Ayone here have any perspective they can give me on gambling addiction?

[Redstone]

It's not me. (I once spent an entire week in Las Vegas at a trade show, and never even put a quarter into a machine. I'm not saying that anyone else shouldn't enjoy gambling; it just doesn't do anything for me.)

But it's someone close to me. I don't understand why anyone would want to cause a rift in their family life by wanting to be at the casino instead of being at home, even when they KNOW it's causing problems, but like I said, I don't "get" gambling at all, much less how it can consume your life at the expense of everything else.

But I suppose that's the nature of addiction, isn't it, no matter the thing that someone is addicted to? And especially gambling, because the casinos are SO expert at getting people to believe that they're a place where anyone can forget all their problems.

Dang, I think I just answered my own question. So I won't be offended if nobody replies, but I'll say thak you for allowing me to vent in this group.

Redstone

[KitchenWitch]

1. I am not even sure the professionals have a complete understanding of addiction

I am sorry your friend is caught up in it all.

[Redstone]

2. Thanks, KW. I believe I'm going to have to deal with it from the standpoint of what IS

known about addiction, to whatever. I think the knowledge of, for example, alchoholism or opiate addiction, applies to gambling addiction as well.

Dammit, like I need this additional stress in my life.

Redstone

[KitchenWitch]

3. May I suggest Alanon

It may give some insight into the addiction and some help in dealing with it.

[Redstone]

4. I believe you're right. I can certainly understand how the allure of alcohol, or

opiates, or cocaine can drive those hooks into people; I've used all of those and know how good they can make you feel (at least temporarily).

But I guess I'm having a problem understanding the gambling thing because I don't enjoy it myself, even in small quantities.

I suppose that all addictive substances or activities all boil down to the same concept: whatever gets people's endorphins up and running, and **promises** to provide an "escape from reality" has the potential to trigger addiction.

Thanks for letting me ramble and answer my own questions.

Redstone

[varkam]

8. That's right.

All addictions have the dopamine pathways in common: sex, alcohol, drugs, gambling, food, et cetera. Anything that triggers the reward pathways can become addictive.

[elleng]

5. fyi

http://www.addictionrecov.org/addicgam.htm

[Justpat]

6. If your friend wants to stop,

there is always Gamblers Anonymous. I know several people who attend GA meetings.
They have been OK for years. But your friend has to get to the point where he/she
wants to stop. Until then, it is steady down hill for every aspect of their life.


With me, the nature of my addiction was to keep doing the thing that was killing me
until my attempts at slow suicide through drinking no longer was an option. Only then
did I consider a change.

Feel free to vent anytime.

[Kajsa]

7. GA is one of AA's sister programs

and works with the same twelve steps and traditions.

The first step is to want the help, i.e. be willing to
admit that we have a problem.

It's a tall order and some never get there.

But many do, and we are living proof that it works.

I hope your friend gets to that point.

Take care of yourself, too.
The addiction affects everyone around the person with the problem.

:pals:

[SPKrazy]

9. Gambling releases different neurohormones

that can create addictive returns, adrenalin, endorphins, dopamine, the excitement of it all, the environment, the win, the memory of the win, all create something in an addictive prone individual that drives them again and again.

Substance addictions and process addictions is one way to look at it. Our bodies are pharmaceutical companies better than any of them out there really.

Process addictions make use of our body's pharma resources. Dynamics of it are similar psychologically to other addictions. Especially from a family systems perspective.

Gambler's Anonymous is a program modeled after AA that has some success just as AA has some success, and all the other A's have some success. No one program works for everyone, and not everyone is ready to make a program work. Not many are ever exposed to recovery.

That's my .02

:hi:

[TrogL]

10. I swear some of them are adrenaline junkies