Are substance abuse and gambling disorder inter-related?
Gambling is the act of staking something of a good value hoping to win something of a greater value in return. Gambling, though can be enjoyed once in a while without any problem, a continued pursuit can become an addiction for some and can even become a cause of concern when an individual feels a compulsive need to keep gambling or to take even greater risks to keep his/her gambling compulsions fed. Irony is that many addicts who develop a habit of gambling also develop addictions with drugs and/or alcohol. Ultimately, neither of these addictions can be manageable without professional help.
Understanding Gambling Addiction
A gambling addiction or a gambling disorder involves a person indulging in gambling activities forever and not refraining from the habit even after incurring huge financial and other losses. People gamble with different things including money, livestock, properties, assets, jewellery and sometimes even worse family members. This pathological gambling severely impacts a person’s life, family and the social status. Since most of them develop other addictions along with gambling, their health also takes a toll leaving them with nothing but grief and hopelessness.
Gambling disorder starts at a very young age, usually during adolescence in many cases, though it can happen even during adulthood. Addiction happens over a period of time where most people who develop this disorder slowly increase both the frequency and amount of their wagers. These people exhibit impulsivity disorders right from their childhood.
It is estimated that gambling addiction affects between 0.2% and 0.3% of the general population. While the problems associated with gambling often begin during adolescence or young adulthood, they can also begin during adulthood. Gambling disorder tends to develop over the span of years. As such, most people who develop a gambling disorder gradually increase both the amount and the frequency of their wagers.
People who develop gambling disorders earlier in life also tend to have problems with substance abuse or impulsivity disorders. Women who gamble are more likely than men to also have problems with anxiety, depression, or bipolar disorder.
Co-Occurring Substance Abuse
The connection between gambling disorder and substance use disorders has been well-established. Researchers found a higher rate of co-morbidities between gambling disorder and substance use disorders. A famous study from the US found that alcohol addiction is the most common co-occurring disease in chronic gamblers. More than 73% of gambling addicts in the study were diagnosed with an alcohol use disorder.
Factors contributing to the co-occurrence can be enumerated as below.
Environmental Factors
Environmental Factors are found to play a major role in co-occurrence disorders of gambling and alcohol abuse. For example, casinos and clubs, where gambling is part of the profession serve alcohol too which contributes to the development of both the disorders in the addicts. Additionally, gamblers use alcohol and other drugs to celebrate their victory while the losers abuse the same alcohol to deal with the shame associated with their loss in the same environments where they gambled.
Perceived Lifestyle factors
People who fancy anti-social lifestyle may adopt gambling and substance together. A person who abuses drugs as part of a happening lifestyle may view gambling as an accepted method of procuring money to support his/her addictions. The euphoria associated with drug use and the inflated sense of their gambling skill gives them the necessary high to keep their addictions maintained without guilt.
Genetic/Physiological Factors
Impulsivity and reward seeking are the common genetic risks that pathological gamblers and substance abusers share. Researchers in the fields of genetics, psychology and neuroscience found out that both drug addiction and gambling have a similar impact on the brain. For people whose circuits in the brain that deal with rewards are under-active, vulnerability to reward seeking lands them in compulsive behaviours and gambling. This is the reason they take higher risks both in gambling and substance abuse. Just like people with substances who need to take higher doses to achieve the same high, gamblers need to invest more money and take more risks to feed their addiction.
Psychological Factors
Also people with antisocial personality disorders, ADHD and risky social behaviours are prone to co-occurring substance abuse disorders and gambling disorders. Nevertheless, if you are an addict who is determined to recover, help is just a phone call away to a well-known, well-equipped rehab.
Phoenix Rehab Services is a leading Rehabilitation Centre in India for Substance Abuse and Behavioural Addiction. At Phoenix, we can help provide the right tools to you or your loved ones on the journey to lead a healthy life free from addiction. Our reliable & effective Drug and Alcohol Addiction Recovery Program is headed and supported by experienced & dedicated de-addiction therapists and is driven by motivated staff that is equipped to handle the various needs of patients and has years of experience in treating addiction.
