Gambling: types and ways of fighting

Gambling subject people of all ages. And social status, upbringing, profession, hobby and environment do not affect the likelihood of gaming addiction. For a long time, gambling was considered just a bad habit, but then it was added to the list of mental diseases, addictions that can and should be treated.

Gambling in the broad sense of the word refers to any pathological dependence on the gameplay. This also applies to gambling, and video games, and games on the stock exchanges. Therefore, there are several names for one problem - gambling, ludomania. Gambling is one of the most common human addictions in the world., it concedes leadership only to such bad habits as alcoholism and dependence on narcotic substances. But the catch lies in the fact that bad habits like to group, and therefore gamers often suffer from both alcoholism and drug addiction.

Game addiction refers to non-chemical types of addiction. In medical terms, it is addiction, which is accompanied by a man’s all-consuming passion for the game. For a long time, this was not considered a disease, but the last decades have forced medical professionals to reconsider their attitude to the problem. - The number of game addicts has grown several dozen times and it became clear that it was time to intervene in science and medicine. The prevalence of gambling is estimated by WHO as epidemic.

There are all new gaming devices, massive video games, in which millions of people are drawn. Measures to limit slot machines and casinos help, but not as well as it seemed at first - gamers moved to the Internet and free gaming areas where gambling is allowed, and illegal casinos and gaming rooms flourish with terry color.

Gamer is significantly limited in worldview. His area of ​​interest is very narrow, he is almost always in an alarming state, and the coordinate system of values ​​that is important for normal human life — family, children, health, and professional realization go to the second, third and fourth plans. The first place in the gamer's life is taken by the game.

Those who do not consider gambling addiction a disease are mistaken. Gambling is officially included in the ICD-10 as a mental illness under the code F 63.0. The fact that this is a real disease is recognized by doctors all over the world.

The game is an important cognitive process that helps children master the laws of the universe, and therefore the love of the game as a whole is in every person’s blood. Features of gambling lies in the fact that a person is a certain "imbalance" - a game that by itself can not cause harm, it becomes the most important component of life. The fact is that at the time of the game a person can feel strong emotions that are not available to him in everyday life. Therefore, to play something after a work week, for example, is not forbidden, for an emotional “release”. And many, indeed, even manage to periodically play gambling, without being drawn into them before pathological dependence.

In the case of gamers everything is different.They are unable to overcome the painful addiction that supplants all other desires and values, devaluing the very meaning of human life. The mechanisms of gambling are very similar to the mechanisms of alcoholism. - a person cannot suppress in himself an overwhelming desire, feeling withdrawal syndrome is actually at the physical level. He is unable to critically treat himself, his actions, does not control them and can not sensibly assess the environment. To play a person in a fit of uncontrollable desire sits at any time, without appreciating soberly his time and financial resources, without looking at his family’s needs, his own needs. The game ends for him when the attack passes. And until the next attack, he is able to look critically at his actions. And the next attack will happen. Therefore, gambling is considered a chronic mental illness prone to recurrence and progression (seizures become more frequent and stronger with time).

Sociologists have noticed that in the most prosperous countries, the level of gambling in adults is lowerthan in countries with unstable economies and other problems (0.4% vs. 7%). For example, in Canada, the prevalence of gambling does not exceed 1.5%, and in Russia and in the territory of the former CIS countries - from 3.5%. Children and teenagers, regardless of their country of residence, suffer from gambling twice as often as adults.

Game addiction has several forms. All of them are dangerous not only for health, but also for human life. The classification is based on the type of games.

These are casinos, slot machines, online casinos, card games, roulette and so on. Such games have an ancient history. But the first casino was opened in Venice in the XVII century. Since then, gambling houses have spread throughout the world, and now they are present in the virtual space.

Gambling is attractive for a person because they allow him to experience such a heat of passion that he simply has nowhere to get in his everyday life. In addition, an important factor provoking the development of dependence is the prospect of enrichment, to break the bank, to earn easy money or other values.

The gaming industry offered mankind something more than just an opportunity to win money. She offered him an alternative new world in which everyone can become what they want. Is this not a dream, not a utopia? As a result the number of gamers addicted to video games in recent years has grown rapidlyand today this type of dependence is distributed almost the same as pathological dependence on gambling, and material rewards are no longer an incentive for players.

