Hypnotherapy In Adelaide

Definition

Research by governments in Australia led to a universal definition for that country which appears to be the only research-based definition not to use diagnostic criteria: "Problem gambling is characterized by many difficulties in limiting money and/or time spent on gambling which leads to adverse consequences for the gambler, others, or for the community. The University of Maryland Medical Center defines pathological gambling as "being unable to resist impulses to gamble, which can lead to severe personal or social consequences."

Most other definitions of problem gambling can usually be simplified to any gambling that causes harm to the gambler or someone else in any way; however, these definitions are usually coupled with descriptions of the type of harm or the use of diagnostic criteria. According to DSM-IV, pathological gambling is now defined as separate from a manic episode. Only when the gambling occurs independent of other impulsive, mood, or thought disorders is it considered its own diagnosis. In order to be diagnosed, an individual must have at least five of the following symptoms:
1.Preoccupation. The subject has frequent thoughts about gambling experiences, whether past, future, or fantasy.
2.Tolerance. As with drug tolerance, the subject requires larger or more frequent wagers to experience the same "rush".
3.Withdrawal. Restlessness or irritability associated with attempts to cease or reduce gambling.
4.Escape. The subject gambles to improve mood or escape problems.
5.Chasing. The subject tries to win back gambling losses with more gambling.
6.Lying. The subject tries to hide the extent of his or her gambling by lying to family, friends, or therapists.
7.Loss of control. The person has unsuccessfully attempted to reduce gambling.
8.Illegal acts. The person has broken the law in order to obtain gambling money or recover gambling losses. This may include acts of theft, embezzlement, fraud, or forgery.
9.Risked significant relationship. The person gambles despite risking or losing a relationship, job, or other significant opportunity.
10.Bailout. The person turns to family, friends, or another third party for financial assistance as a result of gambling.

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Biological basis

According to the Illinois Institute for Addiction Recovery, evidence indicates that pathological gambling is an addiction similar to chemical addiction. It has been seen that some pathological gamblers have lower levels of norepinephrine than normal gamblers. According to a study conducted by Alec Roy, formerly at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, norepinephrine is secreted under stress, arousal, or thrill, so pathological gamblers gamble to make up for their under-dosage.

Further to this, according to a report from the Harvard Medical School Division on Addictions there was an experiment constructed where test subjects were presented with situations where they could win, lose, or break even in a casino-like environment. Subjects' reactions were measured using fMRI, a neuro-imaging technique very similar to MRI. And according to Hans Breiter, M.D., co-director of the motivation and Emotion Neuroscience Centre at the Massachusetts General Hospital, "Monetary reward in a gambling-like experiment produces brain activation very similar to that observed in a cocaine addict receiving an infusion of cocaine." However, studies have compared gamblers to substance-dependent addicts, concluding that addicted gamblers display more physical symptoms during withdrawal.

Deficiencies in serotonin might also contribute to compulsive behavior, including a gambling addictions.

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Controversy over biomedical model

Some medical authors suggest that the biomedical model of “problem gambling” may be unhelpful because it focuses only on individuals. These authors point out that social factors are a far more important determinant of gambling behaviour than brain chemicals and they suggest that a social model may be more useful in understanding the issue. For example, an apparent increase in “problem gambling” in the UK may be better understood as a consequence of changes in legislation which came into force in 2007 and enabled casinos, bookmakers, and online betting sites to advertise on TV and radio for the first time in the UK and which eased restrictions on the opening of betting shops and online gambling sites.

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Gambler's fallacy

It is believed gambling addiction may, in part, be influenced by the gambler's own erroneous beliefs about the nature of probability. If gamblers approach gambling with the intent of winning and they initially end up losing, the only way for them to break even or win in the long run is to keep playing.

Some problem gamblers have the erroneous belief that if they keep playing, they will eventually win. While it is logically correct to say that more trials of a probabilistic event increase the likelihood of the event occurring at least once, some hold the fallacious belief that previous failures influence the likelihood of future successes. If individual incidences of probabilistic events are independent of each other, then this belief is incorrect. To hold such a belief is to commit the gambler's fallacy.

