Gambling addiction: when can we talk about ludopathy?

The one from gioco d’azzardo It is a real dependence, which manifests itself with the typical symptoms of drug and alcohol addiction. When you don't have the object of your desire at hand, be it a slot machine or a scratch card, you experiment with the classic symptoms of the craving: sweating, rapid heartbeat, nervousness, anger, attitude to isolation. Gambling addiction is, in all respects, a real disease.

If we had to briefly describe this pathology, we would talk about a dissociative behavior towards gambling that puts all other aspects of life in the background, from relationships to work. This is the only area in which one feels fulfilled, and the dominant instinct is to play more and more. It is no coincidence that this condition is located in Handbook of Mental Disorders between Impulse Control Disorders.

The reward mechanism

But what drives the gambling addicts to persevere in their activity?

The answer lies in the so-called reward mechanism, that short-term gratification that is obtained by playing. When they earn money, even if in small amounts, those who suffer from this addiction feel a feeling of contentment: this, however, does not last long, and almost immediately thedissatisfactionYou have to accumulate more winnings, more money, more prizes.

This peculiarity of the person affected by gambling addiction is linked to his impulsiveness, and a psychological framework dominated by irrationality e compulsions. Those who suffer from this disease prefer an immediate and inferior result to a later and superior one, which triggers an inexorable chain reactionWhat should be simply a pastime becomes a real, profound obsession.

The Importance of Asking for Help: The San Nicola Center

A first step towards healing is the ability to admit your problem, and therefore seek support in a specialized structure.

In this sector, one of the jewels in the crown of the Italian territory is the St. Nicholas Center (centrosannicola.com). Personalized care pathways are established here, aimed at all those who are subject to addictions: from gioco d’azzardo, from psychotropic substances such as alcohol, cocaine and others drugs, Internet and so on.

Therapy is not just about the detoxication in itself, but also the physical and mental rehabilitation, assistance in case of relapses, support for family members. Patients are involved in group and individual sessions, and can benefit from consulting to get out of the tunnel of addiction. The aim of the Center is to guide people towards a new life, through a program which touches the field a lot medical health insurance company as the emotional, spiritual and educational.

Typical behaviors of the pathological gambler

The compulsive gambler presents a series of features that lead him to play, again and again. Among these we remember:

• poor mental flexibility;
• a low ability to self-regulate;
• a poor propensity for planning;
• the tendency to act on instinct, without thinking.

Gambling finds fertile ground in cognitive distortions, which provide an untrue perspective of the actual chances of winning. Thebrain area undergoes significant transformations, so that even a minimal stimulus can trigger themomentum. In particular, this pathology affects the prefrontal area, which presides over voluntary actions, and the nucleus accumbens, which controls the reward mechanism.

What Happens When You Gambling

Compulsive gamblers often commit crimes efforts to stop gambling, but these do not always succeed. Not infrequently a setback, whether you win or lose: in the first situation you want more, in the second you try to recover the money spent.

This is how one falls into addiction, which is frequently accompanied by lie. Those who suffer from this disorder hide it from themselves and others, experiencing a constant guilt which can lead to the trough. People with gambling addiction create a alternate reality, from which they exclude friends, family, and partners.

It may also happen that pathological gambling is combined with habitual consumption of alcoholic beverages and drugs. These do nothing but accentuate the symptoms, causing the patient to fall into a spiral from which it is not easy to free oneself. This is where the specialized centers, which start from the interiority and background of the individual to elaborate a tailor-made therapeutic path.