Gambling
Gambling consists of making a bet on the outcome of some event. Gambling has been a popular source of entertainment for many centuries and across many cultures. Gambler is someone who is unable to resist his or her impulses to gamble. This leads to severe personal and, or, social consequences. The urge to gamble becomes so great that tension can only be relieved by more gambling. The main symptom of this is denial and the major characteristic is loss of control. There is also a tendency to take bigger and bigger risks as time goes by.
People may go on to develop mental illnesses as a result of their gambling, most commonly depression as they lose control of their finances, relationships fail etc., which can put them into the next classification.
Depression and a deterioration of physical and emotional health are general signs and symptoms of a gambling. The gambler becomes moody, withdrawn and irritable and preoccupied with gambling, winnings of the past and getting hold of more money with which to gamble.
Here are some suggestions to keep gambling from becoming a problem in your life:
- Allocate money for necessities first
- Budget your income
- Never use more than 2% of your income for gambling
- Avoid temptation – do not go to casinos or associate with gamblers
- When you gamble, do not carry with you more money than you can afford to lose
- Never borrow money to gamble
- Don’t lend money to a gambler
