Gambling

Gambling is an impulse control issue that escalates into a mental health crisis and can become a true addiction. Gambling addiction is also referred to as compulsive gambling or pathological gambling. There are many activities that can be engaged in by compulsive gamblers, including poker and other card games, slot machines, roulette, sports betting, buying lottery tickets to excess, casino gambling and playing online games of chance. Even bingo can deteriorate into a compulsive gambling activity. As with any addiction, one needs to look at the amount of sneaking and hiding, dishonesty and pre-occupation that goes into the behavior.

Gambling can develop in the teen years, predominantly by men. It can also start as a “rite of passage” when people turn 18 and can go to the casinos. An early win may be the sign of problems in the future. Women begin later, but their gambling problems seem to escalate more quickly. Certain studies indicate that there may be a biological basis for gambling addiction as research indicates that some pathological gamblers suffer from lower levels of norepinephrine than normal gamblers. Norepinephrine is both a hormone and a neurotransmitter and is secreted when the person is under stress or in moments of thrill or arousal and it is believed that gambling may be used to overcompensate for the lower norepinephrine levels. Further, a Harvard Medical School Division of Addiction study concluded that winning money in a gambling environment produces brain activation similar to that of an addict ingesting cocaine.

While Caron Texas does not primarily treat gambling addiction, clinical staff is able to provide assessments, and support through cross addiction groups and appropriate referrals.