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Cross addiction is as worst as the main addiction you are trying to quit and it is a terrible idea. But what is cross addiction?

So a friend told me that a mutual friend tried to replace his gambling addiction with another another one because he has tried all everything else. The new addiction is PS4. He pays for extra on the game and he is getting more and more into it. According to my friend, this mutual friend feels that paying $20 per month its subscription is better than $100- $500 on slots where he ends up losing.

Well I told him that this is basically cross addiction and what that mutual friend is trying to do is like running away from the truth. Not wanting to face the core issue. So he is justify spending $20 and not on slots when both are unhealthy addictions that can have far reaching consequences. He just has to sit and face his addiction head on without looking for a replacement addiction which is just as bad.

Ever heard of cross addiction or suffered from it?
What do you think?

Yes it is easier to replace one addiction with another this will be easier compared to a 100% withdrawal al approach which may lead to a more severe situation if it hard surmarsuting bounce back,  but in addiction replacement at least the urge of return back to the main argument addiction is almost completely none existence and at the same time the friend may have to try out some other things that will help him reduce the level at which he becomes involved with the new PS4 he is currently involved in,  all though he may try playing only on none subscriptions I believe that ps4 has a card slot where it users can download the game and then play offline.

More so the friend should also allocate proper timing to his gaming activities within that period.

He can also decide to gamble with $20 monthly if he choose to. He can use $20 to gamble 40 times and more on gambling. But if he is addicted and want to stop gambling, I think that is a good approach, but in a way nothing will take money from him and seeing it as a way to stop an addiction.

I have not heard about it before, but it looks like something that happened to me. I was addicted to gambling before, I stopped the addiction and I have control over myself when it comes to gambling, but I later got addicted in trading. Trading is not gambling but moving from gambling to trading, I think this is an example of cross addiction.

The source of addiction does not matter because its all the same. The brain chemical receptors and brain chemicals of an addict, specifically dopamine, are completely abused and dysfunctional. This is what creates the feeling of addiction. Whether you use drugs or gambling to achieve this dopamine dysregulation does not matter as it all leads to the same result: Addiction.

Adding different kinds of addiction will only result into a psychological addiction mess, at a later point in time. But at least unlike opioid addiction, gambling addiction is not deadly during withdrawal. Just very unpleasant.

In my honest view of what his friend did, it can be said that, literally speaking, it is fine if you compare it to 100-500 dollars with 20 dollars every month. Even though he didn't get rid of his addiction, he just applied it to playing on PS4. I think it was a wise decision, and at least he is now out of gambling.

What his friend did was an exit from gambling, which can be said to be a wise decision for me. At least he doesn't get tired of 480 dollars every month that he loses just by playing gambling, compared to the current situation where he only pays 20 dollars. Though no profit comes back to him, the only thing in return is that he is entertained.

I hadn't heard about this term but I experienced it myself but it doesn't relate to gambling.

Reducing the expenditure from 100 to 20 is good from a financial perspective but still, the addictive nature of the person remains and who knows where it leads so cross-addiction is not a good thing, and the long-term remedy is to treat the addictive nature or if someone wants to treat themselves which is possible at the early stage by challenging their urge and limiting their actions gradually.

Using the word "crossaddiction" might not come up often, but we do sometimes develop addictions to different things simultaneously, such as drugs, gambling, women, or food. However, no matter what you're addicted to, it's important not to lose control. For example, I used to really enjoy playing video games all the time with friends or by myself. After a while, I realized that these games were just for fun and didn't bring any benefits, so I decided to cut back on playing them. Now, I only play when I have free time. I might still consider it a form of addiction, but I haven't become addicted to anything else recently.

Addiction is addiction and we don't have to take the responsibility light just because the other one is much cheaper compare or the past was a bad one to deal with. I mean we could replace these addictions with another one and that's entirely possible but to be honest this is curable if someone wants to lead his life out of it or someone helps him/her this addiction.

I think cross addiction was like the closest thing to get out of the true addiction. It's like this individual wants to get out of it but something is missing, it's either it's on him/her or he/she wants help from others.

I believe that guy you mention in your story took a good first step towards getting rid of his addiction, by replacing it with something else, if we talk in purely economical sense he is saving money from being gambled away by his compulsive desires.

A healthy approach to tackle addiction is to replace the problem with another less harmful habit, like what smokers try to do when replacing cigarettes with screwing gum. The only problem I see is that person has become stuck in his phase of gaming addiction and has no managed to slowly let it go for other more fulfilling activities, like playing a sport, ride a bicycle, etc.

Rather than being a problem, cross addition can be helpful to improve ones life, if handed in a proper way and we do not let the addiction to move us up a hole of more serious dependence, like hard drugs or self harm.

This is the first time that I heard it, and to be honest, I'm not sure if there is such a term. Anyway, yeah, I saw this kind of addictions from my friends as well, and this  is just like a escape from their original addiction, i.e. gambling addiction. And if you look closely, they are still losing money in a bad way and I don't think they can justify it. And it's just the psychology of addiction, you try to remove yourself, but then again, shifts to other who we think is the lesser of the two evil. But still the same though, in the end you are into the losing side and it's hard to get back and cover your losses until one day if really hits you hard and then you go and become depressed and your mental health is affected.

I just found out there is a method like this, changing one addiction into another. I will not talk about addictive substances because I am not a user. But if we are a gambling addict and obsessed with other games like PS4, I think this is very interesting. However, PS4 addiction will not be a serious problem because the rental costs are cheap and if we buy a PS4 there are no monthly fees. Of course this is better than a gambling addiction which can cost $100 - $500 per month

But I'm not sure gambling addicts will be interested in PS4 because it's less challenging, there's nothing at stake like gambling where money is at stake. But there's no harm in trying it, I would recommend this to my friends who are quite addicted to gambling, I hope it works

Not just for addiction, it's also true for every aspect of life. Our life, our loved one, our daily habit everything is included. In order to forget someone or something you must first make new memories. Just like the term you mentioned "cross addiction". It is not a permanent solution. Rather it's something like, jumping from one sinking boat from another sinking boat. Same as before. The harm is always there, maybe slightly less or more then before.

OP, your friend should realize the hard truth of life. He is basically wasting his life. We all are addicted to something. I get it and it's perfectly fine. But we are also trying to free ourselves from this addiction. So rather then playing games or gambling he should focus on life. Maybe hangout with friends, meet with relatives, spend more time with families, be busy with work. And eventually, the addiction will be gone. That's the way I overcomed my previous addiction.   ;)

I agree with you on that,  once you notice an element of addiction,  it better to treat it 100% but even that also have it own risk,  but is very easy for those who are not deeply addicted to the point of building their daily life around their addictive behaviour,  but more also I have not really hard the name given to the approach that the ops mentioned,  but more so I have practice such practice and it do work in relieving you from the strong urge and hold of your addiction.

But the first and best form of addiction treatment is for the addict to first make up their mind to fight the addiction by all means and also build a strong resistance against it at some point.

Well, at least he can move on from gambling to video game.

It's not easy as is look like but better cross addiction rather than gambling. It's a small money comparing to gambling while you can get a debt and more money to be deposit into the site.

I still call these a win.

It is not basically cross addiction. Cross addiction is not always a voluntary action taken to reduce addiction, but it is more of a predisposition to another form of addiction, due to their indulgence in a related addictive activity. Someone who is used to taking opioids will crave the sedative and euphoric feeling in similar drugs and can use that to replace an addiction.

Gambling and Gaming are not exactly related, but it can be possible for a person to use as a form of diversional therapy to fill the empty space they will have spent going through withdrawal symptoms.

- Jay -

My thoughts so.

Eventually, the Slot addict will forget about his slot addiction and then will also be dealing with that PS4 addiction. It's unsure yet what else could grab the attention of that person but surely he can outgrow that PS4. Most likely the computer base games too or the Metaverse games. this is a bit better than PS4, just prevent him from discovering casinos in the metaverse or he'd slide back into the slot.

Either cross addiction or a gambling addict, I don't see any difference between the both, because I know quite well that when you are addicted with gambling, you are addicted, Either being cross addiction or not you are addicted with gambling, since both is pointing at being over interested in gambling, so basically  theirs so certain things we have to know in gambling addiction, because when you are addicted in gambling its base on you have more less job and chance, but when you being occupied you can't engage in gambling betting everyday, so when you are frustrated in financial aspects it can make you to be gambling addictive also.

They say that the worst addiction is the one that directly affects your body, and in the illusion that they will be in a better situation, many people exchange their addiction to drugs, alcohol or cigarettes into addictions to pornography or gambling, because in this case there is no a degradation of the body, only that of the mind.

However, I disagree with this, because if your mind isn't well, then your body won't be either. It is a person's brain that controls the release of hormones that keep their body healthy. Furthermore, a person who has a deep addiction to gambling will generally abstain from physical activity and even from eating something healthy, and consequently their body will suffer the consequences.

Swapping one addiction for another doesn't really solve anything, you have to eliminate it until the end.

