Pathological gambling is a progressively chronic disorder that results in an uncontrollable impulse to gamble. It has the highest suicide rate of all psychiatric disorders. One out of 5 gamblers will kill themselves. Psychologically similar to alcohol and substance addictions, compulsive gambling affects the entire family. Considered a "pure or hidden addiction" because there are no visible physical effects, it is, however, a diagnosable and treatable condition.
The nation, and especially Southern California, has recently seen an upsurge in the number of Indian gambling casinos. As the popularity of these facilities increases so does the number of potential individuals who will experience gambling-related problems. It is estimated that 1 out 20 individuals have gambling problems. Many of these people currently have little or no resources or funds for getting help and even less available options to discuss or share their problems.
While this blog is not a place to give or receive counseling, the purpose of RX 4 GAMBLING is to open up dialogue and to provide a safe haven to share ideas, vent gripes, offer solutions and post helpful materials concerning problem gambling. In the process, the goal will be to diminish the shame, stigma, isolation, and self-defeating behaviors that are part of the gambler's world.
I look forward to participating in this dialogue with you. For those of you in the San Diego area, you can also visit our treatment site at www.sandiego-rx4gambling.com
Dr. Suz Pike
Licensed Clinical Psychologist CA PSY 16492
CA Certified Gambling Counselor-II (CCGC #122)
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19 comments:
Thanks to Steven D, our SDCPG computer guru, for once again working his "magic" and adding the SDCPG logo. It looks great, Steve!
And, as always, thanks and endless love to my son, Brock VanStone, the graphic artist who not only designed the logo but also created the SDCPG treatment website. Good work, guys!
Now---come on gamblers---somebody say something!
Dr. Pike, do you REALLY think excessive gambling is all that bad? I mean, it's not like someone is a alcoholic, or takes lots of drugs and stuff. Gambling doesn't hurt anybody. Besides, it's lots of fun. So what if I spend a couple hundred bucks a week at the casino? I earned it. The casino makes me feel good. They give me coupons for the all-you-can-eat buffet, invitations to events. I even got two free tickets to a concert last July - just because I'm a frequent customer. They make me feel important. Everyone is always so nice. It's better than sitting in front of the TV every night and never leaving the house. I think everyone has the right to do as they please. Gambling never hurt anybody I know. You make it sound like it's a disease or something. In my opinion, too much of a good thing isn't so bad. It's all good.
Reading Mitzi's comment I can't help but comment on her comment. Mitzi you are so sadly mistaken... Compulsive Gamblers hurt many people and the gamblers who spend money they cannot afford to lose affects not only the gambler, but the gambler's family, friends and even employers.
It may be fun for gamblers that have a handle on it and can set and stick to limits, but there are many that cannot. Mitzi comments that she is given coupons for the all-you-can-eat buffet and free concert tickets. Compulsive gamblers often don't take advantage of the comps because they can't tear themselves away from gambling long enough to eat...
Mitzi from Evansville:
Congrats on being the first gambler to "brave the blog". Like those who drink alcohol, most people can gamble without developing problems. However, at least 5% of Americans develop some degree of gambling problem during their lifetime. In turn, their problems can affect as many as 8-10 others around them. Some of these problems include bankruptcy, divorce, foreclosure, domestic violence, prison and suicide.
To help you think about whether you may be a responsible gambler, a problem gambler or a pathological gambler, I have included a short 10-question quiz about gambling related activities and thoughts. If gambling isn't a serious issue for you now, could it become a problem down the road? Here's an opportunity to gain some insight and, perhaps, provide some warning signs.
GAMBLING CHECK-UP
1. Have you ever spent more than two days in a row thinking about gambling, planning future gambling activities, devising betting strategies or figuring out how to raise money for gambling?
2. When you tried to quit or reduce your gambling activities, did you feel irritable, depressed or bored?
3. Have you ever increased your bet size to "test your luck" or recapture a loss?
4.Have emotional lows caused you to want to stop or reduce gambling at least three times in your life?
5. Do you gamble to escape personal problems or to seek relief from uncomfortable feelings such as depression, pain, guilt, anxiety, anger or loss?
6. After a losing gambling session, have you ever decided to stay longer to try to recapture (chase)your lost money?
7. Have you ever lied about how often you gamble or how much you lost?
8. Has gambling created personal problems, hurt your relationships with family or friends, or negatively affected your work performance?
9. To raise money for gambling, have you ever written a non-sufficient fund (NSF) check, stole money, or pawned property?
10. Has gambling ever created a debt so large that you needed to ask family members, friends, a lending institution, a bankruptcy trustee, a credit counselor, or anyone else to give or loan you money (bail you out)?
If you answered "YES" to one or more of these questions, you are probably in trouble with gambling.
Nationally, further gambling information and assistance can be obtained by calling:
1-800-GAMBLER
Or, in the San Diego area, assistance and gambling treatment information can be gained directly by calling:
San Diego Center for Pathological Gambling,
619-806-7453
or toll-free
1-866-40-NO BET
(1-866-406-6238).
Dear Anonymous:
Thanks for sharing your views with Mitzi and the rest of the gambling bloggers. You have the valued voice of experience.
How correct you are about not being able to pull away from gambling long enough to eat---or even go to the bathroom. This is especially true of the slots/video poker machines. Research describes the electronic machines as the "crack cocaine" of gambling because a person can become addicted to playing them in as little as 10 times.
