Individual and Family

Addictions

Whole Life Juvenile

Community Services

Services to Business
 
 
 
 
 

Who hasn't thought at one time or another, how nice it would be to win $100, $1000, $30,000, or $1,000,000, just by the lucky spin of the wheel, fall of the card, bounce of the ball or roll of the dice?  Everyone  has dreamed that fortune might touch his life, changing it all, relieving him of practical concerns and worries, making him suddenly wealthy with all the power to acquire or do anything he ever wanted.  It is a dream of millions in the lotteries, the sweepstakes, the casinos as well as in speculative investments in the stock market.  Some of those dreams do not have to do with wealth and power but just with being able to make ends meet. Winning may mean being able to buy a coat, a television set, a bicycle for a child, even just having more food on the table. 

For most people is a pastime, a diversion, an entertainment, a chance to get away and relax for a few days, to avoid the tensions and stress of daily living. For others there is the excitement.  The racing pulse, tingling nerves, sweating palms that so many experience and enjoy.  This excitement renews itself with every move, every roll, every draw, every spin, every play, every game.  Most people crave excitement.  Some find it fishing for the thousand-pound marlin, others find it in the incredible grace and beauty of  the dancers of Swan Lake.  Others find it watching David Cone pitching a perfect game.  And others find it in .

Compulsive is a progressive behavior disorder in which an individual has a psychologically uncontrollable preoccupation and urge to gamble.  In 1980 the American Psychiatric Association accepted pathological (compulsive) as "disorder of impulsive control."  Compulsive gamblers are driven to gamble in the same way that an alcoholic needs a periodic drink or a drug addict needs a fix.

Compulsive: Compulsive behavior is pathological when the urge or impulse produces a behavior that is out of control and creates financial, family, relational, vocational, legal, social and personal problems in living. 

Compulsive : Compulsive is an addictive illness in which the subject is driven by an overwhelming impulse to gamble.  The impulse progresses in intensity and urgency, consuming more and more of the individuals time, energy and emotional and material resources.  Ultimately, it invades, undermines and often destroys everything that is meaningful in a persons life.

DO YOU HAVE A PROBLEM?

Please answer yes or no to the following questions:

1. Are you preoccupied with (e.g., preoccupied with reliving past  experiences, handicapping or planning the next venture, or thinking of  ways to get money with which to gamble)?  YES______   NO______

2. Do you need to gamble with increasing amounts of money in order to achieve the  desired excitement?  YES_____  NO_____

3. Have you experienced repeated unsuccessful efforts to control, cut back, or stop  ?  YES_____  NO_____

4. Are you restless or irritable when attempting to cut down or stop ?   YES_____  NO_____

5. Do you gamble as a way of escaping from problems or of relieving a dysphoric  mood (e.g., feelings of helplessness, guilt, anxiety, depression)?  YES_____   NO_____

6. After losing money , do you often return another day to get even  ("chasing" one's losses)?  YES_____  NO_____

7. Do you lie to family members, therapists, or others to conceal the extent of  involvement with ?  YES_____  NO_____

8. Have you committed illegal acts such as forgery, fraud, theft, or embezzlement  to finance ?  YES_____  NO_____

9.  Have you jeopardized or lost a significant relationship, job, or educational or  career opportunity because of gambling?   YES_____  NO_____

10. Do you rely on others to provide money to relieve a desperate financial situation  caused by ?  YES_____  NO_____

IF YOU ANSWERED YES TO FIVE  OR MORE OF THE ABOVE QUESTIONS, YOU HAVE A PROBLEM.
 

 Five Types of Gamblers (click here)
Three Phases of (click here)

This information is provided as a community education service about professional issues and is not a substitute for individual consultation.  Advice on individual problems should be obtained through a professional.  All personal and medical information provided to Family and Community Services of Somerset County and it's staff is held in strict confidence.  This information will not be disclosed to any person or organization with out the written consent of the patient or guardian.