According to doctors and scientists, network games, especially MMORPG, are the most addictive. After several cases when people (including children) died from exhaustion, lack of sleep during a multi-day game, WHO recognized this type of dependence as a disease and included it in ICD-11 (the classifier will replace ICD-10 in early 2022).

This type of dependence develops because of dissatisfaction with the real world, instability of the psyche, the desire to be realized in the absence of the ability or desire to do so in reality. In the virtual space it is easy to be a hero, not die, resurrect, conquer, overcome, reach heights and even rule the galaxies. At the same time, the creators of the games took care of the reward as an incentive - most games have a cycle involving the player receiving some intangible rewards for the levels and achievements completed, and this encourages a person to continue the game process.

Modern researchers of gambling addiction argue that pathological mania can develop due to excessive enthusiasm for any game. In 2018, a list of games that most often cause the strongest psychic addiction, which requires qualified medical care, was published:

• Dota-2;
• Madden;
• Grand Theft Auto V (GTA);
• Minecraft;
• EverQuest;
• The Sims;
• World of Warcraft;
• Pokemon;
• World of Tanks.

One may argue that such hobbies are not a game, not an addiction or a disease. But the fact remains. Excessive fascination with lottery tickets, sports betting, playing on the difference of currencies or the value of shares is also considered a form of gambling.

The organizers of lotteries and sweepstakes are not at all concerned about the financial condition of the players. They care about their own profits. But to play the lottery and bet people makes, oddly enough, faith in miracles. In childhood we are told fairy tales in which something happens in a miraculous inexplicable way, and the main characters who have experienced hardship and grief suddenly become happy and rich (the tale of pike and Emelya, the lamp of Aladdin and others).

Most often, this type of addiction is not afflicted by rich people. Chronic pathological "lotteryers" are people whose standard of living is below average, according to sociologists. They are ready to give the last pennies for a lottery ticket, hoping to find their “Aladdin lamp” there. Approximately the same average portrait of the regulars sweepstakes.

Speculation in the foreign exchange and stock markets require certain skills. And here dependence develops in certain people - well versed in mathematics, probability theory, politics, economics, rather educated. In fact, this is an ordinary gamble, although they represent it as “the work of the mind.” Strangely enough, on the stock market, not so much depends on a person and his mental abilities.

The situation is aggravated by the fact that today many such sites on the Internet not only offer people free training, but are even ready to provide loans for further rates. Very quickly, the player gets into a heavy financial bondage, from which he is again offered to get out with the help of refinancing and further games. The debt grows, the probability of complete bankruptcy and all the negative consequences resulting from this, including serious mental disorders, maladjustment in society and attempted suicide, increases.

The behavior of gamers is quite characteristic. In general, it is not much different from the behavior of an alcoholic or drug addict, since both in chemical and non-chemical addictions, the symptoms in a person are about the same.

The circle of interests of a person with gambling addiction is narrow. And even if earlier he was interested in reading, traveling, communicated a lot, participated in archaeological excavations and took fencing lessons, then with the onset of gambling addiction all interests lose their attractiveness, only interest in the game remains. This is easy to understand when talking to a person - he is particularly pleased with the discussion of the details of the game, his experience, subtleties and secrets. Other topics that are not related to the gameplay and everything that is directly connected with it are perceived with irritation or extremely carelessly.

The gamer stops communicating with his old buddies, stops paying attention to family members and himself, and may forget to wash, eat, dine. He neglects the duties and affairs that require his participation, since all this distracts him from the gameplay. Whenever possible, he plays.If there is no possibility (they turned off the light, there is no Internet, the computer broke down and so on), the gamer is very nervous, he is annoyed, can break loose on relatives, scream, while he can show miracles of ingenuity only in order to repair the computer as soon as possible electricity so that the game process becomes possible again.

