Cross addictions is Just as Bad.

[mirakal]

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

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.

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.

[Ever-young]

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

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.

[Cryptomultiplier]

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.

[Smartvirus]

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.

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.

[Accardo]

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

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

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.

[GxSTxV]

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

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.

[Slow death]

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.

[qwertyup23]

<..snip..>

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

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.

[lionheart78]

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.

[danherbias07]

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.

[bhadz]

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.

[dothebeats]

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.

[lovesmayfamilis]

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.

[ethereumhunter]

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

[Z390]

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?

What Are Cross Addictions?
Cross addiction, also known as addiction transfer or addiction interaction disorder, occurs in various ways. First, an individual may simultaneously engage in substance abuse and maladapative behavioral patterns (medically referred to as behavioral or process addictions). Second, a person may replace one addiction with another (i.e., substituting opioids with cannabis). Third, an addictive behavior may precede a chemical addiction or vice versa.
https://www.choosingtherapy.com/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?

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.
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.

[Jawhead999]

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.

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

[Kelvinid]

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.

[Wakate]

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?

What Are Cross Addictions?
Cross addiction, also known as addiction transfer or addiction interaction disorder, occurs in various ways. First, an individual may simultaneously engage in substance abuse and maladapative behavioral patterns (medically referred to as behavioral or process addictions). Second, a person may replace one addiction with another (i.e., substituting opioids with cannabis). Third, an addictive behavior may precede a chemical addiction or vice versa.
https://www.choosingtherapy.com/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?

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.

[Kakmakr]

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...)

[iv4n]

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

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.