Gambling addiction is broadly considered a mental disorder associated with a person's persistent desire to gamble. In this case, addiction can arise from any kind of entertainment, but most often there is a variant of the harmful influence of computer games on a person.
Gambling addiction is a mental illness that entails a number of serious consequences not only for the person himself, but also for his close environment. Addiction to computer games begins, as a rule, with a seemingly harmless desire to relax. Gradually, the virtual world takes over a person's consciousness so much that he cannot live a minute without a game. It is not difficult to recognize the presence of gambling addiction. There are only a few signs that this type of mental disorder can be identified.
- painful reaction to failure (in this case, we mean not just a short-term disorder, but to a greater extent the emergence of aggression, apathy and other pronounced emotions);
- a constant desire to play, discuss games with others (the thoughts of a gambler are devoted only to games, the desire to draw up a certain strategy, to predict the actions of opponents, any other topics do not arouse his interest);
- the emergence of a constant desire to recoup by any means (the cycle "play - loss - aggression" is repeated constantly, despite numerous failures and becomes the meaning of the gambler's life in the literal sense);
- during the game, a person is completely immersed in the virtual world, the slightest attempts to distract him cause aggression, the result of actions in the game or on the computer screen becomes the most significant event in life.
During an attack of aggression, a gambler can not only express dissatisfaction with shouts, threats or other emotions, but also harm his health or even the life of a loved one. People addicted to the game can play for interest or for money, and the presence of a money issue plays absolutely no role in the possible consequences for the psyche.
Gambling addiction is a disease that goes through three stages in its development: first, a person develops a special interest in games and chooses a specific entertainment, then he begins to constantly think about virtual events, and the result is the perception of the game as a life goal and the most important event. A person diagnosed with gambling addiction can harm not only others, but also himself. There are frequent cases of suicide among this category of patients.
If there are signs of gambling addiction, it is necessary to seek help from specialists as soon as possible. It is very difficult to cure such a disease, so trying to cope with the trouble on your own can only aggravate the clinical picture.