If circumstances require you to interrupt the game, after a short time, the person begins to experience great anxiety and anxiety, he needs to return to the game. This is as strong as the craving of an alcoholic to a glass of alcohol, the drug addict - to the next dose of a prohibited substance. Doctors noticed that 95% of gamers with the experience of withdrawal symptoms in the event of depriving a person of the ability to play are identical to the clinical symptoms of withdrawal syndrome:

• sharply reduced mood;
• headache of varying intensity appears;
• sleep is disturbed, insomnia appears;
• it is extremely difficult for a person to concentrate on something, to concentrate his attention;
• “gaps” appear in the memory, more often - in the short term (a person cannot remember what he ate for breakfast in the morning, what he did last night);
• muscle pain and tremor of the extremities and lips may appear.

Having access to the game, a person with such a disorder cannot stop on his own either after a series of losses or after a win. In periods of "enlightenment" gamers are well aware that his hobby harms both him and others, and therefore he can make decisions for himself never to play again. But this decision almost never comes to life, because there are a lot of reasons why a person again and again sits at the computer or goes to a gambling establishment.

Psychiatrists consider gambling a very complex and persistent violation, because it is constantly supported by special thinking errors. Tactical errors contribute to a state close to the trance state. In it, a person is sure that he can do everything, that “today I’m definitely lucky, I know”, that “only a win will help me to return debts”. Strategic irrational mistakes in the process of thinking provoke a positive attitude of a person towards his addiction - he understands that he is dependent, but he justifies it for a lot of reasons. Such beliefs usually sound like this: “Money decides everything, opens any doors”, “Everything is bought and sold”. At the same time, a person is, of course, not satisfied with what he has, but he constantly dreams about how his life will change, and he himself, when he finally succeeds in scoring a big sum.

The behavior of gamers is always cyclical. It is quite predictable, it is enough to know the sequence of the phases and their symptoms.

• "Light period" (period of abstinence) - A person refuses to play, may recognize the inexpediency of further enthusiasm for the process, feel guilty.
• Period of fantasy and projections - there are thoughts about the game, their intensity increases, anxiety, absent-mindedness begin to appear. Mentally, a person is already playing and winning, scrolling in his head the event of his victory. During this period, perhaps increased sexual desire, there is a need to do something, while often gamers load themselves completely aimless work "for the sake of work."
• Decision period - thoughts about the game reach an obsessive nature, there are signs of depression, an irresistible emotional attraction. An addict can break loose, scream for no reason, he is very annoyed about trifles. Gamer at this stage is looking for a reason to play.
• Period of refusal of the decision - a very dangerous period when a person experiences an illusion about his willpower. It seems to him that he was able to defeat the pull to play one more time. This is only an illusion, deception. The addict relaxes somewhat and systematically enters the next phase.
• Implementation period - received a salary, quarreled with relatives, a lot of free time appeared.The reason may actually be any, or it may not be, at all. The solution is being implemented. The man comes into play. The trance state described above appears (on average it can last from 4 to 15 hours). He is happy, he believes in his strength, he is experiencing strong emotions.
• Period of return to reality - occurs immediately after emotional stress begins to subside. The person is aware of what has happened and cannot explain to himself why this happened again. He is depressed. After this comes repentance, regret, and the "bright period" begins again.

Everything is repeated in that order. Over time, each period is shortened. The longer the dependence remains, the shorter these periods are, and the stronger the dependence. With more than six months of dependency, a person begins to lie a lot and without much benefit, conflicts, resentment increases, the level of empathy decreases (the gamer loses the ability to empathize with other people), a tendency to criminal and criminal acts appears. Performance decreases, memory deteriorates.

Why gambling develops in children, adolescents, adults, it is difficult to answer unequivocally. There are many points of view, scientific concepts. Experienced psychiatrists believe that the likelihood of addiction is influenced by all of them to a greater or lesser extent: this is the stimulation of a possible gain, and the errors of the thinking process described above. People with an unstable psyche, addicted and even creative people, very impressionable people, anxious and unsure of their abilities in the real world, are more susceptible to gaming addiction. Since this description fits at least half of children and adolescents (due to the age characteristics of the psyche), the prevalence of gambling among them, for obvious reasons, is several times higher than among adults.

Prerequisites for the development of the disease can be laid in childhood, and can be acquired later. Experts believe that the likelihood of pathological dependence is higher for those who are used to spending leisure time on card games, even if they do not play for money in the family.

A positive and even “heroic” image of the players is found in films, books, and the emotional perception of such images can also become that invisible countdown point, which sooner or later will lead a person to the gaming hall or make you sit down for a video game.

