Addiction is 100% your choice:

[I_Anime]

Reasons why people get addicted to gambling have been discussed many times before and they truth is many people think differently for themselves, they think they are special that what happened to other gamblers can't happen to them, until they end up with the same result, gambling isn't something I can control, instead I follow a safer procedure.

I throw money here and there, always, and I've never feel like I must win when gambling, if you know what gambling truly means you won't want to force your way, in your life time you might never have anything to show for that you earned through gambling, it is what it is, simply a game of luck.

I have never expected anything great from gambling, the meaning is enough for me to look else where if I really want results, gambling is mostly disappoint you, its Better to not rely too much on gambling, risk only what you can afford to lose and if you ever get lucky always learn to take your rewards and come back some other day.

Nice point mate, most folks always have this high expectation in gambling in  hitting something huge oneday. though it may seems possible , but you still got to mind the way you approach it , because approaching gambling the wrong way may lead to one ruining his live one way to another, like at first we all know that gambling is not a means to get rich quick despite seeing others showcasing their wins through many means. And most time why they usually endup with such huge wins (if luck where on their side), is because of the amount of money they normally make use of during their gambling sections , and that same amount of money may be the amount of money they can afford to lose. so for you to go all in as an irresponsible gambler after encounting others showcasing their wins , is better to stake that you can afford lose and approach gambling the right way.

[RockBell]

That is why it's important to set limit to gambling to maintain a healthy gambling lifestyle, one must not start noticing addiction before they could limiting themselves from gambling. When one is getting to nice and more attention to gambling then he should know that gradually they are getting closer to addiction but however, you already spoken it all because if someone doesn't want to becoming addicted he won't.

Condition actually push people to do things that they are not suppose to do because I wonder how people just get easily blinded by the truth, they always find it very difficult to put a limit to what they are betting they have ways to make things easy for them self, like have a budget but when they have small assurance the next thing they will increase the amount of money they use in gambling just because they feel they can make more money, and they keep gambling given their self more hope, and reducing the attention you give to gambling will help a lot, and I feel those that don’t do anything and they gamble plenty of them always take that gambling as another means for them to be making money, because for some one to have a serious job am very sure you won’t have time to gamble the way you want.

[Franctoshi]

Almost 90% of the people who have a thing against gambling do so because they feel that gambling is addictive. But come to think of it, isn't addiction a choice? After reading lots of stories on the effects of being an addicted gambler, I feel it's 100% possible to tell myself that I can never be addicted to gambling and won't ever get addicted.

If for instance, I decide that I'm only going to gamble once a week and that at each time I will only gamble with an amount like $20 based on my current financial strength, would I ever become addicted to gambling?  Isn't it because you don't have any plan in place and just gamble as your spirit leads that makes you become careless with your gambling and become addicted to the process? Just want to ask this question;

Can you comfortably tell yourself that you have never been addicted to gambling and that you can never be addicted to gambling because of how you go about it?

I don't really agree that it 100% a choice, yes it really up to you as a gamble to control yourself in whatever thing you do when it comes betting, and you can only achieve this by setting boundaries, set rules and as well disciplines yourself so you don't become a victim addict, but however, the truth is that some people that become gamble addict today don't even know how they got there and in some cases, some addicts aren't even aware that they have become addict already.

[STT]

The premise of addiction as purely voluntary only works while you ignore actual physical reliance on substances is a real addiction that cannot be altered in one day.  Theres a physiological effect and so in turn addiction in part is the continuation of the habit because it can be near lethal to change that course, literally your body has that requirement even if its a bad one.   

The more controversial angle is where we start talking about purely habits of playing games for money like gambling is, is that physical.  Some argue that its little different as your brain is conditioned to want this particular activity for dopamine reliance.   Its not quite the same, the physical part cant kill you but we cant really call addiction a voluntary activity at its worst.

[Oilacris]

Almost 90% of the people who have a thing against gambling do so because they feel that gambling is addictive. But come to think of it, isn't addiction a choice? After reading lots of stories on the effects of being an addicted gambler, I feel it's 100% possible to tell myself that I can never be addicted to gambling and won't ever get addicted.

If for instance, I decide that I'm only going to gamble once a week and that at each time I will only gamble with an amount like $20 based on my current financial strength, would I ever become addicted to gambling?  Isn't it because you don't have any plan in place and just gamble as your spirit leads that makes you become careless with your gambling and become addicted to the process? Just want to ask this question;

Can you comfortably tell yourself that you have never been addicted to gambling and that you can never be addicted to gambling because of how you go about it?

