Can there be positive sides of addiction?

[fullfitlarry]

While writing a reply to a thread, a thought about addiction crossed my mind. We usually describe addiction as something that ruins a person, whether through gambling or other destructive behaviors. However, I started wondering if it is possible for an addiction to have a positive impact on someone's life. Consider a gambler who is addicted but has mastered the craft so well that their winnings consistently fund their entire lifestyle. Even though they cannot stop gambling, their success supports them financially.
In this scenario, should we still view such a lifestyle as an addiction, or is it something positive? Generally, society imagines an addict as someone whose life has been ruined and who has become a liability to their family and community. But if the compulsion leads to success and stability, what do we call that? Can an addiction truly be considered positive if the outcome is beneficial?

Still gambling though, so in the long run, you will have to lose so even if you are successful in the beginning, sooner or later the odds are going to caught up with you and the worst is that you have been addicted and so you can't accept that fact and so you go down to the hole and becoming the worst version of you because of gambling.

So I can't talk of anything positive that gambling can bring to people's live. Unless it's just one big win in lottery and you have a windfall. But that also is a bad example as we have seen someone winning the lottery and being bankrupt in the next couple of years because of bad decision.

[Bitcoin.com97]

This is an honest question, sometimes I wonder if there is actually a positive side of gambling addict , because I see many punters who gamble almost every day with huge amount of money , they have good business, luxury houses and cars, you will know that those big amount they stake is nothing to them , but the day they win , it’s alway a maximum amount of the bet site, sometimes when they are sure of the games they bet same game twice, them I began to ask myself, are they positive or negative addict ? To me it’s a positive one because his successful and the money he risk may be huge but I think he can’t go broke , they are many wealthy men who are addicted gamblers and has lost a lot of money without people being aware ,in essence there are still positive gambling addict.

[Charles-Tim]

This is an honest question, sometimes I wonder if there is actually a positive side of gambling addict , because I see many punters who gamble almost every day with huge amount of money , they have good business, luxury houses and cars, you will know that those big amount they stake is nothing to them

People that have good business, rich, having luxury houses and cars but they are gambling with the amount of money that is nothing to them which means the amount of money they are using to gamble is small and they can afford to lose it.

So let me ask you a question. Are they addicted to gambling? All what you described about them is that they are not addicted to gambling but they are just having fun.

[Oasisman]

This is an honest question, sometimes I wonder if there is actually a positive side of gambling addict , because I see many punters who gamble almost every day with huge amount of money , they have good business, luxury houses and cars, you will know that those big amount they stake is nothing to them , but the day they win , it’s alway a maximum amount of the bet site, sometimes when they are sure of the games they bet same game twice, them I began to ask myself, are they positive or negative addict ? To me it’s a positive one because his successful and the money he risk may be huge but I think he can’t go broke , they are many wealthy men who are addicted gamblers and has lost a lot of money without people being aware ,in essence there are still positive gambling addict.

I've seen people like this too, but the question is, are they really a gambling addict or just a high-stake gambler?
One of the best reason why these kind of people doesn't go broke despite of huge stakes and frequent gambling activities is that, they earn more than they lost outside gambling, from different income streams.

A wealthy man can't stop gambling maybe because they have money to burn and feed their hobbies. The fact that they are still able to manage their businesses, means they have time to run it properly, which also means, it's not just gambling that's been bothering their heads all day everyday.
An addicted gambler can't stop gambling no matter if they're broke, lost everything, and even if it means they'll get drowned with debts. They tend to get easily distracted because gambling dominates their mind, and so they will eventually fail financially.

[Frankolala]

While writing a reply to a thread, a thought about addiction crossed my mind. We usually describe addiction as something that ruins a person, whether through gambling or other destructive behaviors. However, I started wondering if it is possible for an addiction to have a positive impact on someone's life. Consider a gambler who is addicted but has mastered the craft so well that their winnings consistently fund their entire lifestyle. Even though they cannot stop gambling, their success supports them financially.
In this scenario, should we still view such a lifestyle as an addiction, or is it something positive? Generally, society imagines an addict as someone whose life has been ruined and who has become a liability to their family and community. But if the compulsion leads to success and stability, what do we call that? Can an addiction truly be considered positive if the outcome is beneficial?

Addiction has no positive side because you're no longer in control of yourself and that's why you cannot stay away from gambling. In the long run, a gambler will lose more than he win which makes it impossible for addiction to favor anyone. You should also know that gambling isn't a skill thing and no one can master it. Can you show me an addicted gambler who is successful with gambling.