I agree with your thought process but I am also tempted to ask if there is anyone on this planet who is not addicted to something. Whether you are addicted to gambling or to PS4, the weight and mental stress that comes with fulfilling the immediate gratification of that addiction and the withdrawal symptoms that is attached to it when you try to quit is in itself very emotionally exhausting. We may say that the video game addiction is the lesser evil but addiction is bad and can anyone ever be free from it.

The person who is now addicted to PS4 may spend less compared to gambling but how about the number of hours he has to spending playing the game. I don't think he will be anymore productive. Of he has to spending many hours playing the game, what happens to his relationship with his significant other and others? Anyone who is addicted should seek help and not another "lesser" addiction as a replacement.

When someone is addicted to gambling, the impact is not only that the person will lose financially, but also in terms of time, because gambling addiction can take up valuable time. And if someone is addicted to games then he will only lose time because financially it is not too detrimental. However, when someone tries to change this from a gambling addiction to a gaming addiction, it sounds quite good and interesting, but this will not be able to solve the real problem, namely addiction.

It would be better if we were more serious about dealing with and solving the problem of gambling addiction, namely by keeping ourselves busy doing things that are more productive and useful and this must be done continuously until you don't have time to gamble. not by diverting the feeling of addiction to something else.

Cross addiction is something that new that i do encounter but in overall it is really just that a side thing that you do need to do for you to get away from that gambling addiction on which basing up on the example given then i would say that it isnt really that bad on ending up on having that kind of cross addiction on which it might really be that not healthy but i would say that much better considering that he would really be just simply be spending up $20 for the entire month and this is something more better and good than on spending tons on a single month. Its not really that bad on giving advises but respect on what your friend is doing. They do for sure been wary on the actions that they are making, if they are ignoring and not listening to your advises then just let them be since its their money that had been used. As long they are already showing off some progress about quitting gambling and they are really that going on the right track then its a good decision that
they had been made. It might be looking that not a good option but honestly it is really that a good choice.

Cross addictions is simply diverting the attention of the gambling addict to somewhere else. I think this is very effective actually to make sure the patient is not going to hurt himself.  If he is taken over by the new addiction, he will forget gambling. The awareness of a person can always be taken over by distraction after distraction and PS4 or Wii can be more satisfying than the patient playing slot. I say cross-addiction isn't so bad for a solution.

You're right, he's trying to occupy his mind with an activity. It's normal behavior for people with trauma or problems. Kids often run away from school and watch TV or play computer games all day like zombies because that makes them forget about passing time. Men left by their wives start drinking because when they're drunk they don't think and don't feel pain.
If he was losing money gambling it's better that he plays games, but that makes him waste a lot of time. He's going to miss that time one day and hope he did something constructive, like learn some trade, read books, get a job. in 10 years nobody is going to care that he was level 200 in some MMO game.

The guy is spending less money in a monthly basis, what is a positive aspect, however we can't neglect the fact PS4 games must be more time-consuming, therefore his life must be really unproductive right now, probably more unproductive than when he was gambling, due to the time it's demanding from him.

Cross addiction is a new term for me, I have never heared of this before, but the theory makes sense and it's likely many people nowadays are adopting addiction after addiction in an attempt to leave the last one, but in an endless cycle of new frustrations.

Thinking about this matter right now, I can relate addicted people who left their addictions to adopt religious fanaticism as a cure, although it is also another kind of addiction really common in our present time.

Addiction is not a normal thing regardless of where you are hooked up with whether consoles or gambling; it is a bad thing ‘coz you’d feel uncomfortability without performing such activity making you less productive witb the things you do on a daily basis. There’s no “lesser addiction”; it is just either you are addicted or not. Some are hooked up with a particular acitivity but as long as they can refrain from doing so, then they cannot be called as addicts of that certain behavior. Addiction is unconsciously doing or feeling sensation to a certain activity.Diversion should not exist in addiction. It should be counted as rehabilitation or relearning not to be dependent with what you are ‘addicted’ of.Much better if you would diver into something outside your addiction such as eliminating factors; money, tempt, drive and more.

Have you ever think that it is just a diversion?  A subscription does not mean addiction, IMO.  It is a good thing that the other friend is immersed in other things instead of gambling addiction.  I  agree that it is better to spend $20 than spending $100-$500 by losing them on gambling.

The friend is not running away from truth, he knows he is addicted and he finds that diverting his attention can help him stop the uncontrollable urge of gambling.  IMO, his current situation is better than him being addicted on gambling.



We don't know the all about of the person involved.  For me having saved $480 is a huge thing since it is equal to a month salary of a normal employee.  Whether he is unproductive because he is playing  of PS4 I believe he saved more money than being engaged in gambling.  Gambling also consume a lot of time especially with $500 budget and betting with minimal wager, it can consume more than 24 hours before it is exhausted.

If this cross addiction that you're talking about is destructive for the addict it could be bad.
An example of one destructive behavior turning into another could be your example of a drug being exchanged for another, softer drug, in hope of recovering from the first one. In reality the soft drug will not be enough to satisfy a hardened addict and he will eventually turn to something stronger again.

We could also witness a destructive behavior (addict losing money every week) turn into a harmless addiction like playing video games, but this cannot be his only activity every day. If the guy spends 10 hours a day playing it's as destructive as it gets.

I don't think it's bad as you described, albeit you need to be very much determined to the next addiction and it must not be something bad as if like joint smoking, drinking, etc. because that may definitely lead you to highly serious circumstances than you may even think of. It's better to talk about your habits with someone you trust a lot, and let them handle your situation their way.

If the gambler use the less money in the monthly basis in the gambling.So he won’t loss huge money in the gambling,if they don’t have any luck in the game.If you start to use the huge money in the gambling as compared to the beginning time in the gambling,So it mean you get addicted to the gambling.The productive way to get away from the gambling addiction will be very simple.The important one is better should not cross the monthly limit in the gambling at any point.So better to use of 10-20 percentage of your income in the gambling.It help you to get away from the gambling addiction because of the control deposit.

The case in the ops is already a. Severe case of addictions we're as it already have impact on the overall gaming habits of the ops and as a matter of fact he already spending a lot of money on subscription to the PS4 fhat he chose as an escape ruit to escaping addictions that he hard found himself for quite a long time now before he decides to fight the hold of the addiction,  I am also of the same opinion as yours where I feel that the approach chosen by the individual to have his addiction replaced with another addictive habit is quite worrisome at some point.


However, if he does apply wisdom and limit how he is involved around with gambling and what he chooses to spend his time on.

This is the first time that I am hearing this word cross addiction. The only way that an addict can help to improve himself from addiction is by looking for another way in which he can use to replace his gambling activities which was what your friend did.

He was able to notice that his gambling addiction is making him spend more and he decided to look for an alternative that can replace gambling and which he will also spend less. I like that because it will be a gradual process to stop gambling and not just immediately.

I am my friends love playing PS4 and it is a very good game in which one can use to pass time and have fun as long as it is not excess. Though, sometimes we stake money on our games just to make you be more serious when you know that something is as stake.

Addiction is worst regardless of its type, we all know there’s always a bad consequences when we become addict. If you are doing this and you are still gambling with your multiple addiction, you can be more worst and you might ended up in a bad situation. As much as possible don’t let your addiction takes over your own body, if you are already uncontrollable better to seek professional help already, gambling plus your other addiction are worst.

Not really that much because if we do try to look at on the amount on which that monthly subscription on which it is really just that only 20 bucks comparing into those almost thousand bucks per month on gambling
then you could really say that there's so much difference in terms of the amount that had been spent and this is something that much better in terms of those numbers but in overall on which in speaking about addiction then i do see that ps4/ps5 addiction isnt really just that too dangerous at all. Although you would really be that consuming too much time which is more than that more worth of spending out those for something that would really be that productive rather than on making yourself that dealing with things which doesnt give out those money making opportunity.

Cross addiction or whatever called it is will really be just like that an alternative way for you to distract out your current addiction.No matter it would be but it would be always wise
that you should really be dealing with something that is completely free and something healthy like dealing up or engaging with some sports as some sort of distraction
on which you arent really that spending on something but at the same time you do make yourself that fit or healthy which its a better choice for me.

i believe that's better way of addressing your gambling addiction, finding alternative activities which is less detrimental to your funds. in the given example, his friend is just paying 20 bucks a month, which of course is way way less as compared to when he was in gambling. i guess, if it works for you, why not? every person has their own approach in addressing their addiction. cross addiction is not bad in my opinion if the next one is much better than the previous when it comes to your lifestyle, financial or mental health.

Addiction is not good because addiction means we use it excessively and cannot control ourselves or do anything else. Perhaps your friend is right that spending $20 can replace his $100-$500 monthly losses because that money can be used for other things.

But it would be even better if your friend could do other things and not just play PS4 games to use his life for useful things. If you can encourage him to discover something else and he likes it, you have helped him to discover something that can open his mind and that life is not just about playing games.

Honestly guys I appreciate the concern that you and your friends have over this addicted friend, but I don't think this is cross-addiction. As a gamer, sometimes when we're stressed from a frustrating gambling session I find myself playing videogames to let off some steam so don't go jumping into conclusions just yet. Spending money on games is just normal, a lot of great titles on most consoles are locked behind a paywall and he's actually getting a great deal here if I do say so myself. He's probably paying for a game pass that gives him a rotation of games monthly for under 20 bucks, when normally he's going to have to spend more than 400 bucks to get as much games as he's playing right now.

