Can Conditioned Response Cure Gambling Addiction

[coin-investor]

Why I created this thread: I am interested to know if the conditioned response is a cure for gambling addiction.

Gambling addiction develops through continuous repetition of habit, which is another word for Conditioned response, and this habit develops through stimuli, so a gambler who repeatedly gets excited through gambling develops an addiction.

Do you believe another stimulus [Conditioned Response] can replace the stimuli from gambling? So my question is, what is an effective stimulus [Conditioned Response] that can replace gambling addiction?



I will lock this thread after 4 days or 40 responses, whatever comes first

[Oshosondy]

This reminds me of the psychology course our department borrowed when I was in school that condition stimulus was talked about in which ringing of a bell and feeding of dog after was used for the explanation. If the bell is later rang, the dog will salivates as the dog get use to it. But this is different from what we can associate with gambling in a way someone can stop gambling because of condition stimulus. That is not possible and I do not know how these can be associated together.

[acroman08]

Do you believe another stimulus [Conditioned Response] can replace the stimuli from gambling? So my question is, what is an effective stimulus [Conditioned Response] that can replace gambling addiction?

doing or participating in an activity that you find interesting. if you read articles about gambling addiction and treatments for it, a lot of them will mention that having a hobby or an activity that you find interesting and can keep your mind occupied is a great way to suppress gambling urges.

also, doing activities that interest you to keep your mind occupied is not just an exclusive treatment for gambling addiction, from what I've read in the past, this works for a lot of types of addiction.

[Sandra_hakeem]

Gambling addiction develops through continuous repetition of habit, which is another word for Conditioned response, and this habit develops through stimuli, so a gambler who repeatedly gets excited through gambling develops an addiction.

It's doesn't even rely solely on how repetitive a gambler can be, but how hungry and passionate they are towards whatever games that it... The urge that makes addiction to thrive fast is GREED.

Do you believe another stimulus [Conditioned Response] can replace the stimuli from gambling? So my question is, what is an effective stimulus [Conditioned Response] that can replace gambling addiction?

You don't have to suppress the urge by getting addicted to something else... Its not an ailment but definitely, it's a disorder. The best antidote for correction is allowing it to LEAVE YOU. Distract yourself with things that could also be of good to you instead - hit the gym!!!

[coin-investor]

This reminds me of the psychology course our department borrowed when I was in school that condition stimulus was talked about in which ringing of a bell and feeding of dog after was used for the explanation. If the bell is later rang, the dog will salivates as the dog get use to it. But this is different from what we can associate with gambling in a way someone can stop gambling because of condition stimulus. That is not possible and I do not know how these can be associated together.

The one who created this term was Ivan Pavlov, and he uses the dog as an example of how a condition is developed based on stimuli, so there is a correlation we have the stimuli that will start the condition response.

In a gambler's version, we have an addicted gambler who once got hold of a big amount, and the one thing that's going through his mind is it is time for him to try his luck in gambling because of the previous stimuli, which is the excitement and the experience of winning.


Thanks for bringing this topic about Pavlov dog experiment.

[crwth]

I think once this is established in your head it wouldn’t be as effective as it would be In replacing a bad response or conditioning in the brain. It is not as replaceable in my opinion, especially if the person is addicted already. maybe a different therapy or something could be done.

[alani123]

There are several ways to treat addiction. And one of them would be cognitive behavioral therapy. I'm not a professional in the field but I know that cognitive behavioral therapy teaches you to respond to your own thought process with logical points.

For instance. You have a negative throught of gambling? First step is to recognize it. Ask yourself if it's really worth it and come up with the logical answers yourself as a response to the thought.

No, it's not worth it because I can't afford to lose even 1$ now.
Whatever I may win comes with risk of losing all the money I deposit.
I have my kids and family to look after.
I love my life as is, I should abandon dreams for extravagant wealth.
It's not reasonable to think it's my lucky day today, I've lost every time I've played.

etc.

