High Stakes, Higher Risks: The Dark Side of Gambling Addiction

One of the craziest things I discovered as an addiction therapist of ten years is that one of the most devastating addictions I've ever come across is not from putting a substance in your body whatsoever. I'm Evan, your resident mental health and addiction therapist. And in this video, I'm gonna be doing a deep dive into gambling addiction. And a lot of people may underscore this. They may think it's something that doesn't affect a lot of people. However, a very high percentage of people struggle with gambling addiction, and it has some of the most profound consequences I've ever seen.

Now, around one percentage of the population struggles with severe problem gambling. And though that may not seem like a lot, that translates to millions of people whose lives have been disrupted by this extremely problematic set of behaviors. Now, this can come in many different forms. It could be things like going to the casino, playing slot machines, card games, but it could also come in the form of betting in stocks or cryptocurrencies, horse racing. There's a lot of different ways people find a gamble.

And a lot of people are finding more accessibility with different apps on their phone, or they could play sports bets or online casinos now, similar to substances, and sometimes even worse, gambling has severe consequences in individuals lives, whether that be utter financial ruin, the devastation it causes in people's relationships. And this leads to the highest levels of suicide among any addiction out there. Now, to give an example, one of the worst addictions I've ever come across that represents a unique evil is slot machines.

Now, slot machines are engineered to mess with our brain's reward system. The flashing lights, the sound, the reward interval keeps people glued to the slot machines hooked, often losing all sense of time and loss of money. And there's really no winning when it comes to slot machines. There's not really any skill involved, and people get so sucked into these. And I find these individuals have some of the hardest time leaving gambling for good. Now, it's also important to understand that gambling does not exist in a vacuum.

People with gambling addictions have some of the highest co occurring rates with other disorders, including substance use disorders. Very often, people who struggle with gambling also struggle with alcohol or other drug addiction. Also, individuals with gambling addiction have extremely high rates of depression, anxiety, and other mental health disorders. Now, I'm doing this video because I want to spread awareness. We need to be better at identifying as professionals, but also the people in our lives who are struggling with gambling related behaviors and stopping it before it goes too far.

All the secrecy, all the devastation it causes in people's lives. It's really important to address it right away. Now, it's important to note that there are some really good resources out there, and I'm going to share some of those in the description. Often casinos or other gambling institutions have to pay in to support people with gambling counseling. Therefore, people can get some free sessions. Now, there are different populations of people that are more vulnerable. For example, sometimes college students could get hooked into the gaming or investment type addictions.

Often elderly people who are a little bit lonely or have more time on their hands are often preyed upon by some of the casinos offering free rides and trips for them to go. Individuals who struggle with mental health disorders, substance use disorders, people who have financial problems are all at higher risk. All right, so if you're someone who struggled with gambling addiction or you have a friend or family member who has share your experience in the comments. I want to know what you've been through.

And just know that even though gambling addiction is extremely serious, it's also treatable and there is hope.