Let him be, I know it's a little scary not looking out for a friend especially after something like that happened but I'm assuring you that he's at a good place right now and he's probably on his way to recovery too.

Hearing of the name for the first time, but I have always met people who practiced it, replacing one habit with another. Cross addiction can be good if the habit the person is using to replace the addiction is something good. For example replacing habit of smoking with eating apples or working out, or the habit of gambling with reading sports journals or news. Cross addiction can be bad when a habit that has the potential to be bad is what is being used as the cross or replacement.

I have never heard of this word but I know that people can stop a habit by building a new one. If your friend is concerned about the money he spends on gambling or he is exceeding his budget, cross-addiction might be a good option. It would be better to switch to an addiction that he would spend within his budget than to gamble more than he can afford to lose. But if his concern is about the time he spends gambling, then cross-addiction will not be a good option because he just transferred his problem to another activity. I have tried to channel my addiction (not related to gambling) to another activity but I have not been able to succeed.

Addiction no matter the type is something that shouldn't be found among anyone that wants a better life for himself in the future. Addiction is simply doing something beyond normal or excessively and that why it's adviced that no body should allow addiction of any kind get the better of of him. The consequences of addiction no matter the type are things that no can proudly accept and that's why we're advised to flee from addiction to save our lide.

Didn’t know about this term until I read this one, well it looks like you have your two addiction that can make your life worst. I don’t think why people still pursue addiction when it fact this is not healthy at all. Gambling addiction can ruin your whole life and what more if you are also addict in illegal drugs, alcohol or any other substance that is not acceptable. I can’t imagine my life into this situation, i’d hope there’s still a chance for them to recover and live a normal life again.

I have heard cross addiction but I never got the chance to understand it better. Now that I have clearly understood it, I must say that cross addiction is just as worst as your first gambling addiction. As long as there is an abuse, it will certainly create a negative outcome. If you can’t deal with your main addiction, then how can you manage taking cross addiction. Of course, the outcome will always be negative. That is why learn to admit your main addiction in the first place and treat it by being open minded and even ask help from a medical expert or from your family so you can get rid with it. Cross addiction will not be helpful, it will only worsen your condition as your addiction grows even bigger.

Have had of it before but the person who was doing it was doing it in a different way, the guy was a gambling addict which have been trying so hard to reduce his gambling habit since he put it to him self that boredom is what makes him locate him self in the betting shop all the time so he have decided to look for something else which can take his mind off gambling and at the same time keep him self busy, which what he ended up doing is playing draft which he devoted his time now at, since their is a hall close to his compound, where there are people who comes their all the time to play draft, he followed them and have been competing and playing draft almost all the time now and that has been able to help him reduce his gambling habit as they have lot of arguments there and challenges, but they don’t play that with money or bet with any material thing in fact no form of betting is being done their.

The man in question is advanced and he have a stable source of income, from his investment on various business and transportation, so he don’t have to think of waking up every morning and going to work, all his time is just on that their draft table, which many have told him what he is doing is bad but he always says that he don’t see it as something bad since he don’t spend money to do it and the game is also not stopping him from doing important thing.

I have heard of cross addiction but never knew it for the name it bears until now.
 I know of people who had tried to replace a habit with another, but it supposed to be a replacement with a better or more positive habit. They end up leaving one bad one for the other because of either popular opinion or pressure from peers of family.
At least the friend in question OP wont get to spend much money since that's his concern or those advising him on his addiction with gambling. His health is going to be the sacrifice for such a sedentary habit he has picked up as well as him being poorer for sitting idle and playing video games instead on working in achieving a more fulfilling goal.

Looking at this from a more positive angle, I think this is been done wrongly or applied wrongly. In course of cross addiction, you don’t get to replace a bad habit with yet another one. Worst still, your having to pay to gamble in the form of stakes on bets (spending money) and then your replacing it with yet another habit of having to pay to play video games (spending money). Now note that both activities have to do with you having to liquidate your hard earned money. Though, arguably, one might be more expensive than the other but, you’re spending money none the less in a situation where you want to save money.

Instead of having to be invoked in activities that results in you having to spend money, you could as well cross addict with a more productive behavior. Engage in activities that help you earn and make meaning out of your time and addiction towards that activity.

His level of understanding in gambling could differ from what you think. PS4 contains interesting games like soccer. He'll enjoy being the controller. Not just sit back and watch television, while thinking of his bets. He has minimized his gambling addiction by this change. But, what then will replace his PS4 addiction? Op is right, he should endure and treat the addiction at once. Moving from one addiction to another, isn't a nice idea for any gambler. His productivity and time will still be affected, if he gets no medical attention. When recommending this to your friend, don't just watch them end that way. Think of ways of providing a therapy, that can better their behavior. How long would he sit on the gaming screen. Would he remain on that for how long before he's exhausted or tired of playing PS. Added to the fact he doesn't expect any money, despite giving out about 20Usd every month. What matters is saving up other people's money by mentoring them to become good managers. The advantage of such a redirection of focus can change the person to think better. Video games help our brain to think faster and better. The only disadvantage I can found about this is that, the player can still engage in gambling with other PS4 players. Such gambling is still addictive. Doing such thing, recommending your friend, being there should be crucial. To see and learn more on life. Because they'll need constant change of interesting activities until they stop gambling. For such a person, staying away from gamblers of all sort, will help the player change his thoughts. And get more productive with his time.

Basically, all this addiction is the pursuit of dopamine and adrenaline. Naturally human beings are always seeking for sources of entertainment which can be achieved through healthy and natural activities or ways. But some people go with the unhealthy substances like drugs, for their entertainment and end up addicted or in a cross addiction circle. In my view this thing can sometimes be beneficial when it is about replacing a harmful habit with one that's less dangerous. Let’s take for example replacing alcohol addiction with weed, while both may have their downsides many of us would agree that weed is a safer option.

I believe cross addiction is a natural aspect of life and it occurs whenever we choose to replace something we have used to with something else. So I wouldn't consider it a negative thing always as it can help us fight a bigger danger. In your example spending a monthly game subscription is way better than a gambling addiction.

I think that first it would be very important to know and check if your friend is really addicted to PS4 or he just stopped gambling and started playing ps4 games, but as he wants additional resources or wants more ps4 games then he pays 20$, I say that you must have proof that your friend is really addicted to ps4 games because many times people have the wrong and bad defect of labeling other people as being addicted to games, based on the theory that that person spend more time playing. when you look at PS4 games, there are hardly any people addicted to these games, and in the cases where there are people addicted to PS4 games, they are hardly cases of people stealing money to play, people who have destroyed their lives on a level that there is no longer a concert.

In cases of single people, who live at their parents' house, and become addicted to PS4 games (again I will say that there are very few cases of someone addicted to PS4), it is unlikely that these people addicted to PS4 will destroy their lives at a much more serious level compared to someone addicted to gambling, that's why I say again that you need to check if your friend became addicted to PS4, I hope you didn't think that he was addicted to gambling, so he stopped with gambling and now he plays ps4 so also as ps4 are games, he might be addicted to ps4

gambling is a completely different world from ps4 games, computer games, xbox games or any other platform, and the big difference is the fact that in gambling games, the graphic design is ugly, and is aimed at betting money and win or lose. the only thing that motivates people to keep playing, is the possibility of winning money, nothing else. If there was no money involved, then people wouldn't play those games. It's something different about PS4 games, where people play for fun, because after finishing the game, they don't make money from it.

This is an interesting take on the subject of gambling about its addiction.

I would argue that the friend has made at least an attempt to combat his addiction. While he may have transferred his addiction from gambling to ps4 gaming, the latter is the lesser evil between the two (2). I mean, sure he is still addicted to something but at least he had already skipped most steps and checked all the boxes towards full cure of addiction.

Like what I also mentioned, one of the ways for a person to combat addiction is by venturing another habit. Replacing your gambling activities with recreational activities (e.g. sports, gaming, etc) is a great start for this person.

The thing here is how to know if the person just did a cross-addiction.  Like for example the given story by @OP.  How can we know that cross-addiction happened?  Many people advise diverting attention in order to minimize the time allocated to gambling addiction and at the same time to lessen the uncontrol urge to gamble because we are occupied with other activities.

I believe the difference between diversion and cross-addiction is that in cross-addiction there is an excessive activity.  I agree that this kind of action is also bad for a person like when he was a gambling addict and diverted his attention to working and his action became working excessively that he forgot to take a rest, then this will cause the person harm deteriorating his health status.

So I agree with @OP that cross-addiction is just as bad since they are both addictions.

Never heard of this one so I appreciate OP for sharing it with us.
While it is unknown to me there may be a lot of cases about this but a person would not know because it's not really a popular case of addiction. But I think we should avoid such a thing. What if we end up switching to an addiction that is more expensive than the previous one, that would be the worse thing to happen.

