At Gateway Foundation, we provide various treatment options to help you overcome gambling addiction and get you on a healthy path. The process for treating gambling addiction includes the following:
Evidence-based behavioral therapies and holistic methods can treat a person’s addiction symptoms and underlying causes.
In cognitive-behavioral therapy, for example, mental health professionals will help you identify the unhealthy thoughts and behaviors associated with your gambling addiction to replace them with new, healthy ones. In therapy sessions, you can gradually change your feelings to modify the gambling behavior and regain control of your life.
Therapists can also help treat any co-occurring mental health conditions you may have developed before or due to your gambling addiction. For instance, you may realize that you gamble to self-medicate your stress, anxiety, or depression. In therapy, counselors can help you learn how to process your emotions appropriately and practice calming mindfulness techniques in moments of stress.
Addressing the underlying problems of your addiction rather than just the symptoms is crucial for your long-term health and happiness.
Medically assisted treatment can be effective for gambling addictions and underlying health conditions. After all, it’s essential to treat co-occurring disorders for treatment to be effective. Antidepressants can treat issues like depression and anxiety that may result from or lead to gambling, while narcotic antagonists can reduce the craving to gamble.
Joining a compulsive gambling support group is an excellent way to practice self-help and gain a sense of belonging. Gateway Foundation provides 12-step fellowships to help people receive encouragement to abstain from gambling. These meetings can help you receive support, validation, and advice to overcome addiction and stay healthy.
Building healthy habits is also a crucial step in gambling addiction treatment. You might partake in healthy hobbies at treatment centers, like exercise, yoga, or hiking. Establishing a healthy routine can be highly effective for your recovery success.
Therapeutic art can also help you replace unhealthy coping mechanisms to refrain from gambling. These activities might include playing or creating music, painting, or drawing. Therapeutic art can also help promote self-expression to relieve deep-seated emotions and examine addiction’s effects on your life.
While most people who gamble never develop an addiction, certain factors put people at risk of compulsive gambling, including:
People with problem gambling often have other mental health issues like substance use disorders, personality disorders, depression, or anxiety. Gambling addiction is often associated with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), bipolar disorder, or attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Gambling addictions are more common among younger and middle-aged people. Research shows gambling during childhood or teenage years increases a person’s risk of developing an addiction. However, compulsive gambling is also an issue in the older adult population.
Older adults may be particularly vulnerable to gambling-related problems due to losses experienced in their personal lives such as social isolation, loneliness, or a lower income. Gamblers might desire to make up for these losses through winnings in gambling by increasing their participation.
Research also finds men are over seven times more likely than women to develop gambling addictions.
Research shows specific medications can increase a person’s chances of developing a gambling addiction. Dopamine agonists, used to treat conditions like Parkinson’s disease and restless legs syndrome, have a rare side effect of compulsive behaviors in some people. These medicines can result in risky behaviors like compulsive gambling, binge eating, shopping, and other behaviors that may begin or worsen.
Family history also seems to play a significant role in the risk profile of people who develop gambling problems. One study found veterans in treatment for substance use disorder who reported their parents were compulsive gamblers were three times as likely to have gambling addictions themselves. Additionally, participants who perceived their grandparents as having gambling problems were 12 times as likely to meet the criteria for gambling addiction on screening measures.
People who are highly competitive, impulsive, restless, or easily bored are found to be at an increased risk of developing compulsive behaviors like gambling. A lesser-researched area of comorbid gambling addiction is the link between problem gambling and other non-substance-related behaviors that can become harmful, including video game playing, internet use, sex, eating, and compulsive shopping habits.
Answers to common questions about gambling addiction treatment include:
People who suspect themselves of having gambling problems can participate in the Illinois exclusion list program. Applying to the voluntary self-exclusion program can keep you away from casinos and other places to help you abstain from gambling. You can learn more about Illinois’ problem gambling services on the state government website.
Since denial is a primary feature of compulsive behavior, it can be challenging to recognize when you have a gambling problem. It may be time to seek treatment for gambling if you display the following signs:
Most casual gamblers stop after losing a predetermined amount of money. But people with a compulsive gambling problem feel an uncontrollable urge to continue playing and recover their money — a pattern that becomes more destructive over time. Recognizing these signs in yourself or a loved one early can help you seek treatment as soon as possible.
