When Gambling Becomes an Addiction: Ways to Help

Addiction of any kind has been the subject of wide debate.

Are addictions the result of some genetic predisposition, for example, or have they somehow been learned?

Similarly, are people morally responsible for their addictions, or should they be regarded as victims of circumstance?

Regardless of how you might address these questions, is there any doubt that painful consequences can arise when gambling becomes an addiction? Who hasn't heard of situations where someone will continue to gamble in spite of the destructive results?

If you agree that people are victims when gambling becomes an addiction, read on to discover ways to help.

Gamblers Anonymous

Although the nature of addiction is perhaps subject to great interpretation, there is no doubt that those who suffer from it benefit from the support of others.

One of the ways to help when gambling becomes an addiction, then, is to refer the afflicted person to what is known as Gamblers Anonymous. Gamblers Anonymous is similar to AA in its 12-step approach in coming to terms with addiction.

A person first has to admit that gambling has become an addiction, then the process of recovery can begin.

Cognitive-behavioral Therapy (CBT)

Many people understand addiction in terms of a medical model. This means that addiction is a type of disease that needs the intervention of therapy.

Another way you can help when gambling becomes an addiction, therefore, is to mention to the gambler the possibility of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT).

CBT explains the gambling addiction in terms of feelings and thought processes that have to be uncovered and understood.

For example, gambling becomes an addiction because it is linked with a thrill. People will continue to gamble destructively because they want this thrill to continue in a compulsive way.

CBT also believes that people gamble as a way to escape the negative qualities of daily life. Being lost in the short term pleasure of gambling allows a person to overcome feelings of loneliness, for example. When these emotional needs are brought to the surface through therapy, the compulsion is no longer necessary.

CBT works because it lets the person who is addicted to gambling identify key thoughts and feelings that are present when the need to gamble is at its strongest.

In sum, there are ways to help when gambling becomes an addiction. Regardless of your own determination of what addiction is, it is clear that an addiction to gambling brings about painful consequences.

Those who are addicted to gambling need help.