I have a good example of it.
From cigarette smoking to vape. I do agree that the chemicals were lessened because cigarette has the carbon thing that would ruin our lungs and other people's lungs too, but vaping has nicotine too although it's optional. About the expense, I think a pack of cigarettes spent in a year will be more expensive than those who vape but there's a catch. Those who got addicted to vape are hoarding different types of equipment which is damn expensive if you sum it all up.

It's certainly going to change his addiction but what's with computer games? IMHO, that's a better activity if he really wants to get out of his gambling addiction. If he feels that spending $20 per month on games is better than playing with $100-$200 on slots then that's his way of getting away from gambling. The thing here is that as long as he's using his money to buy those games no matter how much they are, it's not really a problem at all. As long as he's doing well with playing PS4 games or any computer games and spends not that much that he can afford, that's way better solution for him to remove his gambling addiction. Yeah, it may form some other addiction but that's how it goes when you're trying to forget your gambling addiction because you need to find another hobby to cover on top of his former addiction which is gambling.

But come to think of it, at least it's not wasting too much money and attempting to get more in order to just fill their needs. He tried to 'cross' outside of the gambling sphere, but still, addiction is still addiction nonetheless. But if it's only used as a diversionary tactic, then I'd argue that it's something that can be cured, or at least curbed somehow. There's hope for these people, though it's still addiction but somewhat milder.

Many former drug addicts (although we must understand that there are no former drug addicts) say that they got rid of drug addiction by replacing drugs with alcohol. But in essence, the person has not lost anything, has not overcome his addictions, and is only aggravating his situation. Gambling addiction and drug and alcohol addiction must be treated by professionals, and this requires a long period of time. A person will not be able to get out of this hole on his own, since it is deeply connected with the psyche. Some improvements that seem like real changes to others are just a game of time until the person again has a breakdown and returns to his old habits.

Maybe playing PS4 and being addicted to playing games on PS4 will be better for him than being addicted to gambling because at least he can avoid losing when playing slots. He can also reduce his money losses, where he only pays $20 a month. Meanwhile, if he plays slots, he could spend so much money that doing something else would be better.

But your friend shouldn't have to play PS4 for so long that he becomes addicted to gambling because it can also give him problems, especially eye health problems. He can quickly become tired of his eyelids and may experience nearsightedness, which requires him to wear glasses. It might be better for him to find a job so that if he becomes a workaholic, it would be better, especially if he could find a job that could pay him a decent salary

What is he subscribing to? PlayStation Plus? Well, playing video games is healthier than gambling, if this person has a job and he is getting paid then he deserves to have some fun, he is paying for it and he is getting it, way better than gambling addiction, which could mess you up physically and mentally,  to me there is nothing wrong in being a gamer or hardcore gamer per se, I will only start to worry if this person is not doing anything with his life than playing video games.

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If I were in the same position as you I would advise him to move into play to earn games on the blockchain, maybe he will be good at it, there is no getting rich or fooling yourself that you can become a lottery winner or a billionaire like gambling fools people.

That $20 is for getting access to online or multiplayer games and some free games per month, if he is a family man and he is responsible he deserves to have some fun, as video games relieve stress off the body, some big men use video games for relaxation, it helps, if you don't know before, now you do.

The mutual friend of your friend is just stupid, he don't understand what is money management and only want to waste his money in order to fulfill his desire. If you have such friend the best is stay away because he can drag you to follow his unhealthy lifestyle for spend more money without thinking about the future.

He might not become a beggar, but he will become poor.

Well, whatever it is as long as we are in addiction, that is generally bad. Because once you are in addiction, you are already ruining and compromising your finances. Maybe we could say that his addiction is even better than being addicted to gambling but still, that was addiction and the results aren't looking right.
Anyways, we can't dictate someone's life but we can give a piece of advice. And this is what I can say, spend our money and time wisely because we are not all the time are healthy and wealthy, better if we use it for meaningful things.

gambling can be very exhausting when we have try as much and we can, not making any winnings. We need to gamble not too much since we still have opportunity to win in the future. Because you are not making winnings does not mean that we are not going to make profits when our own time comes. It is good for us to develop our own strategies so that we can be rest assured of earning some little amount from betting to fix our bills and leave a better lifestyle. Addiction is one thing we need to work on to prevent unnecessary betting which can Iead to loses.

I cannot see that gaming on a PS4 can be seen as an addiction.... yes, it might take his mind off from gambling and also time away from doing something more productive or healthy, but it is still a kind of entertainment.  ::)

You have to remember that gambling addiction is a complex thing, with most of the addicts having more than one problem. They might have financial problems, hoping that a BIG Jackpot will solve that issue... or they might struggle with alcohol problems and gambling take away their urge to drink. (thinking of something else)

Replacing one addiction with another addiction is worst, so people should be looking for healthier and more productive alternatives. (Joining social groups / starting a new hobby / joining a Gym etc...)

I think that we need to have some fun and to have some fun we need to spend some money... maybe some of us get a bit "obsessed" with things we like, but it's how we like to do it. I wouldn't say that it's a big problem as long as we know what we are doing.

I heard about cross-addiction, and I guess we can say that each of us suffered from it at some point in life. But it's not a big deal, changes are normal, and it is normal that our interests change.

Majority of us would really be that impatient specially if we do really be able to observe or notice out that we arent making some significant winnings on the time that we are playing on which you would really be having that kind of thinking that it might really be still lacking more involvement or time spending with it on which it would really be resulting into further session which on the time that you would really be that making it already as a hobby or past time then it would really be that hard to get out unless if you do have that kind of control towards yourself then you could just easily make out some switch then it would really be just according on a certain individual since not all would really be having on the same level when it comes to tolerance and control into things.

When it comes to addiction then any forms would really be something that devastating and it would really be just that depending or would really be that according into someones
will and determination about on quitting on such addiction whether on gambling,liqour,drugs or whatsoever types of addiction that you are currently suffering.
Making yourself getting distracted into other things will really be that possibly be able to make yourself that stop and completely break that shackle of addiction.
It wont really be that easy but its not really something that impossible to hapen.

From the context of the word i think it is basically when people exchange one habit for another. If the new habit is positive, it’s a win-win. But if it is something negative, like trading gambling for excessive online shopping, it's a problem.

It should be like  upgrading your habits. If the replacement habit is healthy or productive, it can help break the cycle of gambling addiction harmful, if not, it is just trading one issue for another. I hope those who go through this choose well.

Yes, it's still an addiction. Later, someone will feel disturbed or it could make things worse because by playing PS4 games, we won't pay attention to how long we play. We will be too busy playing even though we have other things to do, but we underestimate them and don't want to do them then.

His addiction is not better than his gambling addiction, but he can reduce his money losses and save his money. We might only be able to advise him not to play games on the PS4 for too long or maybe we can encourage him to do other things that are more useful.

Based on the definition of Cross Addiction given by you in your thread, what your friend's friend did isn't really cross-addiction in its full sense because when we talk about cross-addiction, we talk about leaving one thing and moving to another thing that almost has the same effects and outcomes as the first one, but what the guy did is completely different and I would never consider that being a bad thing if you are leaving addiction for just a video game.

There is a very big difference between video game addiction and gambling addiction. If I'm a gambling addict, spending thousands of dollars on my gambling activities, not having any self-control at all, and then I decide to start playing a video game and stop gambling completely now I'm not wasting a lot of money on it, I would call that a win and not cross-addiction or anything, and even if it's cross-addiction, if the effects are not too severe, I'm completely okay with it.

It can either be positive or negative depending on what kind of thing the person gets addicted to overcome their gambling addiction. And for the record even working all day long is some form of addiction and we use the word workaholic for them not addict that is why what we choose matters. But the addictive nature should be treated and probably it can be a condition for a long life so it can be under control with the discipline towards our actions but yes it needs medical expert's help mostly.

It's a better deal than losing a lot of money but the question is can he sustain it will he not look for something that will give him a chance to make more especially if your friend already won huge money from games coming from the casino, chances are he will go back to playing in casinos the addiction is still there, those addicted to gambling always want to win money it's not easy to replace it without something that will not give them a chance to make more money.

The thrill may be the same but if the chances to huge big money is different than the others he will revert to playing in casinos or the player will just play both and he will have added more games and his addiction will be much worse.

If you are addicted seek a solution and not a substitution or an alternative addiction. In the short-term a cross addiction Mason to alleviate the mane addiction problem but if you look at it critically it is really solving nothing you are just stuck in one loop of addiction. We should always consider the long-term effect of addictions and not just the short-term relief we get when we get a replacement addiction.

I think I have came across someone like that but actually not Into gambling but in other areas of life which is, a smoker trying to quit smoking instead of to stop automatically he then diversed another means to channel his smoking addiction. When I talk of addiction is someone that can stay a day without smoking at least 1 to 2 pack of cigarettes which to me and his family is an addiction and I wouldn't know how you can classify this type of addiction but, what he did was to gradually stops smoking and channels it to drinking, he drinks and keep saying it's better to drink than smoking which both are similar and the worst thing there is that a "Smoker are always drunker, and it leads to womanizing" so in this situation the whole thing is trying to be complicated and it could be very hard to stop both rather than just quit smoking without involving himself with any.