I don't really agree that it 100% a choice, yes it really up to you as a gamble to control yourself in whatever thing you do when it comes betting, and you can only achieve this by setting boundaries, set rules and as well disciplines yourself so you don't become a victim addict, but however, the truth is that some people that become gamble addict today don't even know how they got there and in some cases, some addicts aren't even aware that they have become addict already.

Anything that you are doing then it is really that something that you are really that making up such decision on which its true that it would really be impossible that you cant really be able to determine on which one is good and which one is bad. On the moment that you are losing then you would be thinking up a certain point that you should quit, but since you do have that kind of impulsive emotion and your mind is really that making up those kind of desperation then you would really be
definitely be playing even more. Addiction is something like a disease that once it would really be happening into you then it would really be that hard for you to get out or overcome it. People would really be making out those kind of regrets but its already too late. So therefore, it would really be just that be basing up on how
you would really be making up decisions basing up into your condition.

[Dewi Aries]

Almost 90% of the people who have a thing against gambling do so because they feel that gambling is addictive. But come to think of it, isn't addiction a choice? After reading lots of stories on the effects of being an addicted gambler, I feel it's 100% possible to tell myself that I can never be addicted to gambling and won't ever get addicted.

If for instance, I decide that I'm only going to gamble once a week and that at each time I will only gamble with an amount like $20 based on my current financial strength, would I ever become addicted to gambling?  Isn't it because you don't have any plan in place and just gamble as your spirit leads that makes you become careless with your gambling and become addicted to the process? Just want to ask this question;

Can you comfortably tell yourself that you have never been addicted to gambling and that you can never be addicted to gambling because of how you go about it?

I don't really agree that it 100% a choice, yes it really up to you as a gamble to control yourself in whatever thing you do when it comes betting, and you can only achieve this by setting boundaries, set rules and as well disciplines yourself so you don't become a victim addict, but however, the truth is that some people that become gamble addict today don't even know how they got there and in some cases, some addicts aren't even aware that they have become addict already.

I agree and everything you said is true, as you said that the fact is most addicts do not know about how the scenario they can end up with addiction, meaning that addiction occurs unconsciously and not because of the intention from the beginning of being involved in gambling.

I think we all know about the bad situation that will impact life when we have reached the addiction phase, there is nothing positive that we can take from the addiction situation, meaning if addiction is 100% a choice from the beginning of someone being involved then the question is whether there are people who want to experience the various bad impacts that occur in their lives due to the influence of addiction? I don't think so at all.

[shield132]

Almost 90% of the people who have a thing against gambling do so because they feel that gambling is addictive. But come to think of it, isn't addiction a choice? After reading lots of stories on the effects of being an addicted gambler, I feel it's 100% possible to tell myself that I can never be addicted to gambling and won't ever get addicted.

If for instance, I decide that I'm only going to gamble once a week and that at each time I will only gamble with an amount like $20 based on my current financial strength, would I ever become addicted to gambling?  Isn't it because you don't have any plan in place and just gamble as your spirit leads that makes you become careless with your gambling and become addicted to the process? Just want to ask this question;

Can you comfortably tell yourself that you have never been addicted to gambling and that you can never be addicted to gambling because of how you go about it?

I agree with you that addiction is your choice but the situation isn't as easy as it sounds. I know many people who started gambling at a young age, since they were 14 years old. They were gambling, it was cool in our school class to play at casinos, parents weren't attentive because half of them were in migration and half of them worked every day for up to 12 hours. These kids lost lots of money as they grew up and many of them swore to stop gambling if they would get lost money back but this is the moment when they started diving down.
It was their choice to start gambling and it was their choice to don't start from a clean page but it's hard to blame them for all of these. It was a mixture of many mistakes that were made from them, from school, from parents and probably from relatives. They became a victim of all these.

[LUCKMCFLY]

I think I totally agree with the title of the thread, it's our decision, and why? Because at the end of the day when you're at the limit of sobriety and decision the person feels that they're crossing the line of normality, and that's what they have to control, there's no other way, they can't be making things up, so it's a choice because above all we are thinking people , who reason , who know what's good and what's bad, but above all we are people who must be responsible, and that word "responsibility" is the only thing that matters when it comes to any kind of decision and even more so when it comes to money.

[DaNNy001]

Almost 90% of the people who have a thing against gambling do so because they feel that gambling is addictive. But come to think of it, isn't addiction a choice? After reading lots of stories on the effects of being an addicted gambler, I feel it's 100% possible to tell myself that I can never be addicted to gambling and won't ever get addicted.

