Gambling: an Impulse Control Disorder.

 Article One

At what point is the bon vivant trapped by his pleasures? When does the social drinker sink in to alcoholism, the gourmand expand into obesity, the lottery ticket buyer and bingo player deteriorate into compulsive gambling? 

The process can be rapid or gradual. Despite intensive, continuing research, the sources of all addictions remain only partially understood. It has been ascertained that the same patterns permeate all addictions, encompassing gambling. Like other addictions, there are predisposing characteristics: those with a parent/s or pivotal role model who gambled are more likely to develop this addiction than are those without such exposure.

Why do we gamble? First, there is no more powerful word, universally, than the word “free”. Where things are not free, the temptation to gain a lot for a little proves enticing, at times, overwhelming. Who of us has not bought a lottery ticket, revelling in dreams of vast wealth? Even when it is well-understood that, in casinos, the odds are stacked in favour of the house, there is still the potential, however slight, of investing a small amount at a gaming table, to walk away affluent. 

In the past, geography has been a factor: those living near casinos have had greater opportunities to gamble than did those residing farther afield. The globalization of the internet has made it easy for anyone to engage in gambling 24-7. Whether feeling lucky or not, the idea is awakened. 

Once gambling addiction has taken hold, the compulsive gambler finds infinite avenues. Even at work or on family holidays, he will wager on whatever comes to hand: who might be absent from work the next day, results of sports events, or national/local elections. While winning is the ultimate goal, the compulsive gambler, like the hunter, soon finds delight in the joy of the chase. 

People who say they work best under pressure are often conceding, perhaps unconsciously, their addiction to the adrenalin rush. Meeting a deadline by minutes provides a charge of that most exhilarating endorphin. The tide of adrenalin pulsing through every artery, vein and capillary is the wildest excitement we can obtain, without recourse to external stimuli such as nicotine, alcohol or mood-elevating drugs. 

Some people deliberately create situations in which adrenalin is forced to flow, by entering into the ultimate gamble, that between life and death. This is evidenced by dare-devils who endanger their lives through exploits which could easily end in demise. Arguably, to risk one’s life is a right we possess. Still, this right cannot extend to the lives of others. More than one nurse has been convicted of murder by bringing patients to the edge of death, via injections, in order to resuscitate them at the last feasible second. Not surprisingly, their efforts have sometimes failed, resulting in the deaths of those who had trusted their lives to these care-givers. 

Originally, our endorphins evolved in order to help humankind to survive. Adrenalin, the fight-or flight response, was needed to spur our species to battle or run from hazards, in the form of human or animal foes, or climatic menaces. Our original brainstem functions were: to fly from danger, fight to survive, eat and drink in order to live, and to copulate to perpetuate our species. Another endorphin, Dopamine, worked as our reward system, providing pleasurable sensations for performing the four brainstem functions. Those endorphins remain at the core of the brain, despite our veneer of civilization, impelling us to strive, to achieve, to conquer. At this stage in our evolutionary process, the rewards received may, to some, appear paltry, when measured against the forces of brainstem drives. Perhaps, as humankind evolves, there will be more synchronicity between drives and rewards. 

While Exercise, achievement and success release endorphins, the effort involved requires sustained self-discipline. On the other hand, external substances in the form of mood-altering drugs, or activities such as gambling, are initially painless pathways to pleasure. The anguish comes later, when addicts find themselves enslaved to those substances or activities which had at first provided freedom from the tedium of day-to-day drudgery.   

Compulsive gamblers are sometimes cross-addicted to drugs and/or alcohol, but gambling can prove more insidious than chemical dependencies. The reason for this is that the symptoms of compulsive gambling often remain concealed until it has decimated a life. Gambling lacks the odour of alcohol, as well as the overt behavioural changes produced by alcohol and drug abuse. Thus, gambling can remain hidden until it has cost great financial sums, often obtained by theft or embezzlement, as well as the gambler’s home, spouse, children, job-and most destructively, his, self-respect. Despondent, the gambler may then return to his one remaining pleasure and hope: gambling. 

