Gambling addiction is not spiritual.

[NurseHub]

Some people always get this wrong, not everything is relating to a spiritual issue especially gambling, it's more relating to a mental issue than something spiritual for instance you shouldn't be referring an addicted gambler to the church or spiritual home for prayers, rather such cases should be handled by a mental health practitioner, psychologist or the rightful professionals to handle the situation, your spiritual leader or teacher is just a religious leader meant to handle spiritual cases and not the right one to handle such cases, I don't know about other societies but I've seen people in my region make such errors and it needs to be addressed.

‎It marvels me when people refer to gamble addict as a spiritual problem. Or going to the church for spiritual prayers. ‎Gambling addiction has nothing related to spirituality, every gambling addict should be taken for therapy or rehab for proper attention.

Going to church for spiritual clearing from gambling addiction when the addict isn't ready to stop gambling is a total waste of time.‎ Our people believe someone is always after us instead of accepting the reality of how they started before they get to that level. I will never believe gambling addiction is spiritual because it didn't just start manifesting as addiction; it was a foundation built from nothing and has stood strong to disturb the ignorant addict.

[Kelward]

Some people always get this wrong, not everything is relating to a spiritual issue especially gambling, it's more relating to a mental issue than something spiritual for instance you shouldn't be referring an addicted gambler to the church or spiritual home for prayers, rather such cases should be handled by a mental health practitioner, psychologist or the rightful professionals to handle the situation, your spiritual leader or teacher is just a religious leader meant to handle spiritual cases and not the right one to handle such cases, I don't know about other societies but I've seen people in my region make such errors and it needs to be addressed.

I don't know about other parts of the world but in most African communities they view every misbehaviors as spiritual problems, If someone is an alcoholic, a gambling addict or drug addicts they will say that it is evil spirits that are responsible. Unfortunately traditionalists and religious healers will take advantage of the condition to scam the victims loved ones and in the end they will become worse off. I have seen young people that are addicted to different addictions being put in chains in the cares of these healers and their conditions will be getting worse. I agree with those that said that addictions are not spiritual problems instead they are mental problems that needs the care of well trained professionals to give care, treatment and eventual recovery.

[Africolo]

Some people always get this wrong, not everything is relating to a spiritual issue especially gambling, it's more relating to a mental issue than something spiritual for instance you shouldn't be referring an addicted gambler to the church or spiritual home for prayers, rather such cases should be handled by a mental health practitioner, psychologist or the rightful professionals to handle the situation, your spiritual leader or teacher is just a religious leader meant to handle spiritual cases and not the right one to handle such cases, I don't know about other societies but I've seen people in my region make such errors and it needs to be addressed.

Gambling has nothing to do with spirituality, those superstitious beliefs should be discarded by people because addiction has to do with the mentality of the individual who engages in it and if such person wants to be rehabilitated from getting more addicted to gambling then a phycologist should be seek for, going to prayer houses can't solve addiction as it is not the right approach for it because it's never a spiritual thing, it's just mindset of an individual who is very eager to make profit and he keeps doing it untill he wins and continues after winning because he has been attached to it for so long.

Most times religion has made cause more harm than good to us because we are too superstitious and cases that we would have seek medical attention for we refer them to the church instead of hospital saying it's spiritual when it's not. Addiction has never been a spiritual case but the mindset of the individual involved.

[Yorubek]

Some people always get this wrong, not everything is relating to a spiritual issue especially gambling, it's more relating to a mental issue than something spiritual for instance you shouldn't be referring an addicted gambler to the church or spiritual home for prayers, rather such cases should be handled by a mental health practitioner, psychologist or the rightful professionals to handle the situation, your spiritual leader or teacher is just a religious leader meant to handle spiritual cases and not the right one to handle such cases, I don't know about other societies but I've seen people in my region make such errors and it needs to be addressed.

Gambling has nothing to do with spirituality, those superstitious beliefs should be discarded by people because addiction has to do with the mentality of the individual who engages in it and if such person wants to be rehabilitated from getting more addicted to gambling then a phycologist should be seek for, going to prayer houses can't solve addiction as it is not the right approach for it because it's never a spiritual thing, it's just mindset of an individual who is very eager to make profit and he keeps doing it untill he wins and continues after winning because he has been attached to it for so long.

I agree with this, gambling has nothing to do with spirituality, it is completely superstition, it depends entirely on the mentality of the gambler. If a gambler really wants to get rid of gambling addiction completely, then he should stay away from gambling for a long time, along with see a psychiatrist, the gambler should take care not to repeat the same mistake. The idea that it is not possible for a gambler to get rid of gambling addiction by praying alone is completely wrong.