You don't understand psychology.
There are stronger and weaker personalities and I can give you a relationship example. Why does one person start dating after being left by a girlfriend or wife, but another goes into drinking and considers suicide? We all deal with things in a different way: some bend, while others break.
That's why you gamble and don't get addicted but other people can't stop thinking about gambling when they stop. They can't sleep. The only thing that relaxes them is winning a few rounds of poker or something.

Thae satisfaction they derive from playing constantly when they lose or win is dopamine effect in their brain, not being able to sleep or do anything without engaging in it  is considered to be an addiction, but it didn't just start in a day or two, it's a progressive thing and it's a matter of choice, you as an individual can decide to continue or flee from it before it becomes something that you cannot do without...and you are right about the first point you made about psychology,  as individuals our mental capacity is different but no matter how weak someones state of mind is it can be developed, it all depends on the individuals choice

[Accardo]

There are many reasons why a person can get addicted, and some of them are outside of what a person can control, as there are people out there that have an ability to control their impulses that is not optimal, so they are more likely to get addicted to almost any activity that is pleasurable.

So those people need help on the form of medicines which may help them to reduce those impulses, and once under that treatment, it will be easier for them to not get addicted or to leave an addiction they already have.

Yes, addiction is beyond the understanding of most people. But this reason doesn't sideline the fact that gamblers are responsible for their gambling problem. Many players need to acknowledge the control they have over their emotions. Unfortunately, some gamblers believe addiction happens to people without notice. If players who live with addiction were sincere, they would point out those periods when their habits began to change. They ignored it because nothing as such occurred in their memory.

If players sincerely accept it's all their mistakes that led them to addiction, they'll have a smooth healing process. Instead of this self-acknowledgment, they still go ahead to worsen the problem by believing it's not their fault but that of the casino. Notably, a person with an addiction won't heal unless he accepts his mistakes. That's a better reason why gamblers should take responsibility for the cause of their addiction problem.

[nara1892]

You don't understand psychology.
There are stronger and weaker personalities and I can give you a relationship example. Why does one person start dating after being left by a girlfriend or wife, but another goes into drinking and considers suicide? We all deal with things in a different way: some bend, while others break.
That's why you gamble and don't get addicted but other people can't stop thinking about gambling when they stop. They can't sleep. The only thing that relaxes them is winning a few rounds of poker or something.

Thae satisfaction they derive from playing constantly when they lose or win is dopamine effect in their brain, not being able to sleep or do anything without engaging in it  is considered to be an addiction, but it didn't just start in a day or two, it's a progressive thing and it's a matter of choice, you as an individual can decide to continue or flee from it before it becomes something that you cannot do without...and you are right about the first point you made about psychology,  as individuals our mental capacity is different but no matter how weak someones state of mind is it can be developed, it all depends on the individuals choice

Yes, and the effect of exploding dopamine levels in the brain can really cause and increase a person's confidence and hope so that because of this they continue their game session with confidence and hope to get a much bigger win. Addiction means when someone can't miss a moment not to do the activity, which means it's quite in accordance with what you said. A gambler can't choose whether they want to be addicted or not, because that is the impact that will occur after a long process, but of course as you understand that we can all prevent it from the start where the real choice is whether you want to gamble on the right path or on the wrong path.

But I'm sure that someone who from the start does not understand what and how gambling really is, especially not realizing that there is a possibility of becoming addicted which has many bad impacts, then they will never be able to think about choosing a better gambling approach, meaning that the choice will most likely only be done by gamblers who from the start already know about the bad risks of addiction.

[shivansps]

Can you comfortably tell yourself that you have never been addicted to gambling and that you can never be addicted to gambling because of how you go about it?

I think that if a person promises himself or his loved ones or anyone else that he will never become addicted, then I don't think that's a good sign. I mean, no one will ever ask a person who doesn't have a gambling problem that way. For example, I've never had a gambling problem and I've never promised anyone that I won't have one, simply because I've never thought about it. If someone close to a person asks him to promise that he will never become addicted to gambling, then that means they have suspicions or concerns.

[Hispo]

I think I totally agree with the title of the thread, it's our decision, and why? Because at the end of the day when you're at the limit of sobriety and decision the person feels that they're crossing the line of normality, and that's what they have to control, there's no other way, they can't be making things up, so it's a choice because above all we are thinking people , who reason , who know what's good and what's bad, but above all we are people who must be responsible, and that word "responsibility" is the only thing that matters when it comes to any kind of decision and even more so when it comes to money.