I agree, nobody should be addicted to anything bad, it doesn't really help with your life and gives you so much bad in return. Usually that is a sign that there is something wrong with you psychologically that you are trying to avoid, that's what addiction usually means, it could even be avoiding the thought of it after it happens as well. This is something normal, everyone has a psychology, and sometimes they do get harmed and we need to be careful about it.

This is why when you are a gambling addict (or any other addict) you get professional help from a doctor and they tell you what to do, there are centers that help you with it, rehab centers are more used to drug addicts to save their life of course and gambling addict may look small time compared to that, but it is still valid and you should be careful. However, there is even more risk with that, because you see drug addicts and think your gambling addiction is no big deal, that should not be the case and you should be careful.

Honest opinion, it’s really better to pay 20$ instead of 100$ and above just to get same satisfaction which is being entertained. I do the same too whenever I’m already burn out on gambling which doesn’t provide me an entertainment which it’s original purpose.

This not the same with illegal drugs substance cross addiction because we are only talking about entertainment here and not illegal things that can harm your body in the long run. It’s simply changing a different source of entertainment to a cheap one since both gaming and gambling has same purpose which is to provide entertainment. An addiction to games is much more acceptable than to gambling since you don’t spend a lot of money while you can sell all your games once you are done playing, only time is being consumed.

Gambling addiction can be easily controlled if a person wants to but cross addiction always has bad effects. Long term effects are more difficult to alleviate due to which cross gambling creates a negative reaction among us gambling affects every aspect of a person's daily activities and gradually begins to disintegrate. Deviation from economic social and other matters a gambling addict prioritizes gambling over personal family or social responsibilities there is an impossible and uncontrollable demand for this game. Hence without spending much money becoming addicted to the game helps to change the negative thoughts and create a positive thinking mindset.

Having those basic mathematics then you do know on which one you would really be that worth on choosing and also making yourself that addicted with video games is really not that something that too risky
compared when we do talk about gambling addiction. Yes, you could really be spending up too much time and sacrificing socialization but this wont really be that putting up risks on finances knowing that you do
only spend up 20 bucks for a month and this is something that much better rather than on making yourself that spending hundreds or thousands in a month. Just like on what others been saying that if you dont like on having no spending of money then involving with some sports or physical things is really that much better rather than making yourself sticking on something that comes with a cost.

Any forms of addiction on whatever it would be then it would be always considered to be bad. Everything should really be balance and everything should really be in moderation.
results or outcomes would really be that totally be depending on someones actions since not all would really be that able to do those basic things.
It do really just matter with decisions.

Just like he didn't seem to have any difficulties in switching up, he ain't gonna think twice when the time is right to go back to the root...
It makes alot of sense since he's able to do so, but at the same time, it's not a 100% prove course that he's definitely gonna be freed from slot gamings that easily...

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I believe it's the same hypnotical process with smokers too.. when they're asked to focus on nicotine gum and nasal spray..

Sandra 🧑‍🦰

I want to ask, is this a rare phenomenon. for me, not at all. I'm pretty sure, there are people who experience cross-addiction problems in this part of the world. Whether it's a cross addiction or a double addiction, the points are both addictions. I have old friends, some of whom are full-blown addicts. whether it's alcohol, illegal substances and gambling addicts. there are many people at the same time, having excessive habits in their lives. as I said above, they not only become gambling addicts but they also become part of other addicts, for example drugs. and I think that in the midst of modern life like today, it is not a strange or unfamiliar problem to sound to our ears.

Meanwhile, as you said in this thread, there are various addicts who try to transfer their addiction to other activities which results in them becoming addicted to other things too. I really understand cases like this, someone has the intention to divert his attention to his addiction and tries playing media which he thinks might be able to cure him of his addiction to something, for example gambling. However, and what people don't think they know, there is actually a better process as a diversion. In fact, in each case it will be different for each sufferer of this cross-addiction.
Believe it or not, someone has the potential to return to their old habits. The point is, there is only one problem, namely addiction.  whatever the addiction, an addict is still an addict. What someone needs to do is consult an expert. Don't forget, ask for family support. In this way, it is possible for someone to recover from their addiction. but most importantly, we ourselves have a full role and must be self-aware of what we do. and we, have complete control and power over ourselves. It's just that most people are unable to fight their will or high desires.

Cross addictions can be bad, but they can also be good. You just need to find the negative things in your life and remove them while replacing them with positive things. People do this all the time in order to better themselves while ridding themselves of nasty habits. I think it can be a very healthy way to do things.

Hearing about cross addiction for the first time and what came to my mind is "Cross addiction can be a healing process ". To quit an addiction,  first the addict has to realize he is actually addicted to a particular habit and realise too the possible consequences of such  a habit.
Now, for an addict to realise a particular habit is no longer worth it and is willing to QUIT but adopt a new habit,  it shows that it is actually possible for that particular addict to quit his addictions completely. 
It will even make a whole lot of sense if his new addiction is a good one or one with lesser consequences just as in the case of the 'friend ' OP stated. All he will be needing at that point is professional help.

We will only condemn cross addiction if the addict is addicted to two or more habits at a time. Or he upgrades from a fair habit to another worst than the former. If this is the case, then it is worst than addiction itself.

In fact, everyone has an addiction and if the addiction has really disrupted your lifestyle then you have to try to stop it, and from the story that the OP told, i think cross-addiction is just as bad as gambling addiction, even though the money spent by the victim is not as much as When he is addicted to gambling, try to give advice to your friends or relatives so that they avoid any addiction, focus only on positive things such as reading, volunteering or exercising to divert the addiction they are experiencing.

What matters is, that these people are shifting their interest to something less risky as long as on the way, they manage not to make things worse.

For example, from addiction to gambling, the interest shifted to addiction to gadgets. Even though they spend lots of money purchasing several gadgets compared to what they spend during their gambling addiction, the benefits and advantages are still used by these people since they actually don't lose their money without anything good in return unlike in gambling where they literally lose money, and in return, they will end up regrettable on what they did.

Cross-addiction will just be bad if in some case, the worst just become worse in the long run.

There are cases where people become addicted to computer or PS4 games, in these cases people do not spend money on these games, but because these people spend many hours playing on the computer, they start to arrive at work tired and very sleepy, and this starts to very negatively affect their performance at work to the point where the situation reaches the level of the person not going to work and lying that they are sick, while missing work because they were playing all day. I read cases like these, and it was something recent. The person lost their job, lost their wife and children because they became addicted to PS4 games. I no longer remember the name of the game the guy played

But according to him, it was an online game that allowed other people to play, the guy even got married within the game, meaning the guy was also indirectly cheating on his wife. and even with many warnings that the wife kept giving him, the guy didn't want to listen and as a result, after losing his job, he was no longer able to pay the household bills and the wife left with the children. months later they divorced and the wife stayed with another man, meaning he had to watch his children being raised by someone else, all because of the addiction. anything can make us addicted if we overdo it

Don't know if this is really a gambling topic but in terms of gambling addiction and replacing it with another I don't see that as a bad thing as long as the new addiction is less damaging to that individuals lives.  People can get addicted to healthy things like running, working out, reading, etc.  Then there is the opposite like opiods, etc which can literally kill you.  So I think it's all relative to the cross addiction you are talking about.

to his credit, his new addiction is far more financially friendly than his previous one, while I agree it would be much better to face his addiction head-on, I still think this is far better than his previous one(at least for me), unless he starts recklessly spending money on the game he is playing, what I meant about this is that there are "mystery box" features on games where you have a chance of getting rare to legendary items in the game, it is basically gambling but instead of winning money, you get in-game items.

anyway, in the end, your friend still needs some kind of professional help, his addiction may have changed to what I think a better one, but it is still an addiction that needs to be addressed.

Any kind of addiction can have a negative effect.  For example if one diverts his addiction to work, then being a work addict will divert all his attention and effort to working.  Instead of having an uncontrollable urge to gamble, the scenario will be an uncontroallbe urge to work and this will have a negative effect to human body. 

This article[1] shows how overworking has negative effect on the human body and more on getting addicted to working.
To list what is stated:

• You’re not getting enough sleep
• You’re not eating during the day
• You’re not exercising
• You’re neglecting relationships
• You’re turning to drugs or alcohol

Here is another article[2] on how overworking affect the health and mental issue of a person.

In short, anything that is excessive is bad.

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[1] https://health.clevelandclinic.org/effects-of-working-too-much/
[2] https://www.passporthealthusa.com/employer-solutions/blog/2019-2-overworking-affect-physical-and-mental-health/

In my opinion, the most dangerous thing in gambling is losing money because of gambling, so when we can look for a new hobby that is cheaper, of course that is a good choice. However, switching gambling habits to another hobby is usually not easy because gamblers enjoy the sensation of risking money on gambling, not gambling games.

However, this method may work and there is no harm in trying it. There are many losses if we become a gambling addict, maybe we will go bankrupt, damage family relationships, and maybe end up committing suicide. We need to be aware of this possibility and start gambling responsibly

It's still addiction done in a different way and games if you're still spending money and time and you don't have control over these then it's addiction, addiction is addiction the mindset to get that dopamine effect is still there and the mind cannot cope up with it.

