Compulsive versus Pathelogical Gambling (2)

We started yesterday with the article about compulsive and pathological gambling and like alcoholism or drug addiction either can cause immense problems not only to the gambler but also to the spouse , partner or other family members usually due to the financial mess which can result; we have even heard of spouses finding out that the house has been remortgaged to fund the habit but what causes the problem? Well we cannot be sure but it is commonly accepted that addiction is not a moral issue but a “mental” issue and a chemical issue. When people are aroused or excited, which can actually be triggered by winning in a casino, the brain produces norepinphrine which in normal folk is not at all harmful but it is believed that compulsive gamblers may produce less norepinphrine which causes them to gamble more to compensate. Another chemical that could be blamed is dopamine which is used to treat sufferers of Parkinsons disease. Dopamine is again created in healthy individuals creating a feeling of a “rush” during excitement but again is produced in different quantities in different people. The point about all this is that addiction is not necessarily something which the addict chooses to do, there is probably a chemical imbalance causing it and the only cure for them is to seek help. Unfortunately denial of having a problem is the largest impediment to getting a cure as most compulsive gamblers actually believe that they have control. If you know somebody who has symptoms, convince them to seek help but in the meantime at least convince them to put limits on their gambling as is possible at all reputable online casinos and bookmakers.