Compulsive gambling addiction is worldwide and has become an epidemic. One thing that all gamblers are guaranteed is a free drink.

GAMBLING ADDICTION

By Michael Gallegos Borresen

Gambling is very popular in the United States as well as worldwide and is a very lucrative business for those corporations involved in the gambling industry. As a result the gambling industry has given birth to millions of addicted compulsive gamblers who financially feed the gambling industry while they feed their gambling addiction. Gambling addiction is an addiction of the mind and can reach a pathological stage where the compulsive gambler lives within the altered conscious mentality of fantasy gambling. The gambling addiction is a disease and has reached epidemic proportions throughout the world. The gambling industry has grown not from the casual social gambler but instead from the compulsive or pathological addicted gambler.
Gambling is accepted as normal behavior by many world governments and is a part of their socioeconomic societies. There is a lot of intentional denial about gambling addiction by governmental politicians and the gambling industry leaders. This powerful addiction of the mind has been kept hushed and there has not been much effort to deal with the issue of compulsive addicted gambling because of the money involved.
The gambling disease is a hidden disease because the illness is an addiction of the mind that is mental, psychological, and behavioral. Powerful gambling addiction is a clinical disease that is progressive in nature. Gambling addiction can start out as recreational gambling and then turn into problem gambling and then finally into a full blown pathological mental disorder. This gambling disease can be influenced genetically regarding an addicted gambler’s personality, temperament, behaviors, and sociability. Many addicted gamblers can be dressed in nice clothes and be well groomed but still be a sick gambler.
The gambling environment is a created seductive environment that is created to appeal to the senses and emotions of the visiting customers and potential gamblers. Gambling environments also appeal to the fantasy side of the brain. Within a gambling environment a person with an addictive personality can satisfy many addictions at the same time. They can gamble compulsively, drink alcohol, smoke cigarettes, and be surrounded by sexy cocktail waitresses or sexy pole dancers.



Compulsive gambling is a behavior where a person has to satisfy their strong urge to gamble. A compulsion is not being able to stop doing something. When a person is driven to act out their compulsion then they have lost control. Most addicted gamblers feel that they have to gamble. Compulsive gamblers have an intense preoccupation with gambling especially when they are obsessed with gambling. It is the mental focus of their life and is often to the exclusion of other interests or hobbies. Addicted gamblers are unable to control the amount of money they spend gambling or the amount of time that is spent gambling. One of the biggest realizations for a recovering gambler is that they do not have to gamble.
Every compulsive addicted gambler gets involved in the merry-go-round of chasing their losses. It is also referred to as chasing the dragon. When a gambler loses money, then they will use their ATM card, credit cards, or take out personal loans to get more money in order to keep gambling in hopes of winning back their losses. Chasing your losses could last for hours, days, weeks, or even many years. The dangerous part of chasing your money losses is the need to borrow money to win your money back. As a result many addicted gamblers get in credit card or payday loan debt and some will resort to stealing money.
Gambling addiction not only has a negative effect on a person’s life financially, but also affects every facet of a person’s life. Their family life is affected because they spend many hours away from their family and also lose money that they could use to support their family. An addiction to gambling will also cause a lot of mental confusion, which could affect their work performance. Emotional health is also affected because a gambler will get angry after losing which could lead to depression and then to other addictions like alcohol or drugs. Many sick gamblers will also commit criminal activities and end up in jail. They could also cause physical danger to themselves and end up in hospital emergencies rooms.
Addicted compulsive gamblers do not wake up from their gambling addiction until they reach an emotional bottom. Hitting an emotional bottom happens when an addicted gambler’s dream world of gambling comes face to face with a strong dose of reality. During this unpleasant period, they will experience a lot of incomprehensible demoralization, which can be unbearable at times. They will realize how their gambling addiction has affected their finances, job performance, or family relationships. Many times it is a combination of all three.

Recovery from a mental and behavioral gambling addiction is a slow process. The gambler needs to recover mentally, emotionally, and needs to mend family issues. The best way to recover is to share your recovery with other recovering compulsive gamblers in a safe environment like Gamblers Anonymous. There are also outpatient treatment programs with mental health professionals who can provide emotional and psychological counseling.
Gambling addiction has grown and is still growing at an alarming rate and there are gambling environments everywhere. Today a compulsive gambler can hide in their home and gamble compulsively online on the internet. This is why we have millions of compulsive or pathological gamblers worldwide. Gambling environments are also a fantasy environment where a person can escape to when they do not want to deal with their real world. Like any other addiction, gambling addiction is an altered state of consciousness.
Medical professionals have agreed after several studies that gambling addiction is a psychiatric disorder and a disease. The disease is centered in the brain and can be genetically predisposed. The same part of the brain that is affected by alcohol or drug addiction is the same area that is affected by gambling addiction. Addicted gamblers can get a mental high while exercising their addiction. Being addicted to video poker is compared to being addicted to crack cocaine.
Gambling addiction is probably the strongest compulsive addiction because it is an addiction of the mind. Psychological addictions are the hardest to recover from because the mind gets programmed with the technology of the games. Millions of children and adults are also addicted to video games. Many gamblers also get emotionally addicted to the excitement of the gambling environments. Gambling at table games can become an addictive social experience because it is fun. Compulsive gamblers are also given special treatment by the casino or bar staff, and as a result are made to feel important.
The majority of people start gambling just for fun. They will play a little money here and there so that they can get a free drink. Eventually they will win some money and make friends with the cocktail waitresses or the bartender. They will gamble more and more and then their gambling becomes a regular recreational hobby. Later on their gambling progresses and becomes more than just fun and becomes a bad habit and then a powerful compulsive addiction of the mind.

Michael Gallegos Borresen is the author of THE FREE DRINK: The Gambling Addiction Epidemic and OUR UNIVERSAL FAMILY. His website: www.ouruniversalfamily.com