Cross-addiction will not work to cure gambling addiction because the player has no control over his actions, the only way to cure addiction is to regain control of spending a lot of money and time on gambling.

It could be in the beginning, but we all know what is the definition of addiction, so maybe at the start you can say it's financially friendly. But later on you will spend a lot of money that you didn't notice as you slowly goes on another binge and then you began addicted, it could be worst that gambling.


Any of us will have to seek professional help as it is already an addiction. However, his friend or anyone of us should first acknowledge that we have addiction already before that intervention can help us. Otherwise it will be just a cycle, repeating itself for the addicts to fell again.

This is very common but at the same time it is a very dangerous development, and this is because once a person moves from one addiction to another there is nothing stopping them from suffering several addictions at the same time.

And while the argument of your friend makes some sense since he is spending less money now than what he spent on gambling, this is not going to last long, because as we know video games can be very expensive too and they have all kind of in-game purchases in which you can waste your money away.

It's possible that he may even be suffering from multiple gambling addictions at the same time because he finds enjoyment in other things that he also spends his time doing. He moves between one activity that makes him addicted but makes no effort to stop his addiction. Maybe it's better if he does other activities that can provide more benefits than spending his time staying at home and playing games so that he can see the outside world which is more interesting.

And in fact, he has reduced or shifted his activities from gambling to playing games, but he still spends more time playing games. If you look at your expenses, he doesn't spend a lot of money, but if you look at his time, he still plays games more often than doing other things.

When someone is addicted on  gambling something else' that will come to our minds right away is to control the money it use in playing gambling as well, but it's not done that way, when you engaged in a gambling addicted, the person might forget about gambling when you look for something that is payable and will also consumed the person's times  and also pre informed the person concerning  gambling not to participate in gambling, its not that person will stop gambling totally but it will adjust in gambling because of the way people talk about gambling and anothing is understanding, their is some people who will not gamble again after your advice and some people will still continue

- I think it's not unusual in this day and age because there are so many forms of entertainment that can lead to addiction. When we try to break a habit or addiction, we often seek out something else to occupy the time we used to spend on our previous addiction, thinking it will help us forget about it. But it's a bit like a cycle - we move from one habit to another. Unfortunately, these new habits often have some connection to the old addiction.
- This could be termed as a cross-addiction, as you mentioned, or a cycle of addiction. Only a few people have the courage to adopt a new, healthy habit or addiction, like getting addicted to sports, for instance. However, that group is quite small because, like sports, it isn't always easy to start with.

and I completely agree that it can become worse than gambling(especially with all the events on a game that require money in order to fully enjoy the event, not to mention the "mystery boxes" that are basically gambling) if it is left untreated.

yeah, and that is what mental health professional help is for, they can help gambling addicts realize and acknowledge that they have an issue that needs to be addressed and treated.

Yeah that most likely should work.For example you want to change career at some point because you are bored to death from your actual job and you quit gambling and buy quite some new courses on Udemy for the profession you want to change your career into it,this would be beneficial.

Cross addiction though is mostly related when you go from bad to worse,for example you go from gambling to alcohol and from alcohol to whores your life never seem to get on track again and as such it is a bad one,the above example is a good one which should be beneficial for the person.

You're just making it in the wrong direction though. What if the heroin addict turns to helm and then just gradually turns to cigarettes and then eventually just chewing gum? From bad to worse is also a cross-addiction. It's possible.

Say you have been into gambling for years then a cross addiction moving to chess tournaments. I've seen people addicted to chess. Maybe even gambling addiction to BTC trading which seems to be common here.

That can happen but not all cross addictions will be on this result.

But yes, most likely that it's gonna be like when the gambler that have cross addiction won't check himself out. Because it is important to check if you're still on the goal of removing the gambling addiction.

And when you happen to see yourself winning from it, don't lose yourself from the other activities that you're doing and as much as you can make yourself not to have a cross addiction, avoid that to happen.

I was once addicted to alcoholic drinks then I gamble with lottery and now I am into gaming. 😅 When I was addicted to alcoholic drinks some years ago, I spent more than the amount I spent with gaming. Same with gambling though I am not addicted to it because it was just a short period of time betting on it but I refrain from it due to the high probability of losing in short I was not lucky. With gaming I can now control myself from addiction as I need to do it due to the signature campaign I am taking part right now to reach minimum quota that is why I need to manage my time and I am thankful the addiction was diverted to a much better one.

I don't know what you mean by checking the goal of removing gambling addiction, what would be the thing that needs to be checked?
Anyways, this may be considered cross-addiction; however, his friend has a point. By making a decision to replace his gambling addiction with a cheaper one. Instead of spending up to $500, a monthly subscription of $20 is better, and completely enjoys himself playing.

OP's friend probably knows what he is doing, the moment he decides to get his gambling addiction to another thing, the intention is clear, and he wants to be in a better condition.

Agree with this.
We often tell a person who is an addict that the best way to combat addiction is to to find other activities that he/she is interested into as a form of distraction. 
In my opinion, cross addiction will be a bad thing if the habit we replace to our previous habit is just as equivalent as what we have replaced. For example, if someone is addicted to gambling, then his replacement would be drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes. Then we can say that this is a complete cycle of addiction because this is just as harmful as being a gambling addict because it's still harmful for him especially for his health. But is it possible that cross addiction can be a good thing? For instance, a gambling addict seeks out an alternative way of coping with his addiction by playing computer or mobile games. Yes, we can say that there is still an addiction but it is less harmful for him because it does not involve any amount of money.

You are the one that doesn't understand that friend OP, he is literally trying to beat gambling addiction and the only way to go about it is finding something he was once used to, I don't believe that someone who doesn't like gaming will go out and buy a PlayStation to keep himself busy, he was a gamer already and he used the console to fight his addiction, this is how I view all this issue.

I think he is smart, and I will never see gaming as an addiction, not until he decide to only do gaming around the clock all day long, no job or business to run, because I believe that too much of anything is bad and could turn into a form of addiction.

I also believe that he is spending way more on gambling than the subscription of $20 on his new shinny console, he is enjoying himself so let him, and if you think that gaming will destroy him just like gambling then you don't know the difference, the urge to play video games is different from the urge to make a fortune with gambling, one is less addictive than the other.

Yes, I have heard about it and even saw it with my own eyes. My cousin was addicted to drugs in the past and part of the recovery he starts to play a lot of video games, ending up spending the whole weekend in his room only gaming. This was a very terrible time and it took a long time for him to beat both of his addictions. I think that many people who struggle with an addiction are having similar problem. It’s like when you realise that you have problems to control your own actions in one regard that you are also very likely to struggle with other things too. It’s important to help a friend who is struggling with multiple addictions, we need to show him that his behaviour is similar across different addictions and that he needs to fight it. In the end that comes down to if a person is at risk to become addicted or not. Some people gamble all their life and never become addicted, and there are people who start small in gambling and become addicted fairly quickly. Once you struggle with one addiction there is a high risk to become addicted to something else. It’s important to seek professional help and learn coping techniques to turn our life around.

However, he will still become addicted to video games and can spend the whole day without doing other activities. But at least he had saved much money instead of using it for gambling. And maybe later, he can find a way to make money from playing video games.

If he could make money, that would be a great way. He could even benefit from playing video games but he has to find a way. That's like what I saw in some young people playing video games on smartphones.

They enthusiastically played the video game and answered that it could make money when I asked about it. But I don't know how because I didn't ask further.

Doesnt matter if its some another addiction came from another addiction, the importance on here is that you do make out such step or action just to make things more lesser when it comes to finance
expenses and at the same time you are really that lessening the risks on messing up with your entire financial condition which we know that gambling could possibly give.
So i would say that it wont really be that much a wrong thing about doing those side addiction or whatever been called as cross addiction as long you do see that it is really just that a better
choice or alternative then do it.Basing up on the situation on having that video game addiction which causes for you to spend $20 for a month which is way far more better than on
spending hundreds in a month. You wont really be that so dumb on not to see the main differences.

It is really just that there are really people who are really that always not like the word addiction but if you do see this as your choice then go with it.
But honestly we could really be able to resolve things without needing to touch for some another problem but if you do see this as your option and temporal
then its not a bad consideration of things.

I think changing his addiction to video games is much better and safer because it helps to lessen the expenses as well as the possibility of losing a huge amount of money. It is also much safer than using the 100% addiction withdrawal method which causes many psychological side effects to the person. Cross-addiction can occur because addictive behaviors often stem from underlying psychological and emotional issues that are not fully resolved, leaving individuals vulnerable to developing new addictive patterns to fill the void left by the initial addiction.

It's a lot better than losing that $100 though imo. While you still stand to lose something, at the very least, in the case of the subscription-based game he knows damn well it's a game so even if addiction sets in, it'd only damage his time at most which can be handled a lot easier compared to what you spend on gambling, money. And considering all things, it's honestly a huge step imo, at the very least there's something that's happening and not just a stagnant consideration of the "I want to change" idea. Considering how he has no issues living I don't think money is an issue anyway, so I reckon he can take his time with tiring himself out. No matter the game, there's always a limit at a certain point anyway.