Really think deeply to yourself and come up with logical responses to irrational and negative thoughts.
Learn to recognize the signs and counteract them. Try this and if it helps you're on a good path. If not, don't be afraid to ask for more help!

[Sim_card]

I think once this is established in your head it wouldn’t be as effective as it would be In replacing a bad response or conditioning in the brain. It is not as replaceable in my opinion, especially if the person is addicted already. maybe a different therapy or something could be done.

Yea the urge for gambling cannot be replaceable because what causes the urge to gamble is when you think that you want to use it to double your money. Profit is the reason why people gets addicted to gambling and I don't think that there is anything one can use to replace gambling that is also possible for it to bring you profit. Because no matter how discipline a gambler is, if he makes profit he will be excited. Self control and discipline is the only way to avoid gambling addiction.

[aioc]

Since repeated stimuli were brought about by the conditioned response, it can be replaced by another repeated stimulus. The best person to think of a replacement is a professional expert who deals with gambling; he knows the best replacement that can equal the gambling stimulus.
I don't think another hobby or playing sports can replace the strong stimuli brought about by gambling addiction it should be something that will bring a dramatic effect.
 

[Docnaster]

Since repeated stimuli were brought about by the conditioned response, it can be replaced by another repeated stimulus. The best person to think of a replacement is a professional expert who deals with gambling; he knows the best replacement that can equal the gambling stimulus.
I don't think another hobby or playing sports can replace the strong stimuli brought about by gambling addiction it should be something that will bring a dramatic effect.
 

In as much as I agree with your opinion that applying Conditioned Response as a measure to stop cure gambling addiction might not be effective enough on gambling addicts, I think we should also put in consideration that different people have different reactions to mental exercises. Since the gambling addiction was caused by constant engagement in gambling, the addiction can also be erased by engaging the gambling addict in other fun activities that can go to serve as the addict's hobby. So it might be possible depending on the individual.

[cabron]

Since repeated stimuli were brought about by the conditioned response, it can be replaced by another repeated stimulus. The best person to think of a replacement is a professional expert who deals with gambling; he knows the best replacement that can equal the gambling stimulus.
I don't think another hobby or playing sports can replace the strong stimuli brought about by gambling addiction it should be something that will bring a dramatic effect.

A cold turkey way. Complete isolation or just the gambler lost it all and got mixed into a crime and then jailed. That's a dramatic effect that could stop a gambling addiction.

Or a slow conditioned response may help gradually. Sometimes it just needs a person's realization of the truth that he could never get the life he wants with gambling. It takes years and maybe when the time comes he gets older like 45, time passes by and all his friends are gone busy living life to see himself left out.

[AbuBhakar]

Do you believe another stimulus [Conditioned Response] can replace the stimuli from gambling? So my question is, what is an effective stimulus [Conditioned Response] that can replace gambling addiction?

Absolutely this will work. This is the method which professionals dealing with addiction keeps doing. They are changing the gambling addiction in different activities repeatedly.

Also being open to the problem is the key solution to fight addiction. Always being honest to yourself and seek advice immediately when experiencing gambling crave will help to fight addiction but the trauma on losses is the perfect conditioned response solution for gambling addiction because it will automatically discourage user to play if you feel this fear whenever you are planning to gamble.

[rachael9385]

I think once this is established in your head it wouldn’t be as effective as it would be In replacing a bad response or conditioning in the brain. It is not as replaceable in my opinion, especially if the person is addicted already. maybe a different therapy or something could be done.

Yea the urge for gambling cannot be replaceable because what causes the urge to gamble is when you think that you want to use it to double your money.

Yeah you have a point but on the other hand let's assume that the gambler never thought of using gamble go double his money.
The thing is that it can be replaced but it depends on the gambler because if the gambler takes gamble to be a way to double his money or if he doesn't. However there might be a condition that might be given to the gambler mostly if it a type that includes some kind of illness or life or properties that might be very precious to the gambler.