Here in San Diego, we all have heard about local gamblers who wear
"Depends" (adult diapers) while playing the machines so they don't have to stop playing and get up to go to the restroom. I have heard that some casinos have to regularly replace carpet around the machines because some men players just "get up and go".
More recently I saw an internet website that advertised "casino diapers", constructed strictly for this purpose--The "casino pants", which come in maroon for men and white for women, cost about $9.00 a pair.
A couple days ago, there was an internet news article where a man actually died after a 3-day gambling binge during which he neither ate nor drank---never got out of his seat--just sat,gambled--and died!
If anyone is interested, I will try to find the link.
Comments, anyone?
Sorry to tell you, Mitzi, excessive gambling is pretty bad. It has hurt me and others I know very badly. Of course everyone has the right to do as they please and gambling is a legal, fun activity. It sounds like you enjoy it and have it under control. Those of us who go/went to the casino and "spend" $200+ per HAND rather than $200/week are in a rather different situation. By the way, they give you a lot more than tickets to a buffet if you lose tens of thousands of dollars in a single night like I have, but it is simply not worth it. It is not fun anymore...it is a complete nightmare.
Thanks for sharing, Anonymous, sounds like you've been through some big-time losing and heart-break. It also sounds like you have managed to stop, e.g. "go/went". Anything you'd like to share on that? Maybe Mitzi isn't ready, but perhaps there are other gamblers out there in cyberspace who will read this and will be helped or encouraged by what you have to say.
Stopping gambling and, more importantly, staying stopped is really, really difficult. Hard work. Scarey work. It's like killing off your lover. No one really is ready to stop until they are "sick and tired of being sick and tired". At least that's what I have learned after treating over 500 gamblers for their problems.
Tell us your story, if you care to share. That's what the blog is for.
Whatever--thank's for "telling it like it is" to Mitzi. Maybe, if she is following the blog, she'll respond and let us know how she is doing. After all, gambling isn't just about the money, is it?--It's about how it makes you feel. And, what goes up, eventually has to come down!
Right, gamblers?
I just want to tell Mitzi to be careful. I started out just like she said, just spending a few hundred dollars or so every other month at the casino. Three years down the road, I was spending a few thousand dollars a night. I went through my retirement money in a year and a half. Then I started working part time while I took care of my sick husband. I lost our home and land while he was in the hospital. When he died this year, I spent every penny I could get my hands on (mine or someone else’s) until a committed theft and was arrested. I thought the same thing as Mitzi about only hurting myself but I was wrong. I was hurting my family all the time because they could see me going down and didn't know what to do. They felt as hopeless and lost as I was. Now you know of several people that gambling hurt. Please be careful.
Regarding Mitzi's comments -
"They [the casinos] give me coupons..."
The free things that casinos give to gamblers are just investments - they will get their investment back eventually and many times over. Just like drug dealers, casinos know that giving away their product is good for business because people do get hooked. Not everybody, not the first time, but enough people often enough.
When you go to a casino, you think you're taking a chance on whatever you're playing. That's the small picture that the casinos want you to think about. They're focusing on the big picture - eventually you will give back more than you take. For people with a problem, they give back much more than they take. And you won't know you have a problem until it's too late.
"The casino makes me feel good."
Probably so. But the next time you go, I suggest you look around and see how many other gamblers seem to feel good. Do they look happy? I think you'll find many people looked depressed.
"Gambling never hurt anybody I know."
This is probably more likely, "I'm not aware of anybody who's been hurt by gambling," because people don't talk about it. But from the numbers alone, it is very likely that you do know somebody who has been hurt.
Gambling has destroyed my self-esteem and is anything but "fun." Often, after a binge at the casino I feel physically, emotionally, spiritually and financially exhausted. I have looked around, and I don't like what I see. It is like looking in a mirror when I see the desperation on the faces of those who find themselves in the trap.
And, as far as the "free stuff" is concerned, it is small consolation. If I was even able to tear myself away from the tables long enough to eat a meal, I wouldn't be able to eat due to the extreme stress I am under.
Please beware, all that glitters is not gold. Gambling is a trap door for many that leads to destruction and desperation. I wish I had never taken the first bet....
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What Mitzi from Evansville described is not excessive gambling. Excessive gambling is what I began to do about 5 years ago and what has literally destroyed my life and relationships with my family. I have gambled away more than 25000 dollars in bad checks during a period of three days at a casino because I literally could not leave. It was as if I was under a spell. I continued to gamble and gamble with money I needed to pay the mortgage, to pay utilities, etc. but I did it anyway. It was as if I was in a manic craze. When I would win, I would play all of the winnings back. When I started to lose, I would go cash another check and then another. When I could no longer cash checks and had little money, I would empty every pocket and wallet searching for pennies to play the penny slots. I could not leave until I had spent every bit of money I had in the world. I did not eat the entire three days because I did not want to take the time away from gambling. I barely had enough gas to get home and prayed the entire way home that I would not run out of gas because I had no money. This has happened repeatedly in the last 5 years. I have lost my house, my car. I have been hospitalized several times for suicidal ideation because of this gambling behavior. Mitzi -- this is what you call "EXCESSIVE GAMBLING".
The worst thing about pathological gambling is that by the time you realize that you can't stop on your own and need help, you don't have any money left to pay for that help. I have been trying to quit for years. Whenever I get a chunk of money, however (tax return, job bonus, etc.), all I can think about is getting to the casino to play the slots. I usually lose the entire chunk and then some. The name on my bank account is "insufficient funds."
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