For most children and a considerable number of adults, existence in the virtual world seems easier, more attractive, interesting than ordinary everyday life, in which neither the dragon is killed nor the princess is stolen. One may repeat to a teenager or an adult about the negative aspects of gambling - debts, loss of money, respect, family, friendship, communication, one's own “I”. All this will invariably remain beyond the perception and attention of the person inclined to the games.

If you try to explain gambling in terms of biological, biochemical and physiological processes, then the reason for the formation of dependence is the incorrect work of the so-called "pleasure center" in the brain. Memories of the gaming atmosphere, of victories and triumph cause the activation of this part of the limbic system. In normal mode, this center of the brain ensures that a person experiences pleasure, quenching thirst, eating, having sex, that is, with natural needs. In the case of gambling, the pleasure center “gives a system failure” - the gameplay begins to bring satisfaction, and at this point in the body every time there will be a release of neurotransmitters that trigger reactions similar to the reactions of an alcoholic or drug addict to a glass of alcohol or a drug.

Who is at risk to join the ranks of gamers:

• people who have received improper upbringing in the family (too strict or overly protective);
• people whose parents or acquaintances played, play and do not hide their addiction;
• those who have been accustomed to spend their free time exclusively for games (any) since childhood;
• people suffering from things - the pathological approval of material values, things, to possess them;
• people who suffer from the envy of the financial condition of others, to the material situation of outsiders;
• children and adults who are prone to overestimation of values ​​without their own clear position in life;
• children and adults prone to depression, anxiety disorders.

In 1984, the researcher of mental deviations in gamers R. Caster He proposed to distinguish several stages of this dependence:

• winnings;
• losses;
• disappointment.

In the first stage, the gamer plays infrequently, and sometimes, in general, rarely. It is noteworthy that he often wins, in connection with which there occurs a primary erroneous attitude in his mind - that he is literally omnipotent and incredibly lucky. Imagination plays out, creating bright pictures of a comfortable and beautiful future. Rates are rising (time for computer games is increasing), at this stage real investments in online games are possible. Optimism rolls over, and the person, without knowing it, is already dependent.

In the stage of losing play, a person begins to concentrate, often alone, he loves to boast about his victories and winnings, his luck, and in moments of bragging, he himself believes in what he says. At this stage, he already thinks and reflects mainly on the gameplay only. It is already impossible to stop, a lot of lies appear in a person’s life, he spends less time on friends, family and work. Personality change begins - shame disappears, irritability appears, a person quickly gets tired, does not want to communicate, when it comes to gambling addiction, then it is at this stage that debts and refusal to pay for them appear.

The stage of disappointment is associated with the aggravation of the degradation process. Personal reputation, professional duties and relationships with relatives, in fact, cease to excite the gamers, the time he spends on the game, increases even more. Sometimes he is tormented by conscience, but he surely finds the cause of his troubles not in himself, but in those around him, he torments them with unfounded accusations and hatred.

To better understand why a gamer does so and not otherwise, why he cannot simply take and give up his addiction, one should know that each phase of the game cycle (abstinence - projections and thoughts - decision making - rejection of decision - realization - disappointment) they have their own behavioral and physiological syndromes, which largely determine the sequential development of the stages.

• When attracted to the game, the addict focuses on everything related to the gameplay. At the physiological level, vegetative reactions can be observed - drops in blood pressure, flushing, excessive sweating. In the psyche there are initial changes, the so-called ideatory disorders, accompanied by obsessive thoughts about the game.
• Trance syndrome, which occurs during the implementation phase of the decision, may be accompanied by an increase in pressure, pressing pain in the heart. Rational thinking is lost. There is a surge of strength. May last up to half a day.
• At the stage of winning, an addict experiences a syndrome, which is called a win syndrome. It can last from a couple of hours to 1-2 days. It is associated with even greater euphoria, self-confidence.
• In the stage of loss, each syndrome after a lesion lasts up to two days and is manifested by anxiety, anger, resentment, aggression. At this very moment, gamers become superstitious - they can ask higher forces for help, pray, and carry out understandable “good luck” rituals alone.
• In the disappointment stage, a feeling of emptiness and fatigue prevails. Against the background of depression and sleep disorders, the saddest consequences are not excluded.

