Gambling to the Point of Sickness
All things and actions have their limits. As the Greeks would say, moderation is virtue. Beyond that it is abnormal and that includes gambling. When the need to gamble cannot be suppressed despite the heavy tolls on their lives then gambling becomes pathologic. Thankfully, treatment can be sought.
Anyone who gambles thinks of hitting the jackpot any time soon. When losses come one after another with no single win, gamblers seek desperately to cover up for these losses. They go to the extremes of fraud, theft and hiding their gambling problem. And when they cannot gamble they become restless or irritable.
Pathologic or compulsive gambling starts as an occasionally to habitually then to the point the urge to gambles becomes to great that it can resolved only with going to casinos and betting. The stakes also start something small that gets bigger and bigger. These compulsive gamblers are not anymore going after the winnings but to the thrill of betting.
Compulsive or pathologic gambling is an impulse-control disorder: an illness in which you cannot resist a temptation even when you know it is damaging. This applies to compulsive behavior from playing in lotteries, casino and slot machine.
Those inflected with it are preoccupied with gambling that they may take time from work just to gamble; they relive past gambling experience; sometime to conceal or lie that they gamble.
No one is sure to say what the cause of pathologic gambling is. Certain chemicals, they think, play a role. Those highly vulnerable to this are the presence of other mood disorders. The younger you get involved in gambling the more likely are you to be addicted. Men dominate those having this illness same with those living near casinos compared to those leaving far from the betting place. If anyone in the family gambles you too are likely to follow in their footsteps. Being competitive is also one risk factor.
To verify, a mental health professional evaluates mood and patterns of behavior. Then the treatment starts with the recognition of the problem. This could be hard as some are in denial that they have a compulsive gambling problem.
They will attend group or individual therapy and be prescribed with anti-depressants; joining self-help groups is also an option with 12 step programs and sponsors who have themselves battled this addiction.
To avoid, resist gambling any time, any where or getting close with someone who gambles. It is hard to overcome the need to gamble if always thinking about a win. Tell yourself that gambling is too risky.