Pathological gambling

Introduction Pathological gambling (also known as gambling gambling) refers to the frequent occurrence of repeated episodes of gambling that have taken the dominant position in personal life and have caused damage to its society, profession, property, and family values and obligations. The formation of pathological gambling also has some relationship with the abnormal changes in the brain system of gamblers. The American psychologist Peter Carlton found that a decrease in the amount of serotonin, a chemical that alters the function of mental cells, may be one of the individual causes of gambling.

Cause

The formation of pathological gambling also has some relationship with the abnormal changes in the brain system of gamblers. The American psychologist Peter Carlton found that a decrease in the amount of serotonin, a chemical that alters the function of mental cells, may be one of the individual causes of gambling. American psychiatrists have also found that the behavior of pathological gamblers can affect many neurotransmitters in the brain. The increase or decrease of these substances can calm the anxiety, excite the melancholy, or enrich the spiritual emptiness.

an examination

Related inspection

Brain CT examination of brain MRI

Diagnostic criteria

1. I always think about gambling in my mind, reminiscing about the scenery at the gaming table, or planning where to go next to where to fight.

2. The bet is getting bigger and bigger and I feel addicted.

3. Repeatedly wanting to quit or less gambling ended in failure.

4. When trying to control gambling addiction, you will feel uncomfortable, upset or prone to temper.

5. When you are feeling depressed or feeling anxious, you want to use gambling to avoid problems.

6. Lose and think about when to win back.

7. In order to conceal your gambling addiction, don't hesitate to lie to family or others.

8. For gambling, it involved deception, falsification, theft or loss of trust.

9. In order to gamble, I have hurt my relationship with relatives and friends, and even lost school or lost my job.

10. In order to gamble, the debt is high, and the family is broken.

As long as there are five of the above, it is possible to diagnose a pathological gambling disease.

Differential diagnosis

Pathological gamblers have to go through such a trilogy: first, the stage of winning, most people take gambling with an entertaining mentality, often gamble after winning, they often want to win big money, and they are overly optimistic and confident. Following it is the stage of losing money. At this time, they always want to turn over the books. They try their best to raise gambling money to earn back what they lost. Their personality has also changed. They dont care about their families, lie or even break the law. Finally, there is a stage of depression. At this time, there may be negative mental states such as despair, alcoholism, family breaks and self-blame, nervousness and anxiety.

Gambling is a bad behavior, and moral, family and social problems caused by gambling are getting worse. Seeking excitement or risk is often a major motivation for people to participate in gambling activities. In the past, psychological special hospitals classified gambling into two types: pathological gambling and non-pathological gambling:

Non-pathological gamblers often have clear gambling motives and are able to control themselves. Some of them are for nothing or to win more money for others. Some people regard gambling as a pastime, while others regard it as a purely recreational activity and life hobby.

The material in this site is intended to be of general informational use and is not intended to constitute medical advice, probable diagnosis, or recommended treatments.