[Findingnemo]

Spiritual is nothing but related to mind and peace right so it is okay to turn into spiritual to avoid addiction but the one who call themselves as leader are not to be trusted, they are just humans and no better than anyone else. So you can submit yourself to god and himself alone but for that you need to have a certain mindset that is not possible when you got the urge to do something, so get yourself professional help that works better than anything.

[RealNoblee]

Addiction should not be related to spiritual or a addicted person should not bring to people who can play for him to stop gambling or be lucky to the casino.
I have never seen someone need a faith healer to treat addiction.

There's a right place to bring an addicted person to treat their addiction, like one of the rehabilitation centers here in my country; they treat gambling disorder or addiction and offer behavioral treatment.
That should be the place they need, not someone who can pray for him to stop addiction.

My view in this discussion is that.
There could not be any real intensity of enticement for an addicted gambler without a desire.
And we must understand that gambling is driven or motivated by a desire to get something big for something small.
Gambling starts in the mind.
This is a gambling addiction driven by greed, greed driven by desire which is spiritual.

Moreover, desire is spiritual because it deals with longing, or craving for something.

[Akbarkoe]

Spiritual is nothing but related to mind and peace right so it is okay to turn into spiritual to avoid addiction but the one who call themselves as leader are not to be trusted, they are just humans and no better than anyone else. So you can submit yourself to god and himself alone but for that you need to have a certain mindset that is not possible when you got the urge to do something, so get yourself professional help that works better than anything.

Most religions prohibit gambling, so it is recommended to return to God to follow his teachings in order to avoid addiction and gambling, after reading more that it can indeed help, and most people with low spirituality are more easily encouraged to gamble because they do not care about the prohibition of God.
I think it's a better combo, you use a professional to cure your addiction and you do it together with activities that you can do.

[Mr_Brilliant$]

Some people always get this wrong, not everything is relating to a spiritual issue especially gambling, it's more relating to a mental issue than something spiritual for instance you shouldn't be referring an addicted gambler to the church or spiritual home for prayers, rather such cases should be handled by a mental health practitioner, psychologist or the rightful professionals to handle the situation, your spiritual leader or teacher is just a religious leader meant to handle spiritual cases and not the right one to handle such cases, I don't know about other societies but I've seen people in my region make such errors and it needs to be addressed.

Yeah exactly… it is not anything related to spiritual at all…

This gambling of a thing, starts small, like just trying it once once, then it becomes something you will do for fun, before you know it will turn to habit… and from there addiction will come in..

So it is not any spiritual attack or anything like that, it is something that was built time to time..  And same way it was built, it takes discipline and effort to break out of it..

[Versatile_choice]

‎It marvels me when people refer to gamble addict as a spiritual problem. Or going to the church for spiritual prayers. ‎Gambling addiction has nothing related to spirituality, every gambling addict should be taken for therapy or rehab for proper attention.

I don't blame those who refer to gamble addict as a spiritual problem reason been that they don't have any idea about how addiction works probably it's their first experience, and of course when you see a gambling addict or someone who is addicted to drinking of alcohol and it happens that it is your first time of seeing such person, you might feel that there's a reason behind that not a natural something.

But no" there's nothing behind that and no one has a hand in that, rather it is just the work of addiction and the addicted person have not yet figured out that they are addicted to somthing or they don't want to put a stop to that.

[Findingnemo]

Spiritual is nothing but related to mind and peace right so it is okay to turn into spiritual to avoid addiction but the one who call themselves as leader are not to be trusted, they are just humans and no better than anyone else. So you can submit yourself to god and himself alone but for that you need to have a certain mindset that is not possible when you got the urge to do something, so get yourself professional help that works better than anything.

Most religions prohibit gambling, so it is recommended to return to God to follow his teachings in order to avoid addiction and gambling, after reading more that it can indeed help, and most people with low spirituality are more easily encouraged to gamble because they do not care about the prohibition of God.
I think it's a better combo, you use a professional to cure your addiction and you do it together with activities that you can do.

What can I say when God forgives anyone no matter what they did, and there is the perfect excuse for anyone to do what they want. I am not a very religious person per se but it is there for a reason which is to gather people and avoid inhuman things and now we are well civilized and capable od thinking on our own, so we can gamble or what whatever we want as long as it doesn't harm anyone else.

