction. Your doctor or mental health professional may use these
approaches:
- Psychotherapy in the form of cognitive-behavioral therapy that
focuses on identifying unhealthy, irrational and negative beliefs and having
you replace them with healthy, positive ones.
- Group therapy that enables an addict to tap into the advice,
feedback and support from other people on how to deal with a gambling
addiction. Gamblers Anonymous provides peer support and a 12-step program
patterned after Alcoholics Anonymous. For people who are uncertain whether
they have a gambling problem, Gamblers Anonymous publishes a list of 20
questions as a screening tool and provides a list of local chapters.
- Residential treatment programs organized and staffed to provide
both general and specialized non-hospital-based interdisciplinary services
24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Residential treatment programs provide
environments in which assistance is provided by personnel trained in the
delivery of services for those with behavioral health disorders or related
problems.
- Inpatient treatment programs providing coordinated and integrated
services in hospital settings. Inpatient treatment is provided 24 hours, 7
days a week, and there are daily therapeutic activities in which patients
participate. The goal of inpatient treatment is to provide a protective
environment that includes medical stabilization, support, treatment for
psychiatric or addictive disorders, and supervision.
- Counseling by a Certified Gambling Counselor who has completed a
specific course of study in problem gambling treatment and has been
certified by either:
- A national credentialing organization (National Gambling Counselor
Certification Board-NCGC; American Gambling Counselor Certification
Board-CCGC; or American Academy of Health Care Providers in the
Addictive Disorders-CAS); OR
- A state certification organization that requires a minimum of 30
hours of problem gambling specific training and a period of direct
(supervisor personal contact) supervision related to treating addicted
gambler.
Resources for Compulsive Gamblers and Their Loved Ones:
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Reviewed: 03/2006
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