As an example, there is a 63.3% chance that a Vegas-style slot machine with a 1:100 likelihood of paying out each pull will have paid out once or more after 100 pulls. There is a 39.5% chance that this same machine will have paid out at least once after 50 pulls. A problem gambler that is susceptible to the gambler's fallacy would believe that, if after 50 pulls the slot machine has not paid out, there is a 63.3% likelihood that the machine will pay out within the next 50 pulls, because there is a 63.3% chance of the machine paying out within any particular block of 100 trials. In reality, the likelihood that the machine will pay out in the next 50 pulls is still 39.5%.

The oversight made here is that independent probabilistic events do not actually influence one another. Gamblers are equating a posteriori probability with a priori probability. Gamblers believe that if there is a certain likelihood of a probabilistic event occurring after a certain number of trials, then as the number of past failures increases, the likelihood of the event occurring in future trials increases. The reality of the situation is that once a particular trial has been deemed a failure, we know a posteriori that there is a 0% chance of that event occurring, even if a priori there is a 1% chance of the event occurring. Within a particular set of 100 pulls, after 50 pulls we are no longer in a block of 100 1:100 events, but a block of 50 0:100 events and 50 1:100 events.

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Relation to other problems

Pathological gambling is similar to many other impulse control disorders such as kleptomania, pyromania, and trichotillomania. Other mental diseases that also exhibit impulse control disorder include such mental disorders as antisocial personality disorder, or schizophrenia.

According to evidence from both community- and clinic-based studies, individuals who have pathological gambling are highly likely to exhibit other psychiatric problems at the same time, including substance use disorders, mood and anxiety disorders, or personality disorders.

The telescoping phenomenon - a theory initially used to describe substance abuse, has also been applied to pathological gambling. This phenomenon is usually seen in women and reflects the rapid development from initial to problematic behavior. In the telescoping phenomenon, the initiation of the problem occurs later in life, but progresses quickly into a dangerous situation.

As debts build up people turn to other sources of money such as theft, or the sale of drugs. Much of this pressure comes from bookies or loan sharks on whom people rely for gambling capital.

In a 1995 survey of 184 Gamblers Anonymous members in Illinois, Illinois State Professor Henry Lesieur found that 56 percent admitted to some illegal act to obtain money to gamble. Fifty-eight percent admitted they wrote bad checks, while 44 percent said they stole or embezzled money from their employer.

Compulsive gambling can affect personal relationships. In a 1991 study of relationships of American men, it was found that 10% of compulsive gamblers had been married more than twice. Only 2% of men who did not gamble were married more than twice.

Child abuse is also common in homes where pathological gambling is present. Growing up in such a situation can lead to improper emotional development and increased risk of falling prey to problem gambling behavior.

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Suicide rate

A gambler who does not receive treatment for pathological gambling when in his or her desperation phase may contemplate suicide. Problem gambling is often associated with increased suicidal ideation and attempts compared to the general population.

Early onset of problem gambling increases the lifetime risk of suicide. However, gambling-related suicide attempts are usually made by older people with problem gambling. Both comorbid substance use and comorbid mental disorders increase the risk of suicide in people with problem gambling.

A 2010 Australian hospital study found that 17% of suicidal patients admitted to the Alfred Hospital's emergency department were problem gamblers.

In the United States, a report by the National Council on Problem Gambling showed approximately one in five pathological gamblers attempts suicide. The Council also said suicide rates among pathological gamblers are higher than any other addictive disorder.

Dr. David Phillips, a sociologist from University of California-San Diego found "visitors to and residents of gaming communities experience significantly elevated suicide levels." According to him, Las Vegas, the largest gaming market in the United States, "displays the highest levels of suicide in the nation, both for residents of Las Vegas and for visitors to that setting." In Atlantic City, the second-largest gaming market, he found "abnormally high suicide levels for visitors and residents appeared only after gambling casinos were opened