[danadc]

I don't believe there's any spiritual feeling or anything like that involved. Those who are addicted are there because they couldn't control themselves at some point and fell into addiction. It's something many people fall into because they didn't know how to control those emotions, and their finances suffered as much as they should have avoided. Spirituality shouldn't be mixed with this.

[mvdheuvel1983]

I don't believe there's any spiritual feeling or anything like that involved. Those who are addicted are there because they couldn't control themselves at some point and fell into addiction. It's something many people fall into because they didn't know how to control those emotions, and their finances suffered as much as they should have avoided. Spirituality shouldn't be mixed with this.

The mindset of the gambler is the only thing making him to think that gambling has not to do with the spiritual not knowing that it is just a normal feeling that people have when they are not doing the right things, addiction starts gradually when one is unable to control his emotions or urge towards playing different things. Gambling is just a physical thing that can be controlled by applying self control nw discipline if you do not control yourself and become addicted you will think you are fighting a spiritual fight when you are responsible for what you have reduced yourself to.

[Stablexcoin]

I don't blame those who refer to gamble addict as a spiritual problem reason been that they don't have any idea about how addiction works probably it's their first experience, and of course when you see a gambling addict or someone who is addicted to drinking of alcohol and it happens that it is your first time of seeing such person, you might feel that there's a reason behind that not a natural something.

But no" there's nothing behind that and no one has a hand in that, rather it is just the work of addiction and the addicted person have not yet figured out that they are addicted to somthing or they don't want to put a stop to that.

Adding to what you just said. Spiritualism is a personal believe, people that believe that everything is connect to the spiritual side of life will believe anything that occur in gambling as a spiritual blessing or curse. People who believe in spiritualism cannot be stopped. If you try to advise them, they won't believe anything you tell them.

[Orpichukwu]

It's a personal choice.

The result of being addicted doesn't have to do with our spiritual life. But it can be removed related to our spirituality and faith.

As we have made a choice to gamble continuously, it has resulted in becoming more severe and desires to gamble more unstoppably.

And it's very easy for one to make that choice to continuously be gambling without control, and very hard to get oneself out from that gambling position, and when they are trying as hard as they think without any positive result coming, they try to find an excuse to justify it, which is where the spiritual linking can emerge, but those who truly put up hard work can take themselves out from it with hard work and accepting the help and effort of professionals and close relatives who are willing to help.

[Fiatless]

Most religions prohibit gambling, so it is recommended to return to God to follow his teachings in order to avoid addiction and gambling, after reading more that it can indeed help, and most people with low spirituality are more easily encouraged to gamble because they do not care about the prohibition of God.
I think it's a better combo, you use a professional to cure your addiction and you do it together with activities that you can do.

Correct me if I am wrong. I think the only major religion that openly forbids gambling is Islam. Gambling is seen by Muslims as a get-rich-quick activity which could be seen as greed. Some passages in the Bible talked about casting lots which was related to gambling and it was not forbidden. Although, some preachers admonish their followers to avoid gambling, it was clearly commanded in the Bible.

Gambling addiction is a behavioural matter and as such should be handled by professionals. But religious teachings which promotes self control, contentment, and meditation could also be of good use to those fighting addiction.

[Cantsay]

Spiritual is nothing but related to mind and peace right so it is okay to turn into spiritual to avoid addiction but the one who call themselves as leader are not to be trusted, they are just humans and no better than anyone else. So you can submit yourself to god and himself alone but for that you need to have a certain mindset that is not possible when you got the urge to do something, so get yourself professional help that works better than anything.

This would be okay if you went to an actual professional or someone... But the issue with "Africa" is that most of the religious leaders usually don't take this thing correctly... They usually just go with the deliverance and think that's all, no counselling, no follow-up.

I know that there is an importance in helping addicts spiritually, but still, the approach matters a lot, and if not properly handled, it is not going to be effective.

[rojan]

Some people always get this wrong, not everything is relating to a spiritual issue especially gambling, it's more relating to a mental issue than something spiritual for instance you shouldn't be referring an addicted gambler to the church or spiritual home for prayers, rather such cases should be handled by a mental health practitioner, psychologist or the rightful professionals to handle the situation, your spiritual leader or teacher is just a religious leader meant to handle spiritual cases and not the right one to handle such cases, I don't know about other societies but I've seen people in my region make such errors and it needs to be addressed.

