Problem Gambling and how to recognise it
Gambling is for fun. It is for entertainment and for a few professionals it is how they earn a living. But some people get addicted, and it is through this addiction that problems arise where thousands are lost, family lives are destroyed and people land up in huge financial quandaries, because money has been spent of gambling instead of paying bills, putting food on the table or providing for families.
What causes this addiction? It is caused by a type of impulse-control disorder which causes compulsive gambling. It drives the gambler to play, at any time, at any place and at any cost. Most time gamblers will be secretive about what they are doing, as they know that what they are doing will be frowned upon, which will then cause tension and hence disharmony in their lives, so they lie, cheat and sometimes even steal just to satisfy this uncontrollable need to gamble.
Unfortunately there are not many definite signs to look out for besides the ones where you see a person’s life deteriorating dramatically due to a gambling habit, be in a relationship with those close to them, in the work environment or in their financial status. Compulsive Gamblers will normally be very secretive about their activities and some gamblers will go so far as to casinos that are truly hidden and not really accessible to the person in the street which makes it incredibly hard to diagnose a Compulsive Gambling habit by the frequency that they visit casinos.
The onslaught of the online gambling world has made this problem even bigger as no from the comfort of your home or at work, if you have access to the internet, you have access to online casinos that offer you every casino game that you can think of.
But the upside of all of this is that there is treatment for those that have fallen into this trap. There are support groups, there are therapy groups and there are definitely solutions that can be found for those who are strong enough and take the first step by admitting their addiction.