[Adbitco]

Why making this thread a self moderated?
I think a discussion like this shouldn't be made a self moderated because you would see different opinions coming here.

However, this won't help either because already as you can already see the effects is lose and there is no other effect that could be so hard that this, I mean the punishment because if someone gambled and lost his money it's already bad effects on the person therefore he would try next not get carried where by increasing their chances of winning. But what else, greed is the general thing that makes them to be addicted someone who doesn't apply and gambling moderate can't be an addicted gambler.

[Findingnemo]

I don't know the exact medical term but I bet that's what the rehab is mostly about to concur an addiction, the best way is to let or force them to develop interest so over the period it will fade away for older but this could take really long cause reversing psychological conditions take months or even years but it only took 21 days to develop the habit so no matter what you do just limit yourself about everything not just how much money you spend.

[GxSTxV]

It is hard to see some quality posts or new kind of topics here lately, and I believe this is the first time someone speaks about conditioned response beside attaching it to a cure of gambling addiction. The idea seems very similar to curing a sickness by creating an opposite effect of what reason the illness itself begins.
There will be different ways and opinion about how this method can help or definitively cure an addictive person, perhaps even if someone is reading the topic and responses here may help him. Personally, I would say that if you keep thinking and believing in an investment strategy every time you get the desire of gambling, pushing yourself to feel that pain of losing even before gambling, is something to start with and make you revert back and put that money in an investment. Maybe practicing that for few weeks until your investment starts to pay back will be the end of your addiction.

[Davidvictorson]

Do you believe another stimulus [Conditioned Response] can replace the stimuli from gambling? So my question is, what is an effective stimulus [Conditioned Response] that can replace gambling addiction?

Ivan Pavlov would be curious to know the responses to this discussion - let's make him proud. Any effective stimulus that would replace gambling addiction is a very high valued activity in which the gambler is interested in or will be interested in and that generates as much excitement as gambling doesn't. It is not a one size fits all activity. It differs from person to person. As for me such stimuli would be football.

[Upgrade00]

I think what you're trying to talk about is an activity that can replace the desire to gamble and not conditioned response. Conditioned response are cues we pick up through our lives and cannot just be created to cure a gambling addiction. It will take years to condition your body to want to eat or something when you think of gambling, but you can replace gambling with video games.

The danger of this is building another addiction while trying to fix one, so the replacement activity needs to be something creative and should not be allowed to turn to an addiction.

[Obari]

This reminds me of the psychology course our department borrowed when I was in school that condition stimulus was talked about in which ringing of a bell and feeding of dog after was used for the explanation. If the bell is later rang, the dog will salivates as the dog get use to it. But this is different from what we can associate with gambling in a way someone can stop gambling because of condition stimulus. That is not possible and I do not know how these can be associated together.

I agree with you and I think if a gambler stops gambling because of a presumed conditioned stimulus m, then that gambler should be interrogated and reason for the stimulus should be checked as I believe no insane gambler would want to be conditioned especially in something that offers the possibility of changing lives either good or bad, there is change and as such, it should be under some either drugs or some blackmail or even some sort of life threats ( just overthinking, I guess ).

I think what you're trying to talk about is an activity that can replace the desire to gamble and not conditioned response. Conditioned response are cues we pick up through our lives and cannot just be created to cure a gambling addiction. It will take years to condition your body to want to eat or something when you think of gambling, but you can replace gambling with video games.

The danger of this is building another addiction while trying to fix one, so the replacement activity needs to be something creative and should not be allowed to turn to an addiction.

lol
He might not just get only one but also a second addiction as you don’t expect to heal one addiction with another addiction, as such gaming isn’t the right opinion for him
Such a person should try as much possible to associate more with people and try as much as possible to not stay idle at this at this early stage(just my opinion)

[Text]

Engaging in activities that provide a sense of achievement, such as learning a new skill, exercising, or pursuing creative outlets, could serve as new stimuli that gradually reduce the urge to gamble. It’s not an easy process, but with consistent effort, it might be possible to rewire those responses.