Knowing what cycles before the game a person with gambling addiction passes, relatives and friends can quickly learn to understand what will happen next, what actions and actions will be taken by the dependent relative. This knowledge can be used in the prevention of attacks, suicides.

Despite the fact that it is easy to recognize gambling, it is the doctor who must make the appropriate diagnosis. And for this you need to decide on the main thing - to go to a medical specialist and ask for help. Both the gamer himself and his relatives should do this. Since the addict is not able to evaluate everything objectively, the doctor often receives the information from his relatives or friends to determine the stage and depth of dependence.

You can get rid of gambling addiction at home, but the probability of a “breakdown” when a person is in a familiar environment is higher, and therefore it is recommended to treat gamers in a psychiatric or narcological hospital. It is in the interests of relatives not to insist on letting the addict go home after the treatment is given - the craving for the game is almost impossible to control, and the gamers cannot perceive themselves critically and cannot. Therefore, it is stationary conditions that are optimal in order to overcome addiction.

To cure a gamer, you need a comprehensive therapeutic approach: medication and continuous concomitant psychotherapy. Methods that are used to eliminate addiction are numerous - this is cognitive psychotherapy (with a change in the wrong attitudes, the very “mental system errors”), and rational therapy (with correction of thinking errors), analytical studies (with an effect on the unconscious), and suggestive and hypnotic psychotherapy (suggestion sessions in a state of wakefulness, trance and hypnosis treatment).

The goal is considered achieved if the patient changes settings for more real ones - he understands that he needs to work, learn, achieve goals on his own, and not rely on some kind of ephemeral success, he understands that he is the master of his life and is able to reach any heights in it not with the help of gambling or virtual reality, but through their knowledge, skills, talents, abilities.

Psychotherapy is applied individually and in groups. Working in a support group is very important, because a dependent can see his problem “from the side” by the example of others. To eliminate sleep disorders, anxiety, and irritability, simultaneously with the course of psychotherapy, a course of sleeping pills and powerful sedatives are prescribed. If a gamer enters the hospital already at the stage of frustration, with severe depression and suicidal thoughts, he is additionally prescribed antidepressant medications. For attacks of aggression, tranquilizers can be prescribed in a short course.

Many people think that there is a fast method of coding gambling, that the doctor will tell the patient a few words under hypnosis or make some kind of injection - and everything will go as it was. There are no such methods. What people call coding is the complex of psychotherapy with drug support, and the treatment is almost always quite long. How successful it will be depends on how much the addict is willing to accept help. It is possible to cure dependence, it is possible to fight it, but only if the patient has his own motivation. If he is forcibly brought to the doctor by upset relatives, and he does not intend to cooperate with the doctor, then the probability of effective treatment is almost minimal.

In the end, very much depends on the relatives, relatives and friends of the gamers, on their proper attitude and behavior in this situation. First of all, they should understand that gambling is not bad behavior, but a disease. Therefore, no lectures on how to live properly, the situation can not be corrected. Tantrums, screams, threats, blackmail will not help. The world is distorted not only for the dependent, but also for those around him. This effect is called the effect of codependency.

The right reaction is not to indulge the weakness of the addict, not to justify him, and not to blame yourself. That's right - to fight for their decent existence and the material resources of the family. Relatives will have to take control of home accounting, the whole way of life of the family. At the requests, manipulations, threats and accusations gamers need to answer only one thing - a firm and resolute refusal.

Pay attention to the name of the disease. It has the word "mania". Like most manias, gambling tends to progress and get worse if a person does not receive treatment. As a result, his life will be destroyed, relations with relatives will be interrupted, friends and colleagues will leave, he will remain alone. The personality will collapse from within, degradation will touch all its sides. The biggest mistake of those who like to play is that they are sure that a disease is dangerous for anyone, but not for them, so this will never happen to them, there will be no harm. So every gamer thinks at the initial stage. There are no exceptions.

Excessive gambling (casinos, slot machines, online casinos, stock exchanges and stock platforms) leads to the development of mental illness, according to statistics, in 90% of cases. In varying degrees and stages of the disease will occur in 9 out of 10 players. Gambling addiction almost always leads to the collapse of a career - study or work goes by the wayside, a person discredits himself as a specialist, professional, student. Financial problems are inevitable - debts, loans that have nothing to pay, collectors, threats and courts.

