“He that hastens to be rich hath an evil eye, and considers not that poverty shall come upon him.”  – Proverbs 28:22

Pathological Gambling disorder, also known as Compulsive Gambling, is the most common type of impulse control disorder in the world.  It occurs when a person gambles compulsively to such an extent that the betting has a severe negative effect on his or her relationships, job, mental health, or other important parts of their life. Oftentimes there are many unsuccessful attempts to stop gambling, as well as restlessness and irritability when trying to stop gambling, lying to family and friends to try and hide the extent of gambling, and committing crimes to finance gambling.   Sadly, it is one of the most ignored mental health problems in the United States.  Denial is so common among people afflicted with this disorder that pathological gamblers are much more likely to be diagnosed when their spouse or family becomes concerned rather than self-reported.

Pathological gamblers often engage in many different types of gambling activities including games of chance found in casinos (slot machines, card games, etc.), many of which are now available on the Internet.  Other gambling activities include the state lottery, horse or dog racing, sports betting or even bingo.

Pathological gambling needs to be distinguished from social and professional gambling, as well as from other impulsive, mood, or thought disorders.  It can be discriminated from a manic episode by the recognition that the manic-like behavior virtually disappears after the person has finished gambling.  It is only when the gambling behavior occurs in the absence of other disorders that it is actually considered its own diagnosis.  In order to diagnose Pathological Gambling, the individual must demonstrate at least five of the following features:

• Withdrawal – the individual has tried to stop gambling without success.  He/she will becomes moody, cranky or restless when they attempt to stop
• Escape – the individual uses gambling as a way to improve their mood or escape problems
• Preoccupation – the individual thinks about gambling all the time
• Tolerance – the individual uses larger and larger amounts of money when gambling
• Lying – the individual lies about the extent of gambling to family, friends, and/or therapists
• Chasing – the individual keeps gambling to try to win back gambling losses
• Illegal acts –  the individual has tried to make money for gambling, or to repay gambling losses, by engaging in illegal behavior
• Bailout – the individual ends up relying on other people in order to attempt to get out of financial problems as a result of gambling
• Risking significant relationships – the individual continues to gamble even though they know they are risking the loss of a relationship or job

In males, pathological gambling usually first appears during adolescence, and for females quite a bit later in life.  The process of becoming a pathological gambler is a sinister one.  There is typically years of social gambling with friends, oftentimes followed by an abrupt onset that may be brought on by more exposure to gambling or by stress.  As one might expect the desire to gamble generally increases during periods of stress or depression.  Yet, surprisingly enough, the people who usually become pathological gamblers tend to be bright, well-educated, competitive people who enjoy the challenges and risks involved in betting.  When not gambling, pathological gamblers are often described as “workaholics”.  These individuals tend to be prone to developing medical conditions associated with stress, such as hypertension or migraine headaches.

As with any condition, prevention is the best medicine.  It is vital that the public be educated about the dangers of pathological gambling.  Since the occurrence of pathological gambling is directly associated with the availability of gambling, and the availability of gambling continues to increase, the public needs to understand the potential costs to society of this disorder.  Pathological gambling represents suffering, loss of control, and lost productivity for millions of afflicted individuals.

Treatment for pathological gambling involves counseling, step-based programs, self-help, peer-support, medication, or a combination of these.  However, no one treatment is considered to be most effective.  There are a number of effective treatments for pathological gambling disorder.  One form of counseling called cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has been shown to lessen the symptoms and gambling related urges.  CBT utilizes skill building approaches aimed at preventing relapse, problem solving, and reinforcement of activities and interests that are inconsistent with gambling.  Other types of treatments involve behavioral techniques used to teach relaxation and avoidance of the triggers associated with gambling.  Aversion therapy appears to be successful in treating pathological gambling in highly motivated patients with some insight into their problem, but is not so helpful for patients who are resistant to behavioral methods of treatment.  Gamblers Anonymous (GA) is a Twelve-Step program patterned after Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) that emphasizes a model of mutual support.  The pathological gamblers admission that they have a gambling problem, and a willingness to attend meetings, are considered the first steps in treating the disorder.  Looking realistically at what gambling has done to a person’s life, and a willingness to work hard to stop gambling are also important parts of the program. Gamblers Anonymous further expects that people who stop gambling will understand that they will never be able to gamble again socially, just as recovering alcoholics cannot effectively drink socially.  Several casinos, and some state lottery programs, have developed a Voluntary Exclusion program whereby when an individual signs up for the program they are effectively banned from the casino, and will actually be arrested upon entering.  In the case of a state lottery they are not allowed to cash out winnings, removing the incentive to gamble.  There is some evidence that the use of common antidepressant medications known as SSRI’s can also be effective in the treatment of pathological gambling.  A combination of more than one of these approaches is typically the most effective.

There are many highly qualified and capable individual counseling therapists within the tri-counties region with vast experience in treating pathological gambling.  There are also Gamblers Anonymous meetings held on a regular basis in our local area:

Tuesdays and Fridays:

Goleta-Santa Barbara G.A.
6:00-7:00 PM
Goleta Valley Community Center
5679 Hollister Avenue, Room 5A
Goleta, CA

Thursdays:

Santa Maria G.A.
7:00-8:30 PM
Alano Club
115 S. Ben Wiley – off Main Street
Santa Maria, CA

Sundays:

Ventura G.A.
7:00-9:00 PM
Ventura Public Health Bldg.
3147 Loma Vista Road – Back Entrance
Ventura, CA