Recognizing Gambling Disorders, Symptoms of Severe Gambling Addiction

[bittraffic]

When he feels unhappy, distraught, remorseful and hopeless, he gambles

This also applies to other activities that you do. Like if your favorite habit is to eat, when you're under stress, you eat. When you are annoyed and you feel uncomfortable, you'll find a way to eat and crave. That's sort of stress eating and that's the same in gambling. It is a stress reliever for the others and they gamble as much as they want and the release of dopamine in our body triggers it more for us to gamble no matter what the situation is as long as you're feeling pleasured by doing it or you're finding it as a way to solve the current problem that you're dealing with.

Some of us when depressed don't eat at all but yes I've seen documentaries about obesity as a result of their depression. This is when they are rejected by a boyfriend or got bullied.

Gambling addiction is a major problem that is why most state's governments ban gambling even online gambling. A father with gambling problems always has issues and its not good for all the family members.

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[Darker45]

In the last few hours I personally do self-introspection and analyze these symptoms may be in myself, family or friends. and as a result there are some of my friends who do seem to have these symptoms ;
1. Should I shut up and watch him continue gambling.
2. Or risk the friendship to fall apart by suggesting him to go to a psychiatrist, because because in my place people who go to a psychiatrist are identical to people who have mental disorders.

Number 1 should not be an option. But, surely, there must be a way for you to get to initiate a discussion about your friend's gambling problems without necessarily risking your friendship. You are friends, after all. Of course, you don't just directly tell him/her that he/she needs to go to a psychiatrist and have himself/herself checked up. As a matter of fact, I guess the first option is to try distract him/her from gambling. You might want to schedule different fun and interesting activities to divert his/her attention from going deep into gambling addiction.

[ShowOff]

Don't make it too complicated to do because there is always a good way to warn someone at the right time. Remember, never remind someone to change their bad habit that are considered bad in the general public such as gambling, stealing or other things that are against your religion and customs in public. It will only end up as an insult to him and you will never succeed and even you will have a new enemy who is none other than your friend.

You need to know that we all have mental disorders, it's just that we are on a different level with people who are called crazy because feeling of anxiety and restlessness are also symptom of a disturbed mental state. The level of gambling addiction experienced by your friend, it would not hurt you to suggest he go to a psychologist not to a psychiatrist who is identical with the disorder. That will give him some encouragement and motivation to make improvements to his mindset and gambling habit. However, before you do, make sure you are no longer a gambler.

[Wexnident]

Risk it. I mean, it isn't that hard of a decision to make if you truly are a friend, decisions about friends were never something that you actually wanted to benefit you, but rather benefit others instead. To hell with relationships, if that means the man you want to help (or woman) can get well or be healthy, you could stand to be the villain of their lives for eternity. That's what friends truly are. Now you would only truly do 1 if your friend was an ass, and you don't really consider him as one even.

if he breaks the friendship due to that, then there's nothing you can do anymore tbh. That's just how it goes. Whether they listen or not isn't your fault anymore, it's their own so don't try to wallow into pity due to that.

[Kittygalore]

Risk it. I mean, it isn't that hard of a decision to make if you truly are a friend, decisions about friends were never something that you actually wanted to benefit you, but rather benefit others instead. To hell with relationships, if that means the man you want to help (or woman) can get well or be healthy, you could stand to be the villain of their lives for eternity. That's what friends truly are. Now you would only truly do 1 if your friend was an ass, and you don't really consider him as one even.

if he breaks the friendship due to that, then there's nothing you can do anymore tbh. That's just how it goes. Whether they listen or not isn't your fault anymore, it's their own so don't try to wallow into pity due to that.

Risking it though seems like martyrdom in my opinion because you don't really have any bonds with them besides being a friend, I agree that you should risk it but there will come a time that you should set a boundary that you won't be doing this thing. Also the symptoms that you should worry about when someone is addicted is when they are harming others or themselves.

[swogerino]

Personally I have been a long time ago somewhat related to only one of these points,I have been in a situation when life had not a meaning for me unless I used to go to Caesar Palace(local casino,not the big one everyone thinks about) and gamble there.There were some fascinating slot machines there as I didn't use online gambling that much back then.I used to go there even in 2 AM in the morning as it was a 24 h casino.I was unemployed back then but luckily for me I found a job which didn't let me that much time to go there anymore as I was getting tired during my daily job.The desire was big to continue and I only thought about the casino but after some time of not being able to go,I recovered from this serious illness and life was beautiful again.

