Psychodynamic theory of compulsive gambling

This proposal can be a good research topic as a thesis for university students.

Compulsive gambling is an addiction problem very much like alcoholism. If you think you may be suffering from compulsive gambling, you are advised to seek professional help.

Understanding the psychodynamic theory of compulsive gambling can help you quit gambling. As service providers, psychiatrists, counsellors, therapists, can use their understanding of the psychodynamic theory of compulsive gambling to get you out of gambling.

Careful study of gamblers show a predictable pattern in the evolution of a compulsive gambler.

Gambling Authorities claim that it is not possible to predict with certainty who will become compulsive gambler. This is true only to a certain sector of the population. However, it is possible to predict who are likely to become compulsive gamblers based on personality types and gender. Certain personalities are more prone to become compulsive gamblers. For men, the initial triggers are usually those who love action and think that they are smarter than an average bettor. For women, it is a little different. Their initial motivation is often an escape phenomenon.

Men with “action” personality are more prone to get hooked into gambling and become compulsive gamblers. The reason is action gamblers who are attracted to the excitement and “action” of gambling may initially be quite successful. They have fantasies of further success and of gambling becoming their personal road to wealth and power. Those who are headed for problems think that they are smarter than the average bettor. They know that gambling is going to work for them because they, unlike less clever people, really understand how to beat the system. Their initial success further reinforced their belief system.

As they commit more and more in gambling, they continue to derive an increasing portion of their self-esteem from seeing themselves as smart or lucky. Because of this, two things happen when they do incur the inevitable losses. First, they suffer monetary loss. Second, and more importantly, they suffer a deflated ego. Further, the casino will reward them with gifts to inflate their deflated ego and at the same time make them feel like a winner. The idea is to perpectuate their gambling activity.

To salvage their self-esteem, they rationalize losses by blaming other people or situations. They blame the jockey, the weather, the interruptions by friends and family members, the counter-measures by casinos and the “bad luck” in cards, craps or lotteries. In other situations especially in sports gambling, they reflect on their handicapping abilities and tell themselves that they will not make the same “mistake” again.

The monetary loss is another matter, however, and this is dealt with differently. In order to recoup the loss, many gamblers “chase.” That is, they continue their betting and increase the amount of their bets in order to get even. Instead of saying, “It’s lost,” the chaser says, “I’ll get even tomorrow.” Chasing losses leads the gambler to gamble with more than he or she can afford to lose, and often to borrowing money in an effort to get even.

Many gamblers may chase for short periods, until they learn from bitter experience that this is counter-productive. Pathological gambling is defined by the long-term pre-occupation with chasing losses.

Chasing seems logical to many gamblers especially those who are “brave, courageous and smart”, as it means giving oneself a chance to get even. If a gambler stops chasing, both money and self-esteem are lost. If the gambler continues chasing and wins, both can be regained. There is, therefore, the motivation to borrow in order to recoup losses. When continued gambling leads to still more losses, the compulsive gamblers continue to borrow. The more money borrowed, the greater the commitment to more gambling as the only possible means of gaining enough money to pay off the debt.

This spiraling commitment to increased gambling often depletes family resources. Many compulsive gamblers cash in joint savings, bonds, empty checking accounts, pawn joint property, and take out loans without the spouse’s knowledge. In order to preserve or regain respectability in the eyes of parents, spouse, friends and work colleagues, and also partly because their paychecks are insufficient, desperate gamblers see more gambling as the only alternative.

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Once the loans are due and there is constant pressure to pay, sometimes involving threats of exposure or of physical harm from loan sharks or bookies, desperate gamblers weigh the risks of embezzling money from their employer, making fraudulent loan applications or insurance claims, or stealing the money. They rationalize their intentions as “borrowed” money or other “borrowed” items even though they are done fraudulently.

As they succumb to this temptation, the threshold to an even greater commitment to gambling has been crossed. This is especially true if they obtain money by loan fraud or embezzlement. These kinds of crimes enable gamblers to rationalize that they are not really criminals. The money is only “borrowed” so no one is being hurt. However, the pressure to repay the money is becoming more insistant, and counting on a big gambling win is seen as their only hope. This extends the vicious cycle from more gambling to more and more illegal activities until the vicious cycle resolve itself in one of the three ways.

Firstly, the gambler may be caught. Secondly, the gambler may seek professional help, or thridly, the gambler really hit the big win. There are many examples. One of them is the case of a Singaporean accountant who embezzles close to a hundred million. He is now serving his sentence in jail.

The twin evils of “action” and “chasing losses” is really an angel in disguise. Falling in love with the “action” and then chasing losses is the starting point for most men who become compulsive gamblers, but as mentioned earlier many women take a different route. While women also enjoy the “action” and chase losses, their initial motivation is often escape. They turn to gambling to escape from memories of unhappy childhood, parental abuse or even as a jilted lover. Other triggers include escape from troubled husbands and escape from loneliness. Once they become hooked on gambling, women follow the same vicious cycle of increasing commitment as men, often leading to criminal activities.

You can see that actions and chasing losses turn out to be big losers for the gamblers and big winners for the casinos. These twin evils are the two most powerful weapons of the casinos. They are the causes of pathological gamblers just like microbes and germs are the causes of infectious diseases.

Whether you are a recreational gambler or a professional gambler, you should study your “action” and “chasing losses” in great detail and use them in gambling at high standards appropriate to your gambling plan. Responsible gambling requires gamblers to be able to handle “action” and “chasing losses” at their level of play. Many of these methods are already covered in the gamblinghelp.biz blog as well as in the apropriate category of the free gambling courses.

KEYPOINTS

1. Actions and chasing losses are the two most powerful weapons of the casinos.

2. Actions and chasing losses are the primary causes of compulsive gambling.

3. Ability to handle actions and chasing losses is the answer to responsible gambling.

4. Understanding the pathogenesis of compulsive gambling can help you quit gambling.

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