[Ishicryptic]

Firstly the word addiction is only used to describe a lack of self control for something and secondly it is always in negative aspects so whenever the word is mentioned your mind won't think that it's anything positive. A responsible gambler cannot be an addict, if he's continuously winning he knows better than being greedy and eventually losing it back to the casino. If an addict is winning constantly the lack of self control will make him to keep wanting to increase his wins until he falls into a losing streak then he'll start to chase loses. There is nothing good that comes from being addicted to gambling or any other things, it leads to a destructive part.

[YellowSwap]

Addiction is when you are doing too much of everything, and normally this is bad.

Even if it's not on gambling, if you are doing too much in every thing it's bad.
If you drink too much water it will result in something else, alcohol, cigarettes, sugar can't all be over consumed, it will cause health problems.

If you are the type that likes to play games too much it will start affecting your education, or your job, your attention and focus will be shifted from things that will benefit you for good.

Everything must be done on minimal level to stay ahead.

[Altryist]

While writing a reply to a thread, a thought about addiction crossed my mind. We usually describe addiction as something that ruins a person, whether through gambling or other destructive behaviors. However, I started wondering if it is possible for an addiction to have a positive impact on someone's life. Consider a gambler who is addicted but has mastered the craft so well that their winnings consistently fund their entire lifestyle. Even though they cannot stop gambling, their success supports them financially.
In this scenario, should we still view such a lifestyle as an addiction, or is it something positive? Generally, society imagines an addict as someone whose life has been ruined and who has become a liability to their family and community. But if the compulsion leads to success and stability, what do we call that? Can an addiction truly be considered positive if the outcome is beneficial?

It seems like you’re mixing up success with a complete disaster that can lead to addiction. If you’re describing a successful player who chooses gambling and makes it their sole source of income, then I don’t think it’s appropriate to talk about addiction in that case, because by that logic, any successful businessman could be called addicted to their business. In reality addiction is destructive, that’s why it’s called addiction. For a successful player things work differently, and no one would want to walk away from something that consistently brings them income.

[Powerjumboo]

While writing a reply to a thread, a thought about addiction crossed my mind. We usually describe addiction as something that ruins a person, whether through gambling or other destructive behaviors. However, I started wondering if it is possible for an addiction to have a positive impact on someone's life. Consider a gambler who is addicted but has mastered the craft so well that their winnings consistently fund their entire lifestyle. Even though they cannot stop gambling, their success supports them financially.
In this scenario, should we still view such a lifestyle as an addiction, or is it something positive? Generally, society imagines an addict as someone whose life has been ruined and who has become a liability to their family and community. But if the compulsion leads to success and stability, what do we call that? Can an addiction truly be considered positive if the outcome is beneficial?

The way you have explained it, it seems that you have always had a positive idea about a compulsive gambler. In fact, compulsive gamblers will always be crazy about gambling. As soon as a person addicted to gambling gets money, he will participate in gambling and gamble. In this way, he moves towards destruction. So, it is not possible to expect anything good from them. Moreover, the bad side of gambling is more than the good side, because when a gambler is addicted to gambling, he will always want to gamble. When he does not have money, he will sell something of his family and in the process of selling, he will eventually destroy his family. So, in my opinion, it is not possible to expect anything positive from a person addicted to gambling.

[TedMosby]

According to the dictionary...

Addiction is an inability to stop doing or using something, especially something harmful.

So with that definition, IMO, there are no positive sides of addiction. Even if you can get what you want from the addiction, you will end up ruining your life in the long term. If you think of addiction to sports, work, or study, it's not addiction. It's probably called an obsession.

Obsession is something or someone that you think about all the time.

When you are addicted to something, you lose control of yourself, and it will ruin your life, work, relationships, health, or anything that matters in your life. And when you have an obsession, you can still control yourself, what to do, when, and how. CMIIW.

[Shinpako09]

Addiction means your actions are excessive, and anything excessive isn’t good. But if you keep winning consistently, then it might feel like your addiction does more good than harm, you could treat that as an exception. As long as a habit is beneficial to you, it’s fine. Of course, everything has its downsides, but if the pros outweigh the cons, then a few downsides might not matter compared to the benefits. But in reality, that kind of situation doesn’t really exist. And even if it does, it’s very rare, you might not be one of the people who experience it.

[Somegory]

Hmm, I think there is good addiction and bad addiction.

