Gambling Addiction: Gambler's Anonymous

In " The Neurology of Free Will," Charles Duhigg puts a special importance on habits –their inner working and how they can change. Duhigg describes how habits work through the cycle of cue, routine, and reward. Angie Bachmann from being a bored housewife to losing all her money through uncontrollable gambling.

Gambling and the unpredictability of the roulette wheel stand at the center of Fyodor Dostoevsky’s The Gambler. Despite the fact that it is not a very rational activity, gambling captures the enthusiasms of many in The Gambler, enthralling those characters that are intoxicated by the feelings of victory. Experienced gamblers often work out strategies to ensure success, or at least a greater chance of success. Unfortunately, these types of patterns and strategies simply do not apply in games of chance like roulette. As Jeff Love describes, there is not a “fixed constant or indubitable ground permitting a deductive determination of the results of each turn of the wheel” in the game of roulette (Love 373). Put more simply, roulette is a game of

“As we go through the day we pause, when agitated or doubtful, and ask for the right thought or action. We constantly remind ourselves we are no longer running the show, humbly saying to ourselves many times each day ‘Thy will be done.’ We are then in much less danger of excitement, fear, anger, worry, self-pity, or foolish decisions. We become much more efficient. We do not tire so easily, for we are not burning up energy foolishly as we did when we were trying to arrange life to suit ourselves” – Alcohol Anonymous. Alcohol and gambling are two addictions that impair an individual judgment, decision making, learning and memory, and behavior control. Moreover, the focus of this paper will explore the two different types of meetings I attended and then compare and contrast both.

On September 5, 2015, Christ United Methodist Church hosted an open gamblers anonymous meeting in Long Beach, MS. There were a total of 7 people attended the meeting on this particular day. Each person introduced themselves to the group and the rules for the meeting were presented to the group, stressing the importance of anonymity. We, as group, recited the 12-steps, which was provided in a booklet.

I have not participated in any type of gambling. I just turned 19 at the beginning of September, so anytime I was near an establishment that hosts gambling I was not of age. Most establishment I've been to were 21 and up, and if memory serves me, I was like 15 or 16 when I was near the one that was 18/19 and up. I do play poker with a friend who really enjoys the game, but we never actually bet anything. Personally betting money doesn't seem like the right thing for me.

The excitement and risk taking associated with gambling is what gets the adrenaline pumping and stimulates the brain into wanting more. Hence, why gambling and betting on the lottery can lead to addiction in some cases. Other addictions associated with alcohol and drugs have similar effects to a gambling addict. Both addicts are vulnerable to lose themselves by the constant urge and desire to have the adrenaline rush from the substance. Regardless of what harm can come from alcohol, tobacco, or gambling it depends on the individual and how they respond to the

This study was done on 150 people seeking treatment for drug problems, and found that 32 of the participants were pathological gamblers, 19 were problem gamblers, and the remaining 96 were social gamblers. Among the studied pathological gamblers, 56.3% were seeking treatment for cocaine use, and 25% were seeking treatment for alcohol. One of the prevalent findings in this study was the rate of suicidal thoughts or actions; 26 out of the 32 pathological gamblers (81.3%) had reported serious thoughts of suicide, and 12 (37.5%) had actually attempted suicide at least once. It was also found that, on average, most of the pathological gamblers started gambling before they started using

According to the National Council on Problem Gambling, nearly 1.5 million Americans have experienced pathological gambling, which occurs when there is a dependence, harm, or lack of control over gambling habits (Samhsa). Samhsa goes on to explain that pathological gambling can be sparked by gambling as little as once a week. It may even derive by going as little as once a month, or once a week. Unfortunately, this is what transpired to Angie Bachmann, in Charles Duhigg’s Power of Habit. Mother of three and wife to a full-time working husband, Angie was frequently left in an empty home, with nothing to do. Spending her days watching game shows, such as: The Price is Right, Angie would often times find herself lonely and bored (Duhigg 246). Angie decided that if she got through the week without withering of boredom, then she would be rewarded with an excursion to the casino. The trips started off once a week with a few hours and a couple hundred dollars. Her addiction quickly jump started from once a week to three times a week. She was secretly attending the casino, spending a couple thousand, and playing multiple hands at once (Duhigg 247). Angie finally felt as if she had something to be proud of; she wasn’t just an orthodox, stay-at-home mom. The casino did as much as they could to make Angie feel special, almost like a celebrity. For instance, Angie would arrive at the casino in a limo, dine out in the buffet, and live lavishly in the casino suites. In another light, I

