Pathological gambling is an impulse control disorder whose essential characteristic is maladaptive and persistent gambling behavior that alters the continuity of personal, family or professional life.
Pathological gambling is an impulse control disorder
According to the WHO (World Health Organization), Pathological Gambling is defined as a disorder characterized by the presence of frequent and repeated episodes of participation in gambling, which dominate the life of the sick person to the detriment of their values and obligations. social, work, material and family; This behavior persists and often increases despite its adverse social consequences such as loss of personal fortune, deterioration of family relationships and critical personal situations (WHO, 1992).
According to the DSM -V, gambling addiction must meet a series of criteria:
A- Persistent and recurrent maladaptive gaming behavior, as indicated by at least five (or more) of the following items:
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1.- concern about gambling (e.g. concern about reliving past gambling experiences, compensating for advantages between competitors or planning the next adventure, or thinking about ways to get money to play with)
2.- need to play with increasing amounts of money to achieve the desired degree of excitement
3.- repeated failure of efforts to control, interrupt or stop the game
4.- restlessness or irritability when trying to interrupt or stop the game
5.- the game is used as a strategy to escape from problems or to alleviate dysphoria (e.g., feelings of hopelessness, guilt, anxiety, depression)
6.- after losing money in gambling, another day comes back to try to recover it (trying to “hunt” one’s own losses)
7.- family members, therapists or other people are deceived to hide the degree of involvement with the game
8.- Illegal acts are committed, such as forgery, fraud, theft, or abuse of trust, to finance gambling
9.- have risked or lost significant interpersonal relationships, work, and educational or professional opportunities due to gambling
10. Others are trusted to provide money to alleviate the desperate financial situation caused by gambling
B- Gambling behavior is not better explained by the presence of a manic episode.
There is a subjective need in the pathological gambler to play to recover what was lost.
Taking into account these criteria, the Pathological Gambler could be defined as that person who has a severe emotional dependence on the game and therefore has a serious or total loss of control with respect to it and suffers interference in the normal functioning of daily life. since the frequency of play as well as the amount of time and money invested are excessively high.
There exists in the pathological gambler a subjective need to play to recover what was lost and to overcome the continuous failure in the attempt to resist the impulses to gamble. Distorted or irrational thoughts such as irrational optimism and superstitious thinking are often common.
The consequences of gambling addiction for the person are the following:
– Cognitive distortions related to chance, such as the illusion of control or confidence in luck, thoughts with which it is believed that the probability of touching a prize or winning is increased, thus generating a false perception of reality.
It is a disorder with a series of phases clearly defined
– Physiological alterations such as increased stress, anxiety or general physical discomfort and increased heart rate in the game situation, the highest values of which are usually associated with specific moments of the game that are experienced by the player as especially exciting.
– Emotional disturbances such as mood swings, irritability, aggressiveness, low self-esteem, feelings of guilt due to lack of control or excessive spending, and shame.
– Family neglect, lack of communication with the partner, alterations in sexual behavior.
– In the work and/or school environment there is usually low performance, lack of motivation, absences from work or classes… and all of this can lead to job loss and school failure.
– Regarding the social environment, neglect of friendships, decrease in leisure activities, loss of significant relationships… is normal.
Pathological gambling is a disorder with a series of phases clearly defined and therefore predictable:
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Winning Phase: At first the player goes through a period of luck where frequent winning episodes occur. These coughs lead to greater excitement about the game, so the individual begins to bet more frequently, also believing that he is an exceptional player.
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Loss Phase: An excessively optimistic attitude in the player, which is characteristic of the pathological gambler’s style, leads him to significantly increase the amount of money he risks in the game. Due to this increase in the amount of money bet, heavy losses will occur, difficult to tolerate, and that is when you start playing with the purpose, not just of winning, but of recovering what you lost.
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Despair Phase: In this phase the person has normally generated a large debt and there is a desire to return the money quickly; the suffering produced by alienation from family and friends appears; A negative reputation is generated in the community and social rejection, and an uncontrollable desire appears to recover the positive sensations of the moments of profit.
Therapeutic treatment aims to achieve total abstinence from gambling
According to studies carried out by Becoña in Spain, the characteristics The most important descriptive characteristics of pathological gamblers are the following:
• There are two men for every pathological female gambler.
• Pathological gamblers predominate among the youngest (40% of all are between 18 and 30 years old).
• They have a lower educational level.
• There are approximately the same number of single people as there are married people.
• They have less economic income.
• Their job occupation is similar to that of the rest of the non-gaming population. There is, therefore, no characteristic pattern of association between a given profession and a higher level of play. However, those most socially punished by gambling problems, given their social, personal and economic situation, are housewives, the unemployed, retirees and those with temporary jobs, even though gambling affects all social classes. .
• They predominantly play slot machines (in 75% of cases it is the predominant game).
•The larger the city of residence, the greater the proportional number of pathological gamblers.
Gambling has become an increasingly common pathology among the world’s population.
Therapeutic treatment aims to achieve total abstinence from gambling and prevent possible relapses. Through psychological treatment the person will gradually learn to control their impulse to play.
Different techniques are used such as automatic desensitization and relaxation that are aimed at controlling the anxiety generated by abstinence from playing. Cognitive therapy techniques such as recording repetitive or distorted automatic thoughts, raising awareness of the problem, or problem solving. And group therapy is considered very effective, since it helps to share difficulties, promote communication and find problem-solving strategies.
Gambling has become an increasingly common pathology among the world’s population, but it has highly developed diagnostic, treatment and prevention tools that effectively help the affected person to overcome the problem.
Recommended bibliography:
– González, A. (1989). Pathological gambling: a new addiction. Madrid, Tibidabo.
– Ochoa, E., Labrador, FJ, Echeburúa, E., Becosa, e. and Vallejo, M.A. (1997). The pathological game. Madrid,
Plaza and Janes.
– Fernández-Montalvo, J. and Echeburúa, E. (1997). Practical manual of pathological gambling. Madrid, Pyramid.
– Manual of intervention in pathological gambling. Extremadura joint. Ministry of Health and Dependency
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