I hope its FFXIV especially since a new class is about to be released. Worthwhile game to be addicted in.

Personally, I don't see anything wrong when an addiction is replaced by another addiction, for example, one that requires less money. If a person instead of replacing an old addiction simply acquires a new one, it is a completely different situation. Instead of one addiction, he gets two. In my opinion, this is where the greatest danger may lie.

One of my friends liked to drink alcohol while gambling, but when he started to smoke marijuana he stopped controlling himself. This led to him not only losing all his money, but also getting into unpleasant situations in the casino.

I didn't know this and I've never heard of it, I just found out that something like this exists.
But for me what he did is good, because most of the people who are addicted to gambling find it difficult to avoid it and he found a new hobby to entertain himself. I think that's a good sign, $500 to $20 he is slowly avoiding gambling.

This is the first time I read about cross-addiction, and based on the article you provided it is still an addiction that needs to be cured, you are still not safe even if you do cross-addiction in all forms and likes of addiction is dangerous, instead of trying cross addiction it's better to get the help of a professional, there are severe cross addictions that should deal with.
I also don't recommend cross-addiction you may become worse from your previous addiction, addiction or cross-addiction are not good for the mental, relationships, and finances of the individual and should be avoided at all costs.

The fact that you shifted your addiction into another addiction, then most likely you are experiencing cross addiction. The good thing is you end up with positive addiction which means if you have control on your emotions and you trade with knowledge and honed skills, then your addiction will eventually lead you into being profitable in trading. It's like you started with destructive addiction and then you end up with constructive addiction which brings advantage on your part.

However, the fact that it's still an addiction, and that you abuse yourself from doing it, then there are still chances that it will still be damaging on your part. Gambling is different from trading, but if you trade without control and you don't know when to trade and when not to, then you are still doing trading like gambling. In that case, it won't still be beneficial for you in the end.

Sure, if one drug costs less than the other, it makes sense to pick that one. Isnt that too simple, though? Doesnt that only scratch the top of a bigger, more complicated problem? Problems arise when people become addicted to things, like computer games or gambling. Its not always just money that costs something. What about the hours lost, the stressful situations, and the mental stress?

Critics laugh at the word "addiction." They look down upon it and are prejudiced against it. Its your choice if you think of your road as a choice. But lets be factual. Picking a cheaper vice isnt the only thing that matters. It has to do with looking at the bigger picture and how it affects your life as a whole. Whats the point of choosing the less bad option? Why not try to live a life free of any addictions?

There is nothing wrong in replacing an addiction with another addiction that requires less or no money and also doesn't have any severe impacts on one's personal and professional lives, and physical and mental health. An addict that only requires less money but has more severe consequences isn't good, obviously. For example, as you said your friend started smoking marijuana when he was already in a habit of drinking alcohol, in this case, even if marijuana costs him less and he leaves alcohol for it, he didn't do anything good for himself since he left one bad addiction for another.

So, when we talk about cross-addiction, one should use that in the best way possible. If you want to leave an addiction, you should find something that will keep you away from your previous addiction and wouldn't really keep you completely bound both with your time and money and you should feel that you won't really feel a lot different if you don't do the second thing every day.

He was right. Paying $20 per month is actually much cheaper than getting addicted in gambling. Plus money isn't the only thing that is involved there. It can also destroy your mental, physical, etc.. health, as well as threatening other peoples life. You want him to face his addiction instead but do you know how hard it is? One remedies about it is getting a professional help which can also cost a lot.

This was my first time hearing the term but I already experienced it. I even use it as an explanation before when commenting on a gambling thread. It was also gambling is the activity that I'm hooked at, and I said I will try to divert my attention on playing mobile games. It worked but the only difference of me from the guy in the story is I don't make in-game purchases.

And as long as his new addiction isn't dangerous in reducing his money losses, maybe it could be a solution for him. But even though his addiction to video games is much better and safer, he also needs to find other activities so he doesn't play games all day. It will also reduce his gaming addiction so that he can benefit from doing other activities.

I used to have a friend who played video games every day until he didn't do anything else. His parents advised him to leave the house to see new things but he didn't want to. That has been going on for years, but he doesn't experience it anymore because he now works in an office.

So reducing addiction really depends on the person. If he can feel and realize that he has an addiction and wants to reduce it or cure it, he must find something else to do. And if he can do other things regularly, he can cure his addiction.

Addiction to video game is much more better.

There is no slightest form of panic in you, as there is nothing to lose here, spending a certain amount on games every month makes sense because if it's costing you just $20 and you are making a lot more than this amount, why not? We only life once.

Playing video games only turn addiction if you can't drop the pad and go to work, sitting in front of your monitor or TV all day is signs of irresponsible person.

I know some guys in the U.S Illinios, they are hard working and very responsible, one is taking care of their grand mother till date and he isn't the only child of his family, these guys are hardcore gamers, and they don't joke with their life, savings and investments, see? You deserve to have all the fun you can get while grinding hard.

A famous musician once said that " Work hard and Play hard". You won't always be here.

It can still be a vicious circle because a video game addiction has consequences that could intensify other problems in life, which in turn leads to other addictions or the former addiction to come into effect again and this time maybe even worse. Video game addictions definitely contributes negatively to the social bondings being neglected. If this is the case and the person loses friendships over time, what is that person going to do when he decides to end the video game addiction and instead do some great stuff, but with whom? The risk then is that gambling may be a thing again to kill some time.

While the amount of money that the friend of the OP is spending is going down and that is a good thing, this is only one of the negative aspects of being addicted, since there have been cases on the past of people that were so addicted to video games they literally dropped dead after playing for several days without sleeping or eating.

With this in mind it is important that this person understands the imminent danger he is facing and takes the appropriate measures to leave all addictions behind for good.

Yes, it's still a vicious circle because he just transferred his addiction to video games and didn't try to solve his addiction. He should be able to stop his gambling addiction first and then play video games but with restrictions too.

Those who often play video games will eventually lose their friendships. He only cares about video games rather than doing other more useful things. It can reduce his addiction to playing video games and he can also do other things.

Hopefully, he can realize his mistake and decide to reduce his habit of playing video games. He needs to open himself to the environment around him to discover something new. It would benefit him.

That's right, it's better to turn your attention to something else than to stick to gambling knowing that it won't end well.

This is what we really need, if you know you can't stop gambling forever, look for something else that you will enjoy. Take it easy, don't rush it. We know that it's really hard to avoid gambling, especially when you're addicted to it, but we can still cure it, just trust yourself.

Cross, double, triple etc will make someone become worse since they can't even able to recover from one addiction, but they're can get addicted by any other thing. It's not really about gambling, but there are other cases that way higher than gambling e.g. sex and drugs. Most of people who get this addictions mostly have a bad ending, it can kill themselves, while gambling only losing money.

Of course if we talk about sex and drug addiction, it will be worse than gambling addiction. However, if someone wants to change their gambling addiction, they will definitely choose something with less risk, such as playing PS4, or other entertainment that doesn't require a lot of money. I am sure that no one is addicted to gambling and then transfers their gambling addiction to things with more negative values ​​such as sex and drugs.

Treating gambling addiction is not easy, diverting attention to other hobbies may be effective, and there is no harm in trying.

What may work with him may not be thesame way applicable for others as effective enough for them to use in stopping addiction, though I also agrees with you that one of the best ways to kicked against addiction is to introduce something new and better, if this is rine and good by the person involved then it does not have to necessarily be perfect in our own eyes before it can be effective for him, personal determination also work along way in dealing with addiction, this is a first move expected before going to the next and the withdrawal continue to set in gradually and not at once.

Do you think that the gambler who is used to gambling with real money and who is used to gaining money from gambling, will quit gambling and start playing video games where is have no chance to win any money  ???

This is highly unlikely to happen as gamblers will need something from where they can make easy money and video games are not the replacement of gambling/casino games.

I don't think that anything can be a substitute for gambling  ::)

I've never experienced this before but I once met someone who used to be my friend but now who knows where he goes, he definitely has a gambling problem or we call it a gambling addiction, but when he tries to avoid gambling, he looks for other alternatives to not be addicted to gambling anymore. tried to do illegal racing and this was the same as betting only in smaller amounts but I also asked him what his goal was to leave gambling but instead became addicted to betting on illegal racing and he answered that he actually wanted to stop betting on gambling but he was confused about finding a better alternative positive so he decided to bet on illegal racing and tried to find other solutions to continue to avoid betting slowly because he realized that if he was addicted, stopping immediately was very difficult. so the cross-addiction scenario that someone I know experienced was just a small attempt to slowly get away from gambling or casinos.

While the framing of it, moving from one addiction to another, is hardly casting it in the best light - there is actually a grain of sense in all this. I believe it is a lot harder to pick up and continue an "addiction" to buying console games, because you generally get hooked in and want to actually play each different one for a substantial amount of times than constantly feeding money into a gambling website. So it is a good idea in that sense, as you are changing from one activity that can drain your bank account very quickly into one that is much less likely to have that impact. There are actually so many free games out there, the friend could actually wean themselves off spending money entirely in the end, which would be a big bonus if they choose to do so.

