USA Today (Society for the Advancement of Education): Controlling addiction to gambling

To some, it's only a game, but to many, gambling is a serious addiction, becoming an uncontrollable behavior that can lead to financial and personal ruin. Gambling addictions affect an estimated 3,000,000 Americans, and statistics show that one out of every 10 people who gamble will become a pathological gambler.

Whether bingo, sports betting, or high-stakes roulette, all games of chance are a potential threat to person at risk for gambling addictions, maintains John Thompson, a psychiatrist and medical director of the Ochsner Addictive Behavior Unit, New Orleans. "There are may similarities between addictions to substances and addictions to gambling. The stages are similar, the signs are alike, and, most of all, the devastating social effects... are the same.

"Gambling addictions have the same characteristics as other types of addictions," including mental preoccupation with the behavior, disregard for the negative consequences, loss of control, and progressive worsening of symptoms.

Pathological gamblers tend to focus on the euphoric thrill of risking money in attempts to win more. Their desire to gamble becomes so strong that they often lose focus on the amounts of money they are spending. "For many people with gambling addictions, it doesn't matter how much money is being spent or where that money comes from. They will begin a process known as |chasing'; that is, after losing a large amount of money, they later return to that activity to try to win back those losses.

"Like alcoholism or drug addiction, pathological gambling can become a very isolative [condition]. We often find that, when our patients are suffering the worst and need their families and friends the most, they have become so isolated that they don't have anyone left."

Treatment for gambling addiction often includes group therapy and involvement in 12-step programs, offering a network of support. Gamblers Anonymous combines both elements into its support group sessions, which can be located in many areas through a telephone directory.

One-on-one consultation between patient and therapist also is a treatment option, and hospital care may be recommended for anyone who can not stop gambling, has other addictions, or shows signs of severe depressions, exhaustion, or potential for dangerous activity.

Thompson warns that the number of people with gambling addictions can be expected to rise with the growth of legalized gambling in many areas. "The more avenues available to a population to gamble, the greater the chance that gambling addictions will affect them."