That explanation and mindset is understandable when it is applied to people who happens to be in a healthy and stable condition. But, as I have mentioned before and on other threads, one cannot compare the mindset of a person who is mentally stable and healthy to someone who may suffer from Autism, or some compulsive personality disorder, which makes them to uncontrollably follow patterns, that is a economical death sentence for someone with those conditions, in my opinion.
So it is true there is an important part or personal responsibility when comes to allowing oneself to fall for addiction, but we cannot ignore the less fortunate ones.

Those who need to take pills and seek for psychological help and instead, they try to peace their cravings with gambling when they should not..

[Cookdata]

Condition actually push people to do things that they are not suppose to do because I wonder how people just get easily blinded by the truth, they always find it very difficult to put a limit to what they are betting they have ways to make things easy for them self, like have a budget but when they have small assurance the next thing they will increase the amount of money they use in gambling just because they feel they can make more money, and they keep gambling given their self more hope, and reducing the attention you give to gambling will help a lot, and I feel those that don’t do anything and they gamble plenty of them always take that gambling as another means for them to be making money, because for some one to have a serious job am very sure you won’t have time to gamble the way you want.

Condition happened to almost everyone because nobody can be perfect human been but it's not be financial problem. Literally everyone has one or two things on his mind to solve and that doesn't mean you should be blind when it comes to making good choice. If you are down financially, gambling should be the last resort for money even though you have been playing it before, your emotions and the current situations will have a great impact on your games and how you even play.

People don't want to listen when they say gambling is fun but the casino that best described it knows that if you don't play for fun, you will be playing for money and you have the chance of losing that money but the inbuilt critiques inside wouldn't let them reason these things until their lost has escalated beyond what they can solve, that's when the regret comes in which is already late to handle.

[Issa56]

I agree and everything you said is true, as you said that the fact is most addicts do not know about how the scenario they can end up with addiction, meaning that addiction occurs unconsciously and not because of the intention from the beginning of being involved in gambling.

Do you really think addiction happens unconsciously? I don’t really think so. Before you join gambling, the mindset you have will determine if you will become addicted to gambling at the end or not. If you decide to join gambling because of money, then you should know that you are going to get addicted to gambling at the end, but if you already know about addiction and have the mindset of having fun when gambling, then you will be able to control yourself whenever you are gambling. So I don’t really believe that people get addicted to gambling unconsciously.

[serjent05]

I agree and everything you said is true, as you said that the fact is most addicts do not know about how the scenario they can end up with addiction, meaning that addiction occurs unconsciously and not because of the intention from the beginning of being involved in gambling.

Do you really think addiction happens unconsciously? I don’t really think so.

Gambling addiction is a complex matter.  It is explained in this article[1]  how people have a misconception that addiction is a choice.  The article gives a good point of view about addiction as a choice which is viewed in the earlier study of addiction but in recent decades addiction has been labeled as a disease rather than a behavioral choice.

Addiction as a Disease
In recent decades, researchers began to label addiction as a disease rather than a behavioral choice. This decision stems primarily from how addiction affects the brain by changing it, progressively forcing an individual to crave the drug until use eventually becomes an unconscious act rather than a conscious choice.

Before you join gambling, the mindset you have will determine if you will become addicted to gambling at the end or not. If you decide to join gambling because of money, then you should know that you are going to get addicted to gambling at the end, but if you already know about addiction and have the mindset of having fun when gambling, then you will be able to control yourself whenever you are gambling. So I don’t really believe that people get addicted to gambling unconsciously.

The article I link describes how addiction changes the brain.  I agree that initially, people choose to gamble, but it is to gamble and not to get addicted to gambling.  But due to circumstances and being exposed to gambling activities, the person may get a disease called gambling addiction and that is when the time comes that he can't control his brain's urge to gamble.

In addition, I highly agree with the wrapping up of the given article[1]

Wrapping Up
Addiction is a complicated subject filled with debate between researchers and scientists from a variety of backgrounds, and these debates have only grown as the years progress. Despite the complexity of the situation however, new evidence reveals the truth of the matter. While an addiction may begin from an individual’s personal choice, addiction itself is a mental disease rather than a continued choice. 

[1] https://brookdalerecovery.com/is-addiction-disease-or-choice/

[Lanatsa]

Condition actually push people to do things that they are not suppose to do because I wonder how people just get easily blinded by the truth, they always find it very difficult to put a limit to what they are betting they have ways to make things easy for them self, like have a budget but when they have small assurance the next thing they will increase the amount of money they use in gambling just because they feel they can make more money, and they keep gambling given their self more hope, and reducing the attention you give to gambling will help a lot, and I feel those that don’t do anything and they gamble plenty of them always take that gambling as another means for them to be making money, because for some one to have a serious job am very sure you won’t have time to gamble the way you want.