Gambling is similar to other addictions in that, once the gambler has relinquished the habit, his commitment must be for the rest of his life. As has been shown with other addictions, the gambler is never safe in assuming that, having once learned his soul-wrenching lesson, he can gamble for fun, with no chance of relapsing. As is the case with substance abusers, the compulsive gambler will find that the anaconda he had thought he had slain, had only feigned sleep, waiting to squeeze the life out of him, at the first sign of susceptibility. The addiction resumes at the point where the addict had halted it, progressing until he is wholly destroyed. 

What then is the probable future of gambling? Economic forecasters predict that it will accelerate throughout the next several years. Exponentially, the number of people seeking counselling for debt related problems will grow, largely due to gambling. As debt collection and/or criminal charges escalate, suicide is frequently viewed and implemented as the sole alternative. Medication and psycho-therapy have enjoyed limited success in helping gamblers to combat this pathology. 

As Shakespeare warns us, “The devil hath power to assume a pleasing shape”. The gambling marketing machine exploits the urge for excitement, status, prestige. Its propaganda is akin to that utilised in the days of cigarette advertising, focussing upon the athletic, the glamorous. To comprehend the incessant incentives to gamble, we need only scan our spam, surf prime-time TV, or stroll into a local shop any day, to be inundated by the glut of alluring shapes, encouraging us to gamble, to join the ranks of the gorgeous, the rich, the adored. 

Despite this trend, there is hope for the future. As public concern and awareness increase, further funding is likely to become available; both to study the causes and develop enhanced treatment plans for this horrific addiction.

  © Colleen Swan

DEBT

Article Two 

What’s in your wallet? “A great big debt”

“What’s in my wallet? “Your money”

A startling number of people have sought counselling in the last several years, due to debt-related issues. Marital strain, depression and even suicidal thoughts are often created by the hazard of growing debt. While, at times, debt accrues regardless of painstaking efforts to remain solvent, the majority of debt is incurred due to the perceived need to acquire goods far exceeding the borrower’s budget. Thus, would-be house buyers misrepresent their incomes on mortgage and car loan applications, later finding themselves vulnerable to charges of fraud, in addition to forfeiture through repossession. 

On a smaller, but dispiriting scale, it is common for debtors to approach Christmas gift buying whilst still contending with credit card debt from the previous Christmas. The belief that one must create or maintain an image via the giving of gifts one cannot afford, adds to the building volcano of debt; its eruption, when it comes, will prove ruthless. 

In order to halt this firestorm, we will need to rethink our ideas about spending. Is a new car essential this year, if its purchase may mean struggling to heat your home through the bleak months of winter? On freezing nights and icy mornings, the thought of the vehicle in your driveway is likely to generate meagre warmth. If you give inexpensive presents this Christmas, will their recipients cease to respect you? If so, you might question the values of those whose esteem is based on financial outlay.

The wish to please children can also be a further source of skyrocketing debt. As one client phrased it, “When one of my kids asks “Can I get whatever, I hate to say no, so I buy the thing, whether I can afford it or not.” The idea that asking and getting are linked creates a belief, too often carried into adulthood, that one is entitled to have what one wants, even when via credit card, bank or doorstep loan. After several counselling sessions, this client opted to buy gifts for her children solely for Christmas or birthdays, even on those occasions purchasing only those items she could readily afford without recourse to credit. For other purchases, she suggested that her offspring save up their pocket money, rather than squandering it upon a quick treat which would be gone within minutes. 

While debt can seem hopeless, it can, for the most part, be curtailed or erased, given the vital degree of self-restraint. If you are in debt due to over-spending, do not berate yourself for extravagance. Instead, stand back and assess your spending. In all likelihood, after careful scrutiny, you will be able to think of at least three areas where you could spend substantially less than you have in the past six months to a year. Once you have made that beginning, determine to change your spending habits, first on those three, then expanding to other areas, until your income and outgo gradually start to mirror each other. In time, with due vigilance, you are likely to find you need not be a debtor. END

©  Colleen Swan