Failures of casinos and online casinos usually fail to maintain warm family relationships. Any patience of parents, partner, children has its limits, and therefore in most cases the relationship ends quickly - loud, traumatic, with smashing dishes (people), divorce and division of property (if the bailiffs have not had time to arrest him yet).

In most cases, gambling addiction aggravates existing problems with alcohol, and if they did not exist before, they usually appear. Alcoholism or drug addiction exacerbates the already unsightly position of gamers. The violation of the law seems quite logical, many gamers, in order to get money for the game, go to crimes (robbery, fraud, murder). Long-existing dependence leads to the development of associated mental disorders, which at one point can bring a person to serious self-harm or suicide.

Computer games, although they seem less dangerous, can cause no less a list of negative consequences, especially for children and adolescents, whose psyche does not stand up much earlier. This is fraught with complete disintegration of the personality, and then even psychiatrists will be powerless. It is enough to remember how teenagers, who have forgotten who they really are, take up real weapons and go to their school or university, where they coolly shoot, cut, blow up not game bots, but the real people who are alive with whom they were tied yesterday warm and even friendships, love, affection.

Besides him, there are less tragic, but no less serious consequences. A gamer loses contacts with the real world, he has no friends, his relationship with his parents, relatives, and acquaintances has been destroyed. He is not interested in the lives of others and the world itself. Adaptive abilities, communicative skills and learning abilities are lost. As a result, the chances of living an interesting and rich life are reduced, in which you can truly be a hero.

Excessive enthusiasm for video games can cause abnormal posture in children, mental changes, reduced vision, neurological disorders. There are several cases where the gamer refused to eat, not finding time for this, fearing to interrupt the game, which was the cause of death. There are also cases where the play to overpower even the physiological needs - the child died because several days spent in the game, did not empty the bowels, did not drink water.

In order not to encounter gambling in one’s own child, and even not to create psychological prerequisites for the development of such a disease in the future, one must clearly understand that children who are sufficiently busy with business simply cannot devote much time to games. And because the advice of a psychologist for parents who want to protect a child from misfortune, is quite simple.

• Plan your child's time so that the schedule of the day, regardless of the age of the son or daughter, remains no more than 20-30 minutes to play. This applies to board games, computer, mobile applications. For children under 5 years old, WHO generally does not recommend playing video games.
• Inspire a child from an early age with sports - because it provides an opportunity to experience those very sharp emotions that gamers chase after. Sport gives you the opportunity to be a winner and a loser, a champion and a junior, and there, too, for achievements, give incentive rewards. What is not an alternative?
• Support your child to communicate and communicate with family, friends, buddies and colleagues. Go visit, invite guests to your place, attend exhibitions, cinemas, concerts together, collect backpacks for a hike and a picnic.
• Provide your child with an interesting hobby. Whatever it is - picking up stamps or modeling from clay, the hobby should bring pleasure to the child, and this is also an excellent alternative to the pleasant emotions that the gamers experience at the first stage of dependence.
• Correctly set your priorities, and teach the child the same. Playing at a computer turns into a problem only when it is trying to fill voids - time that is not occupied by anything. If even the child really likes to play at the computer, then just set a hard deadline - take the game no more than half an hour per day. Follow the same rule yourself. Unfortunately, more and more often parents are trying to take a child with a computer or gadget to get time for household chores, for personal needs. To do this is strictly not recommended.
• Be able to relax and teach the same to the child. Children and adults with a high level of stress are more prone to gambling. And they begin to play as rest, relaxation, distraction from problems and affairs.If you learn to distract and relax in other ways, then there will be no need for the game process. Normal natural relaxation - a leisurely family walks, meditation, listening to pleasant music, breathing exercises, swimming, visiting the bath.

Do not negatively treat games. In moderation, virtual reality can even be useful, serve as a learning, developmental function. The game, if it is age appropriate, does not contain scenes of violence, blood, can be an excellent training for attention, reaction speed, creative abilities and the ability to search for non-standard solutions. The main thing is not to upset the balance between the norm and pathology. If the game does not make a cult, the dependence will be unlikely.