Gambling Psychologist
Gambling Counselling Brisbane. With the growth of technology, access and ease of gambling has grown rapidly, particularly through smartphone apps. Whereas recreational gamblers gamble knowing that they will most likely lose and only bet what they’re willing to lose, those with problem gambling often experience a number of problematic beliefs. The evidence indicates that gambling activates the brain's reward system in much the same way that a drug does. 'Across many studies, the same brain areas come up time and time again — the ventral striatum and the prefrontal cortex,' says Luke Clark, a psychologist at the University of British Columbia. Ned Lamont’s recent budget plan promoted marijuana and sports gambling as potential new revenue sources. These two issues have been the subjects of debate in Connecticut for several years. Advances in brain imaging techniques are helping Cambridge scientists find out. Gambling games promote an ‘illusion of control’: the belief that the gambler can exert skill over an outcome that is actually defined by chance.
Sadism is the sexual pleasure or gratification in the infliction of pain and suffering upon another person.
The counterpart of sadism is masochism, the sexual pleasure or gratification of having pain or suffering inflicted upon the self, often consisting of sexual fantasies or urges for beingbeaten, humiliated, bound, tortured, or otherwise made to suffer, either as an enhancement to or a substitute for sexual pleasure.
Sadists enjoy inflicting pain whether or not it is sexual in nature. Masochists enjoy receiving pain, which, again, may or may not be sexual. Dominance and submissionis a way of looking the the sadistic-masochistic distinction, a power dynamic rather than a set of acts. Not all masochists are submissive, and not all submissives enjoy pain. Not allsadists are dominant, and not all who enjoy dominating others are sadists. There is frequently a strong emotional aspect to the sexual desires, taking the form of a need for domination(to control another) or submission (the desire or to be controlled) as opposed to a simple desire for pain (which is technically known as algolagnia). The words sadistic and masochisticare now commonly used to describe personality traits in an emotional, rather than sexual sense.
Legalized gambling is one of the fastest growing industries in the United States. Billboards on major highways depict the action and excitement available at gambling facilities. For most of the industry'spatrons, gambling is fun and a form of harmless entertainment. However, for the 4% to 6% of gamblers who become problem or pathological (compulsive) gamblers, it can be a devastating illness that negativelyaffects every aspect of their lives.
Gambling can be defined as playing a game of chance for stakes. Gambling occurs in many forms, most commonly (horse and dog tracks, off-track-betting parlors, lotteries, casinos, slot machines, bookmaking,card rooms, bingo parlors and the stock market.
Problem gambling is gambling behavior which causes disruptions in any major area of life: psychological, physical, social or vocational. Problem gambling is an urge to gamble despite harmful negative consequences or despite adesire to stop. The term 'problem gambling' is preferred to 'compulsive gambling' among many professionals, as few people described by the term experience true compulsions in the clinical sense of the word. Problem gambling often is defined by whetherharm is experienced by the gambler or others, rather than by the gambler's behavior.
Gambling Psychology
Compulsive gamblers often have other addictions simultaneously, such as drug abuse and alcohol abuse, compulsiveshopping and bulimia and other eating problems. The addictive gambler may be harderto treat than someone with only one addiction, because he or she may “switch addictions”and therefore leave the addictive personality traits untreated.
Psychologist Gambling Addiction Melbourne
Typically, the characteristics of an addictive gambler are as follows:
* preoccupation with thoughts about gambling.
* Increasing the amount gambled.
* failure to stop the gambling behavior.
* uses gambling to escape from guilt, depression, helplessness, anxiety.
* gambles to the degree that credit cards,etc. are overextended.
* uses denial and lies to cover for the magnitude of the gambling addiction.
* may engage in illegal behavior to finance gambling.
* may become co-dependent and rely on others for money and emotional needs.
A gambling addiction is not an addiction to money. Most people gamble to escape from stress, a painful past, or to seek arousal. While the specific causes of pathological gambling are not known, there are several common reasons that appear to explain why people become addicted to gambling. These reasons typicallyinclude one or more of the following:
- to avoid uncomfortable or painful emotions, including sadness, depression, guilt, anxiety, shame, anger, humiliation, and fear of failure
- to recover losses previously incurred through the gambling behavior
- as a form of stimulation
- to act on the illusion that gambling can provide a steady income and money that will solve the gambler's problems.
- as a tool of self-destruction to deal with feelings of guilt about success.
If you have a gambling problem, you are probably acutely aware of the problem. But, if you are a master at self-deception and need some confirmation, one way to help you decide is to ask yourself the following questions (provided by the self-help organization Gamblers Anonymous):
Did you ever lose time from work or school due to gambling?
Has gambling ever made your home life unhappy?
Did gambling affect your reputation?
Have you ever felt remorse after gambling?
Did you ever gamble to get money with which to pay debts or otherwise solve financial difficulties?
Did gambling cause a decrease in your ambition or efficiency?
After losing did you feel you must return as soon as possible and win back your losses?
After a win did you have a strong urge to return and win more?
Did you often gamble until your last dollar was gone?
Did you ever borrow to finance your gambling?
Have you ever sold anything to finance gambling?
Were you reluctant to use 'gambling money' for normal expenditures?
Did gambling make you careless of the welfare of yourself or your family?
Did you ever gamble longer than you had planned?
Have you ever gambled to escape worry or trouble?
Have you ever committed, or considered committing, an illegal act to finance gambling?
Did gambling cause you to have difficulty in sleeping?
Do arguments, disappointments or frustrations create within you an urge to gamble?
Did you ever have an urge to celebrate any good fortune by a few hours of gambling?
Have you ever considered self destruction or suicide as a result of your gambling?
According to Gamblers Anonymous, if you answer ‘yes’ to seven of more of these questions, you most likely have a compulsive gambling problem.