The Complex Reality of Pathological Gambling
When you are watching sports and placing bets, there are some fascinating physiological and psychological processes going on in your brain. Gambling addiction is a significant problem, so let's try to understand exactly how our behavior changes while betting.
Take a look at some interesting fundamental experiments conducted by a famous behavioral psychologist Burrhus Frederic Skinner. He proved that there is a connection between a stimulus and a reaction to it.
- His study of rats’ behavior demonstrated that the most powerful addiction is formed at the point it fails to receive a desired reward having already received one – as is the case with gamblers winning and then losing a bet. If you keep winning, gradually dopamine levels will decrease and the game will become boring for you.
- Another experiment resulted in rats eventually dying by constantly pressing a pedal, which caused a discharge of electricity which stimulated the pleasure center of their brain (1).
These experiments show that if our internal and external limiters stop working, we run the risk of developing problem gambling behavior.
Nature has provided us with limiters – special areas of our brain responsible for self-control and regulation of emotions, such as fear and anxiety.
At a certain point, as long as you continue to make regular bets, you may become more dependent on the area of the brain which provides the dopamine rush than the area for self-control and anxiety, and this can lead to problem gambling behavior and addiction.
Few people know, but in fact dopamine is not a hormone of happiness. It is actually a hormone of anticipated pleasure, which means that this neurotransmitter is at its peak while waiting for your bet to win, and then subsides when your bet is played, regardless of the outcome.
Consequently, as the rush declines there is a sense of apathy, leading you to make even more bets regardless of whether you have won or not. As a result, you stop enjoying the game, despite placing further bets that only temporarily relieve the negative feelings caused by declining levels of dopamine (2).
How To Determine That You Are Currently At Risk?
There is a special assessment test for problem gambling behavior in the form of scales (3) such as “Social consequences”, “Financial consequences”, “Damaging behavior”, “Signs of depression” and “Compulsive disorder”. Let's have a closer look at them.
Financial consequences:
- Lack of a transparent planning and spending budget;
- Debts and their constant increase;
- Inability to fulfill one’s financial obligations (loan payments, utility bills, etc.) due to the impossibility of forecasting cash income.
Damaging behavior:
- Causing harm to others or yourself, including physical, which can be expressed by scratching the skin, pulling out the hair, etc.
Signs of depression:
- Long-term state of apathy;
- Feeling distressed;
- Lack of energy and reaction to pleasant events, as if nothing provides any enjoyment.
Compulsive disorder:
- Disturbing obsessive thoughts, often provoking irrational behavior.
Using these criteria, you can determine whether you are presently experiencing problem gambling behavior. If you notice that you’re showing some of these signs, then you should immediately stop gambling and seek specialist for advice.
