Obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) is a mental disorder characterized by uncontrollable, unwanted thoughts and repetitive, ritualized behaviors you feel compelled to perform. The symptoms of this type of behavior could range from hand washing, religion, excessive hoarding, drugs, extreme sexual behaviors, shopping, gambling addictions and many others. What make one behavior worse than another? In the case of compulsive sexual behavior which is sometimes called hyper sexuality, nymphomania or erotomania. Others call it sexual addiction. In this situation sexual behavior, a normally enjoyable behavior is taken to extreme measures. How does this compare to alcohol, drugs, hand-washing extensive hoarding, shopping or gambling? One might argue that compulsive shoppers don't generally lose their homes and wind up suicidal or imprisoned from their affliction. Alcohol and other drugs are definitely a big problem in this country. A big percentage of imprisonment is related to drugs or alcohol. I think that each addition can be equally as damaging in its own way.
I want to focus on gambling, particular casino gambling. I am not advocating against casino gambling because I personally have indulged, but on a small scale. Being raised in small town I only knew what I saw on television about Las Vegas, but as a young adult my focus was on going to Las Vegas. I later moved to the big city go married. Well I knew that my husband enjoyed playing at the dog track and I thought that that was harmless entertainment. My husband knew that I always wanted to go to Las Vegas so he suggested that we take some of our vacations there so we did just that. The first few trips were very well budgeted and we stuck to the budget so I thought. What I did not realize was my husband was becoming a gambling addict. I started to notice little things, like bill collectors calling for a bill that was late; he always said I just forgot. Later more and calls begin to come in and I thought to myself something is wrong. When I did find out what was going on we were in horrible financial shape and had to struggle to catch up. My credit got ruined; our marriage has been strained to the breaking point. What started as a fun pastime quickly turned into an addiction. I put a halt to vacationing in Las Vegas and thought we are finally on the road to recovery. Well casino gambling move to a rural community about 20 miles from where we lived and the nightmare started all over again. Being so close to the casino It was easy for my husband to conceal sneaking to the casino. Once again we became plagued with enormous debt that was covered up extremely well. My life has been an utter night mare.
I am telling my story because it can happen to any one. Gambling is an under-rated compulsive disorder, and most people will not seek help as in the case of my husband. He does not recognize it as a problem and you can not make an adult seek help.
Like a heroine addict, people addicted to casino gambling cannot stop; many has gambled away there life savings away and then committed suicide Many gambling addicts are left without the necessary treatment because they have wagered their last dollar after losing their jobs. Gambling casinos moved in rural areas and brought with the hope of employment for many and the despair of addiction for others. To think that we needed another way to destroy peoples lives.
In recent years, the subject of casino gambling has been debated briefly by the State Legislature that listens, but does little else. That is in part due to the enormous money that it brings to the state budgets. Gambling is big-time business. Las Vegas, or course being the leader of the pack.
The addiction of gambling is not restricted to race, color or origin. Many famous people have suffered the same addiction. Gladys Knight, who is a R & B singer-songwriter, actress, businesswoman, humanitarian and author succumbed to this addiction. Gladys started playing blackjack in the early 1970s and changed to baccarat. Initially, she said she made lots of money, but consequently she also lost a lot. Her largest loss was $45 000 in one night.
Gladys was quoted as saying: "I lost my way for a while. I had gotten to the point where I would spend things that I shouldn't have been spending. I was in debt to a degree. It hurt me to hurt my family. I know people were talking about it, saying, "she’s got a problem.' I've always been a private person, but it was getting to be a very public thing. In a way, I was ruining a good name. I'd get out of my bed and go to the casino at 2:00 a.m. I was out of control."
In the early 1980’s Gladys Knight did what most people want do, she admitted she had a problem, joined Gamblers Anonymous and successfully left the problem behind her.
Gambling addiction is like a flesh-eating parasite that eats into your flesh bit by bit without you realizing it at first. By the time you sense trouble, 'a big chunk of flesh has dropped off'.
Warren Buffett stated in an article: "If you take a million people and fifty or thirty or some number are going to change their circumstances dramatically for the better, but you're going to have the other 999,000 plus who are going to lose the ability to take their families to a movie, to buy a toy for their kid, or worse yet, become an addict and lose everything they have including their self-respect and break up their family. I just think that's a terrible trade off."
Read more of the Warren Buffett article at:
http://casinowatch.org/commentary/buffett_on_gambling.html
In conclusion, a gambling addiction should receive higher exposure.
There should be more of a spotlight put on the addiction of gambling because there is a definite relationship between pathological gambling and other psychiatric and addictive disorders. Also there should be alternative funding resources to support and expand gambling specific-programs. It is apparent that sudden characteristics make gambling addiction different from other substance abuse addictions; therefore, they cannot be adequately addressed solely by employing the treatment model for traditional addictions.