Someone doesn't really have to choose an addiction or an activity to cross with their gambling addiction if they know that the other addiction is even more dangerous than gambling itself and they might make it through with the gambling addiction but they won't with the other addiction even if they leave gambling after that. And one should find an alternative activity that is less expensive than gambling and the urge should also not be as severe as gambling, while both sex and drugs fall nowhere near those two things since both of them are even more expensive than gambling and have more severe urges as well.

So, someone who actually wants to leave gambling addiction and look for another activity that they can choose over gambling, should go for something moderate like maybe playing video games, or even watching movies, there are a lot of options that one can choose from which can get them away from gambling but also wouldn't have any severe effects on their life.

"Addiction" from the word itself, anything associated with gambling is consider as bad, becauss anything that is too much can be bad, and nothing wrong with replacing the recent addiction to another? T hat's a twisted thinking how could there be no problem in that? There is!!!. Anything should be done with moderation in that way you will control yourself. And from alcohol to marijuana? Sre you kidding marijuana is much worst its like your friend ungraded his addiction into another level. Of course things will be much worse because we know even if he switched into smoking mariajuana he will still drink alcohol and added with gambling in casino its sure that he will have a bad happenings in casino or his life will be much more worst. Associating a vise during casino will be bad its like wasting your money in both gambling and vise which is a really unpleasant situation.

I understand your point, well some medical professionals also believed that cross addiction may lead to a range of dangers, well if that's the case, much better to seek professional health rather than DIY assessment. Actually, it seems impossible to a gambling addict to change especially if they don't want to help their selves. To address the real issue of cross addiction, One of the important points to keep in mind is stay connected though therapy, group coaching and professionals.

Well, addiction is always a way to reflect what a Human Being is capable of suffering for not having control, but based on when we refer to Addiction to video Games, it is something that is not considered so serious, if it is spend When you have to go somewhere to play, but in a certain way when we are in a game or something we have to Control ourselves , video Games can also carry Much more responsibility , it is something that can be Generated in a very simple way, The caveat here is that when it's a video game things tend to be Smoother , you don't spend a lot of money and you can play for hours until you get your Fill , so when we do this type of thing , I Would think that things can be Generated for the Better , because in a casino Things are Different, because you spend a lot of money and if you fall into Addiction it is something worse , I am not one to think about what can cause the evils of a casino or a game like that of a game. Of video.

And although an addiction and an Addiction is Whatever it is, it comes from Where it comes from, I am of the opinion that when there is this type of game without control in video games it can cause some damage to the eyes, they can Cause Headaches if It is like an Addiction , in the Same way it damages the person, it cannot generate Anything other than what we Normally know in order to generate something that is useful to us, now things when they are with PS5 can be Monetized because now they have the function of do some Online Tournaments and bet with money, I don't know how much this can be harmful and cause addiction so you have to Spend Money , this is something that shouldn't be seen as bad, however this can cause even more Addiction because What the PS5 is much more Real, it looks very real , this is something that can always go in another direction, although I prefer that a person have this type of Addiction than that of a Casino that is Stronger.

The intentions of your former friend were correct but the method he selected was terrible as ‘two wrongs do not make a right’.

What he should have done as he was finding difficult to leave gambling addiction behind is to look for professional help and receive it for months, as leaving a gambling addiction behind is not an event but a process, however by trying to overcome his addiction by engaging in another destructive behavior he has just compounded his problem even further.

He may need to reach out to his friends to get him to do something before he decides to go to a professional and ask for help. Usually, friends can provide interesting ideas and make them want to do something that has nothing to do with gambling. But he should really get friends who care about him so he can really get a solution to stop gambling. Maybe his friend can't find a friend who can provide a solution but a solution for betting on illegal racing. It's the same as moving to another activity but still related to gambling.

Or he can ask a friend to help him find a job. Usually, this will help him to stay busy looking for any job vacancies, especially if there are friends who can offer him to work with them. If he can find it, at least he can leave his gambling behind to focus more on his work.

That's a good idea, why not help your former friend to find a decent job or other thing that may helps him to divert his/her attention and gaining money at the same time. (not any other illegal racing activities which is somehow related to gambling)  It will be more helpful to lessen his/her obsession in any illegal activities and gambling and I think that's a good and positive example of healthy Cross addiction. If your friend doesn't want to listen on your advices or having a hard time to follow your advices, maybe he/she needs a counseling if he/she has a problem when it comes to avoiding the gambling addiction.

Giving advise specially into your friend isnt really that a bad thing, there are really just that those people who dont really just that listen no matter how hard you do tell them or make them realize.
This is why im not really that a fan when it comes on giving out advises considering that im not really that kind of person whose really have that kind of patience when it comes to this no matter how close we are. As long i have done my part on telling on what are the things should be done or whats really that good for you then it would be final and if you dont tend to listen then you are the ones who would really be that leading into your decisions.It is really just that sad to look into those people whom you are close or being best friend who had wrecked out their lives due to gambling or on whatever things that theyre getting involved with just because on making bad decisions in life which they do really end up on negative things.

I dont think that things you are really that tending to get involved with are considered automatically as cross addictions on which we know that diverting out our
attention into something that would distract us but as long you wouldn't really be that engaging too much then it should be fine.

While keeping your mind busy is one of the easiest ways to deal with the problem of thinking constantly about the source of your addiction, things can be way more complicated than that.

And this is because in order to get someone else a job you need to vouch for them and risk your own reputation by doing so, and if they begin to underperform or even do illegal things then you will be blamed for it, even if it is not really your fault, so people are very wary about recommending someone with such an obvious problem as this could hinder their career prospects if something bad were to happen.

Helping him get a good job will at least help him try to divert his attention from gambling, and he will also have the opportunity to make money from his job. Even though he will later use the money for gambling, at least he can get money from other places, and he should understand that making money from work is difficult, so he should appreciate better what he earns. And it seems that this will make him understand to really reduce his gambling activities, which have made him lose a lot of money. By working, he will get a new passion where he can reduce his gambling activities until finally, he doesn't gamble too often and can reduce his gambling addiction.

Yes, it was like that because he really needed something else to divert his attention. Maybe it's not too serious work because he's still trying to change for the better so he needs a distraction. Besides, if we can't help him find a job, we can ask him to do something so he can divert his attention from gambling. The important thing is that he can immediately divert his activities from gambling and not depend on gambling to fill his time so that he can use it to do things that are more useful for him. Slowly, he will be able to do it, especially if we stay with him through it and that will make him happy because we are really trying to help him.

Giving advice, especially to friends, isnt always met with open ears. People often dont listen, no matter how much you try to make them see the light. Its frustrating, I know. Im not the most patient person either. When I give advice, I expect it to be taken seriously because I dont waste words on trivialities.

Now, gambling is not just a game; its a serious business. When people get involved in gambling, they're playing with fire. I've seen too many lives, especially those close to me, get wrecked because they didnt listen to good advice. They thought they were in control, but they werent

Its not about cross addictions or distractions. Its about knowing the limits. Engage too much, and you're in dangerous territory. I believe in being proactive, not reactive. You see a friend heading down that path, you intervene. You do your part, sure, but dont just walk away. Be relentless. If they dont listen, its on them, but at least you know you did everything you could. That's what being a friend is about. Thats what being a responsible human being is about.

Any addiction is really not good. But if one can move on to another addiction through switching then it is his/her choice since we know it's not really easy to quit.

Well, he spend less in his new addiction so he use this reason to justify his action and he is right somehow. But this doesn't mean it is fine to do this because still, it's an addiction and nothing's change. If he really wants to move on the best thing to do is to find other activity where he don't have to lose money to be entertained. Because this is still similar to gambling, he can justify his action but the fact still remain.

Any forms of addiction is never been good, you would really be finding yourself that on a tough situation on which you would really be eventually be able to affect whether your relationship into your family or when it comes to your financial situation on which we should really be needing to avoid it in the first place. Cross addictions? Its never been that good on trying out to solve and addiction via means of other addiction but since we are talking about pc game addiction then it might be somewhat that better compared on gambling but of course we do know that time spent on playing games is never been that appealing for everyone on which there's always that possibility that it might be affecting something. Nothing beats out if you  do really engage on things on proper moderation
on which you arent really that risking something.

As far as I know the PS4 game console has been hacked for a long time, so you can advise your friend to sell his console, add some money and buy the same one running on a special firmware that allows you to download games from the Internet. It seems to me that his problem is solved very simply and instead of acquiring cross addiction he gets rid of it and spends much less money to get dopamine.

This is actually my first time coming acroosed cross addiction and I do fully understand your whole process. He's just a friend to you, and you allow him to keep dipping into addiction? It doesn't show any remorseful act portrayed, rather you're the one that's supposed to make such behaviors not take place. Many people are scared of facing the truth, they just live in a lie and having absolutely nothing to hold on to, rather they keep lying to themselves inother to get rid of old memories and risky activities, moving from gambling on paying for PS4 games, its more considerable but that habits needs to be stop, there are a whole lot of measures to take when one is addicted.