You are right, gambling addiction I think is not spiritual, it's just something to do with lack of self control the individual don't have, cause first he's or her Brain has been consumed with greed and hope of making a large amount, forgetting that's what gambling was created for, to take from the greedy and the ones without self control and give to the founder. So basically gamble addicts should just be forced and banned from gambling, and if the case seems worse there should basically see a therapist, who can possibly help reset their brains psychologically.

Yea there are people that have the conviction that gambling addiction is spiritual and there is nothing you can do about it because that is there dogma and nobody can change their mentality especially when they religious people.
Self control is a very important feature every gambler must have to be reasonable and responsible. Those that don't have a self control are much more like someone that don't have a direction and can do anything to make money through gambling without knowing where their fate lies.

People who think gambling addiction is spiritual are mentally lazy and the reason I'm saying that is because instead of them to put in effort to be disciplined and find ways to overcome this addiction they blame it on spirituality and act like no effort can no effort can be made to restrict them from gambling. The people that think like this the most are Africans, they believe that what they need to do in that situation is to pray or consult voodoo to solve the problem they have

I do not disagree that gambling addiction is primarily a spiritual problem. It is largely a mental issue related to stress, lack of impulse control, greed, depression, and the illusion that it is one more bet that will lead to perfection. Prayer can reassure individuals, but it can never substitute good care. All one can say to addicts is that they have to have self control, and that is not sufficient since addiction alters behavior. Counseling, family support, self exclusion in gambling and learning how to be disciplined before a major financial and personal loss occurs is the best response.

[rachael9385]

A therapist once said it well: “Addiction is a learning problem, not a demon problem.” Your brain basically gets used to the dopamine rush from risk and near-wins. That’s why people use things like CBT where you learn to catch dumb thoughts like “one more bet and I’ll win it back.” Or counseling and support groups that help  you deal with triggers like stress or boredom... or seeing betting ads everywhere..

It's that simple but a lot of people fail to recognize this, they assume that their problem is caused by a demon not knowing that It is actually self made. Addiction doesn't just start in a day, it's a repeated action that the brain gets used to overtime until it's something that you cannot do without and can also get triggered by a lot of things. Gambling is a game that causes problems in the long run when people get addicted to it, this should be avoided by all means.

[Pi-network314159]

It's that simple but a lot of people fail to recognize this, they assume that their problem is caused by a demon not knowing that It is actually self made. Addiction doesn't just start in a day, it's a repeated action that the brain gets used to overtime until it's something that you cannot do without and can also get triggered by a lot of things. Gambling is a game that causes problems in the long run when people get addicted to it, this should be avoided by all means.

well you can say for your self, but i believe that not every addiction is what your brain get used to, but something pushed it to happen. not that addiction dont happen naturally but some are spiritually driven. as a matter of fact in Christian believe according to the bible that anything that makes you to lose self control is a sin and gambling addiction happens to be one. and addiction is not limited to gambling alone, we have many forms of addiction which are
masturbation addiction
pornographic addiction
smoking addiction
drugging addiction
chronic womanizing
etc.
when you are addicted to all this things including gambling then you are a slave to those things, that's why addiction is a sin in Christianity. read Romans 7 vs 15-17 and 1st Timothy 6 vs 9-10. this implies that anything that makes you lack self control is already a sin and what is sin? so if they say a addiction is demonically controlled then its not far from the truth because from sin the devil can get full control of anyone's life and can manipulate you to do his desire.

[Insanity]

Spiritual is nothing but related to mind and peace right so it is okay to turn into spiritual to avoid addiction but the one who call themselves as leader are not to be trusted, they are just humans and no better than anyone else. So you can submit yourself to god and himself alone but for that you need to have a certain mindset that is not possible when you got the urge to do something, so get yourself professional help that works better than anything.

Most religions prohibit gambling, so it is recommended to return to God to follow his teachings in order to avoid addiction and gambling, after reading more that it can indeed help, and most people with low spirituality are more easily encouraged to gamble because they do not care about the prohibition of God.
I think it's a better combo, you use a professional to cure your addiction and you do it together with activities that you can do.

I believe you both made a good point but it should be noted that at the most, gambling addiction is not really a spiritual problem at all. It is rather a psychological and behavioral issue that should be treated. Spirituality or religion may be supportive, disciplining, and purpose orientating, but it may not be sufficient by itself to contain strong urges. I also concur that it is not prudent to blindly trust the spiritual leaders given that they are human beings as well. I feel that the best solution is to integrate professional assistance with personal convictions and good health activities in order to deal with addiction.