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. Problems with gambling are detrimental to physical and psychological health. People living with this addiction may experience depression, migraine, distress, bowel disorders, and other anxiety-related problems.
If gambling becomes a problem, it can lead to low self-esteem, stress, anxiety and depression. As a result, the player may experience depression. Depression tends to increase if they consistently bet more than they intend and end up in financial turmoil, or if they try to quit smoking and don't succeed. Ultimately, gambling consumes their mind and they may feel unable to find joy and excitement in any other activity.
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 any other medical condition. You may understand that a depressive episode led you to gamble in the first place or to make a regrettable comeback. Perhaps normal gambling behavior led to problematic behaviors that eventually led to a state of total hopelessness. Alternatively, the jury might be out when it comes to a relentless whirlwind of gambling problems and depression, you might feel like you're in a “chicken or egg” scenario.
However, that doesn't mean you're stuck forever. Over time, the player develops a tolerance to the game, becomes less rewarding, and may realize that he needs to take greater gambling risks to feel the same excitement as when he started playing. Gambling means that you are willing to risk something you value in the hope of getting something of greater value. Some people with a compulsive gambling problem may have a remission where they play less or play nothing for a period of time.
These tests do not provide a diagnosis and are not a substitute for a face-to-face evaluation with a trained clinician, but they can help people decide whether to seek a formal evaluation of their gambling behavior. Know that your loved one isn't trying to hurt you by continuing to play, but lending you money or paying your debt won't slow down your gambling problem, no matter what you say. In the past, 800-GAMBLER has discussed several topics ranging from the importance of mental health during COVID-19 to the link between problem gamblers and suicide. What you can do is get to the root of whatever leads you to play, whether it's financial stress, boredom, depression, anxiety or something else.
Compulsive gambling, also called gambling disorder, is the uncontrollable need to continue playing despite the price it has in life. GamCare has an online recovery toolkit with practical tips and resources to help you change your relationship with gambling. A gambling addiction is a progressive addiction that can have many negative psychological, physical and social repercussions. Some people who are affected by gambling may also have problems with alcohol or drugs, possibly due to a predisposition to addiction.
If a person suspects that they may have a problem with gambling, there are a variety of self-assessments available on the Internet. If you realize that you bet more than you can afford to lose, borrow money, or feel stressed and anxious about gambling, you may have a problem.