Condition happened to almost everyone because nobody can be perfect human been but it's not be financial problem. Literally everyone has one or two things on his mind to solve and that doesn't mean you should be blind when it comes to making good choice. If you are down financially, gambling should be the last resort for money even though you have been playing it before, your emotions and the current situations will have a great impact on your games and how you even play.

People don't want to listen when they say gambling is fun but the casino that best described it knows that if you don't play for fun, you will be playing for money and you have the chance of losing that money but the inbuilt critiques inside wouldn't let them reason these things until their lost has escalated beyond what they can solve, that's when the regret comes in which is already late to handle.

Everything could really be depending into someones choice on which it would really be just that normal that on the time or moment that you would really be on such situation or condition, then it would really be that too impossible that you wont really be able to make yourself that being making those kind of realizations on whats currently happening into you on which it would really be that impossible that you wont really be able to determine whether you are doing good or bad already specially into your finances on which we know that on the time or moment that you would be suffering some huge loses on the time that you do play gambling then this is the moment that you should really be making out some decisions whether you should really be that quitting or you would really be that making yourself proceeding despite of the condition.

You are the ones who do really make out your own future on which if you had made out some bad decisions then it would really be automatically make out those bad results in the end of the time.
We do know that too much addiction would really be resulting into those conditions on where you would really be spending like a mad man specially on the time that you are already chasing up loses
on which on the moment that you are on such condition then it would really be that so damn hard to stop and this is where those people or addicted ones do end up miserable.

[Ojima-ojo]

I’m with you on this. The whole idea of mental addiction is crazy to me. People act like they can’t control their own decisions. I could see if you had a real chemical dependency on a substance, needing help to get free might be necessary. If you just keep repeating bad behavior because you’re weak mentally, that’s not addiction, that’s you being weak and pathetic.

Agreed is either we take responsibility or seek for help when and where needed, addictions is a choice and the individual will at a point be in the central stage to deal with the addictions because it all started from him any ways so it takes same addict to get it killed, I have hard that addictions can need medical help but then I still believe strongly that even though you get a medical treatment with some medication I still think the individual addict still have a major role to play to the effectiveness of such a medication or any medical help he may get.

[Agbamoni]

That is why it's important to set limit to gambling to maintain a healthy gambling lifestyle, one must not start noticing addiction before they could limiting themselves from gambling. When one is getting to nice and more attention to gambling then he should know that gradually they are getting closer to addiction but however, you already spoken it all because if someone doesn't want to becoming addicted he won't.

Condition actually push people to do things that they are not suppose to do because I wonder how people just get easily blinded by the truth, they always find it very difficult to put a limit to what they are betting they have ways to make things easy for them self, like have a budget but when they have small assurance the next thing they will increase the amount of money they use in gambling just because they feel they can make more money, and they keep gambling given their self more hope, and reducing the attention you give to gambling will help a lot, and I feel those that don’t do anything and they gamble plenty of them always take that gambling as another means for them to be making money, because for some one to have a serious job am very sure you won’t have time to gamble the way you want.

When life events happen, people begin to deviate from doing the right thing. Gambling without discipline is not an issue anymore because people have generalized betting without a budget, chasing losses to recover or chasing more wins as a pattern that is worth taking such risk. Even if at the end of the day everyone takes full responsibility for the choice we make after several warnings of gambling addictions still many are ignorant of it.

Time isn't the cause or an excuse for anything here. There are still people who are busy with their jobs and do not have lots of time but in their free time when they get back home. The level of gambling they get themselves into would be more than someone who dont have any serious job.

[LUCKMCFLY]

That explanation and mindset is understandable when it is applied to people who happens to be in a healthy and stable condition. But, as I have mentioned before and on other threads, one cannot compare the mindset of a person who is mentally stable and healthy to someone who may suffer from Autism, or some compulsive personality disorder, which makes them to uncontrollably follow patterns, that is a economical death sentence for someone with those conditions, in my opinion.
So it is true there is an important part or personal responsibility when comes to allowing oneself to fall for addiction, but we cannot ignore the less fortunate ones.

Those who need to take pills and seek for psychological help and instead, they try to peace their cravings with gambling when they should not..

Sometimes people's cases are very different, and of course, depending on the person's mental health, their treatments tend to be different. Now, with people with certain Disabilities , I think it is not at all advisable for them to go to a casino, or at least if they do, it should be under the guidance of another person who is responsible and controls them, but it is difficult. Nowadays, these types of things are not seen, and people who are not in very good mental health take refuge in Gambling to Feel great. It is difficult.