Other surveys draw on the characteristics of pathological gambling, now called ‘gambling disorder, which also could be categorized to the kind of behavior we see in youths who show addiction type Internet use. Again, the surveys often simply swap the words ‘Internet use’ for ‘gambling’. Young's Diagnostic Questionnaire, for example, contains eight yes-or-no items drawn directly from the criteria used to identify pathological gamblers. One question asks: “Do you feel restless, moody, depressed, or irritable when attempting to cut down or stop Internet use?” Another asks, “Have you lied to family members, therapist, or others to conceal the extent of involvement with the Internet?” This survey was later expanded to a 20-item questionnaire, called the Internet Addiction Test (IAT) with a five-point scale so that subjects could indicate the extent to which they engage in behaviors that suggest addiction. For most of the surveys, researchers have established cutoff scores to

Addictions are known to activate the culmination of sites in the brain that make up the ‘reward centre’ which is responsible for feeling happiness or pleasure through the release of dopamine (Linden, 2011). After repeated exposures, receptors in the brain build a tolerance towards the addiction meaning that there is a need for increased stimulation to provide a similar ‘high’. Eventually behaviour patterns develop so as to avoid withdrawal. At this point addiction is occurring and symptoms should be observable. Like other addictions, it is believed that IAD causes a release of dopamine in the nucleus accumbens (Ko et al., 2009).

These gamblers have been responsible and moral in there early lives but are conflict avoiders and have often times suffered from some form of verbal or physical abuse. And now have a desperate need for empowerment and gain it in there escape gambling. These individuals usually poses low self-esteem, and become manipulative as the problem develops. The problem gambler has a far higher probability of long-term cure through abstinence unlike the action gambler these people usually peruse help within 6 months to 3 years of the problems inception.”(Diamond 2001 p.3)

“Pathological gambling is excessive risk taking exaggerated to an especially destructive extreme.” This is the way Dr. Ted and Brad Klontz open their chapter on the destructive behavior that is gambling (Klontz, B., & Klontz, T, 2009). As the authors describe gambling is a habit that becomes like a drug as people, mostly men, continue to gamble to make themselves feel better about themselves or to escape their present reality. The biggest danger of this disorder is that it is one that people try to hide from others the most, and are very hesitant to admit that their gambling is an addiction.

Addictions come in different forms for instance, there are behavioral addiction and substance addictions. Both of these addictions are similar and have some of the same results. For someone who has a substance addiction they can not control themselves from consuming whatever drug they are addicted to, if they did try and stop their body could relapse, or they become could become ill. Behavioral addictions in some cases can be just as severe. For instance Gambling is a behavior that can become very addictive, and lead to many problems if one lets it. Gambling is still a topic that has not been studied enough, the research available on it is very limited. However, when abused gambling is a serious behavioral addiction and the more research that

There are several concerns regarding the ethics of gambling whether in an online setting or in a public setting. Gambling has many benefits for both gamblers and casinos, but it’s crucial to acknowledge the psychological repercussions of gambling as it isn’t always just “harmless fun.” We can consider the negative and positive implications of gambling on non-gamblers as well. However, how would ethical theories and perspectives differ in their approach to the effects of gambling? When people think of gambling, they usually see flashing Vegas casinos and large sums of cash. The gambling arena is much larger just as the significance of the effects gambling has on the casinos and people involved. Gambling addiction is a very prevalent factor

     Gambling addiction is an issue found in numerous areas where gambling is legal. People who are addicted to gambling, also know as problem gamblers, face many health risks including depression, suicidal thoughts, loss of sleep, loss of appetite, migraine and anxiety in addition to marriage breakdown, problems at work and bankruptcy (9). About 2 percent of adults are thought to be problem gamblers (1). In today’s society this costly addiction is not often considered to be a common problem among those who gamble. Only a small amount of states in the U.S. give enough attention toward this rising problem of people that are sometimes even willing to commit crimes just to aid their addiction. In the past our