If gambling becomes a problem, it can lead to low self-esteem, stress, anxiety and depression. Gambling can become an addiction, just like drugs or alcohol, if you use it compulsively or feel out of control. Problems with gambling are harmful to physical and psychological health. People living with this addiction may experience depression, migraine, distress, bowel disorders, and other anxiety-related problems.
Many people who play excessively feel stressed, anxious and depressed. This can make sleeping, thinking, and problem-solving more difficult. Many compulsive gamblers know that it is not a harmless hobby. In fact, gambling has serious effects on mental health.
A study found biopsychosocial effects caused by pathological gambling, leading to direct triggers and worsening depression, anxiety, obsessive disorders and personality disorders. Winning, losing, and the arduous process of continuing to find ways to play can have a dramatic impact on mental health. Pathological gambling can directly trigger or worsen symptoms of depression, generalized anxiety, obsessions and personality disorders. Excessive gambling often causes a multitude of emotional symptoms, such as anxiety, depression, and even suicidal thoughts and tendencies.
In extreme situations, these thoughts can lead the player to try to end his life. Losing everything to the game is devastating and makes many people feel completely desperate. An addicted gambler spends more money than he should on gambling. Most of the time, this causes that person to lose a lot of money, resulting in depression.
The player goes bankrupt after losing a lot of money or may even go into debt. Could cause severe emotional and physical breakdown. Because of its harmful consequences, gambling addiction has become a major public health problem in many countries. People with a compulsive gambling disorder are also more likely to have suicidal thoughts, so it's important to treat a gambling disorder as urgently as you would treat any other medical condition.
Many pathological players report increased periods of tension before the game, which can only be relieved by gambling. If you feel anxious or like you shouldn't stop just yet, you're probably suffering from a gambling addiction. Increased accessibility, for example through online gambling, requires greater awareness and appropriate legislation. To meet the pathological gambling criteria, 5 out of 10 criteria must be met in addition to gambling not being directly caused by a substance and not occurring in the middle of a manic episode.
Pathological gambling is also known as compulsive gambling and is a condition in which the player continues to play despite the negative consequences that gambling has caused him. If you think you or your loved one may be suffering from gambling addiction, call to discuss the signs of gambling addiction and your individual situation. Common psychiatric sequelae of pathological gambling include exacerbation and onset of major depressive episodes, anxiety disorders or substance use disorders. The outcomes of pathological players entering treatment are optimistic; many recover on their own, and many can be treated with brief interventions.
A preliminary study on pathological gamblers reported that an average of 32 hours of sleep per month was lost due to late gambling (betting beyond normal bedtime) and that the average number of hours of sleep lost from gambling was 69 hours per month. Fong is an adjunct clinical professor of the UCLA Gambling Studies Program, UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute and Hospital in Los Angeles, California. .