[xSkylarx]

In the last few hours I personally do self-introspection and analyze these symptoms may be in myself, family or friends. and as a result there are some of my friends who do seem to have these symptoms ;
1. Should I shut up and watch him continue gambling.
2. Or risk the friendship to fall apart by suggesting him to go to a psychiatrist, because because in my place people who go to a psychiatrist are identical to people who have mental disorders.

I prefer the option number 2. Your friend will surely be offended if you asked him to go to a psychiatrist but if he realizes soon that you are right about their addiction in gambling, your friendship will return. I'd rather lose our friendship than watch them ruin their life because of gambling. He won't be that same friend anymore if he got addicted in gambling. We should break the stereotype that if someone goes to a psychiatrist, he automatically has a mental disorder.

[Oshosondy]

Personally I have been a long time ago somewhat related to only one of these points,I have been in a situation when life had not a meaning for me unless I used to go to Caesar Palace(local casino,not the big one everyone thinks about) and gamble there.There were some fascinating slot machines there as I didn't use online gambling that much back then.I used to go there even in 2 AM in the morning as it was a 24 h casino.I was unemployed back then but luckily for me I found a job which didn't let me that much time to go there anymore as I was getting tired during my daily job.The desire was big to continue and I only thought about the casino but after some time of not being able to go,I recovered from this serious illness and life was beautiful again.

My gambling addiction was similar to yours, I was very addicted to spot gambling in 2014, I played often which are offline but later migrated to online games for fast minute bet, I was very addicted, using data connection, my time and money, but the frequent gambling only lead me to lose more than I thought for years. But when I am working now and earning money elsewhere, I am not addicted again. I can even decide not to gamble for months if I like, I use the money I can afford now unlike before when it was a problem for me that I even sold my home theater and computer one time because of gambling.

[imstillthebest]

theres a one sign that i think normal  .  this >

When he feels unhappy, distraught, remorseful and hopeless, he gambles

gambling can provide instant happiness if we are sad , hopless or experiencing other negativities in life  . dont comfront your friend yet if he is having this but dont wait when you saw other signs occuring on him . a friend will appreciate it if we care for them or warn them but we will get blame if we act late .

in my place people who go to a psychiatrist are identical to people who have mental disorders.

whats the problem with that ? gambling addiction is a mental disorder . we shouldnt be shy if we have illness

[Maus0728]

whats the problem with that ? gambling addiction is a mental disorder . we shouldnt be shy if we have illness

There is. At some point, people who gamble the money given by others can somewhat be humiliating. And I am certain that this person will feel awful to himself due to the fact that it's now his hard earned money he gamble to make some fun.

This is why people with gambling disorder tends to lie to their relatives and others to hide their compulsive behavior.

[ethereumhunter]

You should warn them and tell them about the symptoms so they can introspect what happened to them and they can solve the problem before it is too late. You do not need to afraid with your friendship because a good friend will always suggest the best for his best friends. He does not want to see them get a problem in the future and they want to take care each other.

Maybe you do not have to suggest them to visit a psychiatrist at first but you can tell them the situation that happened to them and let they think about that. If they still playing gambling, maybe you need to go with them and always warn them to stop gambling.

[acroman08]

Maybe I won't care what other people do, but not with my best friend whom I have considered a brother. But what I'm thinking right now is how to convey it without destroying the friendship that has existed since childhood, and honestly its emotional nature makes me have to think twice about conveying it without causing other problems.

if you really care for him as a brother you should be honest about what you think about his disorder. things like this are always hard often ruin a friendship. if I were you I'd tell him what the problem is, suggest a solution, and volunteer that you'll be there for him. if he takes what you said personally and decided to distance himself to you it's his loss and not yours. you being afraid of what to say will not help him.

[decodx]

Gambling related disorders and gambling addiction is like any other addiction. It may start slowly, but it can build and grow into something very intense. Some people get into the habit of gambling for the thrill of the game and the thrill of winning money, but what this ultimately leads to is being addicted to something which is not to be taken lightly. In order to see if you are addicted to gambling, you need to look at all the clues. Many of these symptoms listed in the article can also be seen in other forms of addiction, for example, alcoholism or drug abuse.