Believe it or not, gambling as an hobby is addiction, it's something you can't go a long time without thinking about, that makes it an addiction, and if you are in total control of yourself and your time, this makes it a good addiction to me.

Bad addiction is doing it and hurting yourself in the process, taking Loan, skipping work and getting drunk because of gambling makes it a bad or unhealthy addiction for you.

It's not about been successfully as an addict, but someone who does what they like without losing their life savings over it or getting into debt, that's taking it too far.

[EarnOnVictor]

This context of addiction in the positive way had been argued out a few times on the forum, and despite many people's opposition towards it, as people believe addiction is addiction and must be negative, I still lean towards the positive side of it, that it's possible for addiction to be positive. Your outcome towards gambling or other things should determine its positivity/negativity personally for you, and I often see people who are happy gambling, and if you ask them, they would tell you that they are making more money than what they lose. Some would even say they were able to fund some good projects due to gambling. If this is true, is gambling addition negative or positive for them? The answer is obvious!

[acroman08]

But if the compulsion leads to success and stability, what do we call that? Can an addiction truly be considered positive if the outcome is beneficial?

Stability of what? financially? If you are talking about financial stability, we still call it an addiction even if it leads to success and stability. Addiction affects the mind, and success and stability don't remove the effects of addiction that someone has. So, while it can be beneficial in some ways(in the scenario you gave), it still has a negative effect on the person in some ways.

[CONVOAI]

What you are saying actually goes towards the difference between passion and addiction. From the outside both look the same because people are very much immersed in one thing but the real issue is who is controlling whom. If you do something on your own will and can stop if you want and can keep balance with other things in life then that is passion or skill. But if it is like that even if you want to stop you can not and that thing is driving you then that is addiction even if you make money or become successful with it. So success is not just about looking at it from the outside what is actually happening inside is more important.

[swogerino]

Positive sides?

Addicted gamblers can learn to live very slim lifestyles. Minimum spend, minimum time wasted etc. Some learn to conceal it but others are at a near state of ruin anytime you meet them. So it's a very fine line. I don't know if this skill can be extrapolated into something useful outside of addiction.

But I've at least heard from recovered addicts that their life past addiction feels like a blessing because even the little things can drive incredible feelings. So I'd say if you want to experience any real positivity, try not being addicted to begin with.

I don't think it is correct to call addiction a skill in gambling when in fact it is more like a disease that can turn anyone life upside down in a very short amount of time. Most people you will meet that are addicted you will find them very stressed and demoralized most of the time exactly because of this very addiction that has fallen on them. Also most people are looking for a cure for the disease of gambling addiction though up until now very few persons are able to heal from this illness.

[SPIDERMAN008]

The reality is different. I don't see anyone who is actually addicted but always makes a profit by gambling. Addicted gamblers are in losses most of the time. In fact, they lose everything in many cases. It is not possible to make a profit in gambling on a regular basis. There is also debate about whether there are really such people who make profit regular basis .

[Yaunfitda]

The reality is different. I don't see anyone who is actually addicted but always makes a profit by gambling. Addicted gamblers are in losses most of the time. In fact, they lose everything in many cases. It is not possible to make a profit in gambling on a regular basis. There is also debate about whether there are really such people who make profit regular basis .

That is the pure definition of gambling, we tend to lose more often and take bigger risk. And if that happens, then we might feel and becoming addicted gamblers which is very hard to quit as their mindset if very different from average gamblers. So I can't think of any good sides of addiction. It's all about the money business here and the only real winner here is the casino. It's a billion dollar business, from dealer to the operator are making money. While we gamblers are the one that is going to suffer no matter what we spin the argument that there is a positive sides of gambling addiction because there's none.

[TopTort777]

I dont think there might be ever something positive in same sentence with word addiction What can be a positive side of gambling addiction? You are not giving all your money to wife probably Or maybe if you are an addicted gambler, then your most likely is a very creative person in money related questions, because you all the time manage to find opportunities to get money.

[Accardo]

It's all about the money business here and the only real winner here is the casino. It's a billion dollar business, from dealer to the operator are making money. While we gamblers are the one that is going to suffer no matter what we spin the argument that there is a positive sides of gambling addiction because there's none.

A thing like that is not real, it's like justifying something deadly to have a positive side. Gamblers face a lot of difficulties from addiction, and this may have occured as a result of what they think of problem gaming, which would include that it's not really bad or has people living in the condition who are still doing great in life. All of this throws down most players into believing something disastrous to be fair.