When gambling might be a problem

Follow me on Twitter @Howard_Shaffer Just as we’ve finished welcoming the new year, sports fans are getting ready to celebrate the Super Bowl. This event marks the single most active gambling-related activity in the world. For most gamblers, betting on the outcome of a sporting event, lottery drawing, casino table game, or any event with an outcome determined by chance represents an entertaining recreational activity. However, for some, gambling can become an addiction. Excessive gambling recognized as an addiction Gambling disorder is now a part of the American Psychiatric Association’s latest version of its diagnostic manual (DSM-5). Gambling is the first “behavioral” addiction included in the substance-related and addictive disorders section of the manual. For the first time, the APA recognizes that substance-related addiction and difficult-to-control behavioral addiction are similar enough to be grouped as comparable expressions of addiction. Now, clinicians, scientists, policy makers, gambling purveyors, and the public alike recognize that addiction can emerge from patterns of excessive behavior that derive from either using a substance, such as tobacco or alcohol, or engaging in activities like gambling, video game playing, or sex. This might come as a surprise, but it’s true. You can become addicted to gambling just like you can become addicted to alcohol or other drugs. History and causes of gambling problems Historically, opinions about gambling have tended...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Addiction Behavioral Health Source Type: blogs