[Renampun]

...

addicts, in general, have the same habit, when he is not able to fulfill his desire then he will involve other people...

addiction to drugs, sex and gambling is an excruciating thing for sufferers. the sufferer has absolutely no control over himself so he tries hard to fulfill his opiate even though he has no money at all. when there is no way out at all then cheating, robbing, and pawning will be done just to gamble.

[DU18]

In the last few hours I personally do self-introspection and analyze these symptoms may be in myself, family or friends. and as a result there are some of my friends who do seem to have these symptoms ;
1. Should I shut up and watch him continue gambling.
2. Or risk the friendship to fall apart by suggesting him to go to a psychiatrist, because because in my place people who go to a psychiatrist are identical to people who have mental disorders.

Number 1 should not be an option. But, surely, there must be a way for you to get to initiate a discussion about your friend's gambling problems without necessarily risking your friendship. You are friends, after all. Of course, you don't just directly tell him/her that he/she needs to go to a psychiatrist and have himself/herself checked up. As a matter of fact, I guess the first option is to try distract him/her from gambling. You might want to schedule different fun and interesting activities to divert his/her attention from going deep into gambling addiction.

I have tried several times to distract him to get rid of the addiction, one of which is by trying to focus on other work, including when I tried to build an intense farm business with him, and at first he seemed very focused on work but after a week later I found him back in the gambling game with his other friends, and to be honest I even had an argument with one of his friends who again invited him to gamble.
Right now even his family is getting desperate for his habits and maybe right now I'm the only person who still cares about him.

[nakamura12]

Obvious behavior of a person to determine if he/she is a gambling addict is spending more money for gambling. Selling personal things to earn money and gamble again. Some might do the ssme but they only gamble when they have money. This type of behavior can be change as you have to advice them and for worst gambling addict is to bring them to a rehabilitation center for rehab.

[kryptqnick]

The article uses neutral formulations, it seems to me, whereas the op formulates them via the male pronoun, even though obviously gambling addiction isn't restricted to males. I also don't understand the part about a manic episode (and I don't see this one by the link the op provides as a source). Can you explain why it's one of the symptoms?
If you know someone who seems to have a problem with gambling, gently suggesting this person to get some help is probably something you should try. But pushing your friend towards going to a psychiatrist might not be a good idea.

[DU18]

The article uses neutral formulations, it seems to me, whereas the op formulates them via the male pronoun, even though obviously gambling addiction isn't restricted to males. I also don't understand the part about a manic episode (and I don't see this one by the link the op provides as a source). Can you explain why it's one of the symptoms?
If you know someone who seems to have a problem with gambling, gently suggesting this person to get some help is probably something you should try. But pushing your friend towards going to a psychiatrist might not be a good idea.

It's true, the article is not gender-specific, but why am I focusing more on men, because from the survey data released by GambleAware, almost 57% of people who are addicted to gambling are men, and in this topic I focus on these symptoms to men because indeed my friend is a man, but I think we can all get these symptoms in everyone regardless of gender.
For the point of manic episodes, maybe I can say a little if a manic episode or in medical terms referred to as bipolar disorder (a person's mood increases suddenly and unnaturally) is one of the symptoms that puts you at risk for impulsive actions, and the emergence of a sudden desire to gamble arrived without dont care the regardless of place, time and situation when it happened.

[Kakmakr]

"Responsible gamblers knows when to Stop" ...so if you cannot stop for any reason at all, then you have a problem. The same goes for any other activity or even food or alcohol. I know people who are addicted to "Exercise" .... because their brain gives off "feel good" endorphins when they exercise and they get addicted to that. (Doing too much exercise can also be harmful)

If you need to gamble to "fill" some need or to get some rush that you are not getting somewhere else, then you have to do some introspection to see if you have a problem and then get some help, if you do. 

[michellee]

In the last few hours I personally do self-introspection and analyze these symptoms may be in myself, family or friends. and as a result there are some of my friends who do seem to have these symptoms ;
1. Should I shut up and watch him continue gambling.
2. Or risk the friendship to fall apart by suggesting him to go to a psychiatrist, because because in my place people who go to a psychiatrist are identical to people who have mental disorders.

I will do number 2 to help my friend and risk the friendship because I do not want to see him get deeper into the gambling games. Maybe I can ask him to follow me to the psychiatrist and we can do that secretly so only we will know his problem. I think he will follow my suggestion, especially if he really appreciates our relationship. But before you ask him to the psychiatrist, you need to talk privately with him and tell him that you really care about him.