Gambling

 

 

 

 

Holy Quran said in

 [the table  verses]

 

[91] Satan's plan is (but) to excite enmity and hatred between you, with intoxicants and gambling, and hinder you from the remembrance of Allah, and from prayer: will ye not then abstain?

What is problem and compulsive gambling?

Pathological, or compulsive gambling is a progressive and eventually overwhelming urge to engage in gambling behavior, an urge which at first the gambler fails to resist and later is unable to resist. The diagnostic criteria for pathological gambling are now relatively well known and were formally published both by the World Health Organization (1979) and the American Psychiatric Association (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, 1980). Compulsive or pathological gambling is officially recognized as an illness and is listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-IV) as a disorder of impulse control. The condition is defined as follows:

"a chronic, progressive failure to resist impulses to gamble and gambling behavior that compromises, disrupts, or damages personal, family or vocation pursuits. The gambling preoccupation, urge, and activity increases during periods of stress. Problems that arise as a result of the gambling lead to an intensification of the gambling behavior. Characteristic problems include loss of work due to absences in order to gamble, defaulting on debts and other financial responsibilities, disrupted family relationships, borrowing money from illegal sources, forgery, fraud, embezzlement and income tax evasion."

According to the DSM-IV, Pathological Gambling can be diagnosed as persistent and recurrent maladaptive gambling behavior, as indicated by five (or more) of the following:

1.                    is preoccupied with gambling (e.g. preoccupied with reliving past gambling experiences, handicapping or planning the next venture, or thinking of ways to get money with which to gamble);

2.                    needs to gamble with increasing amounts of money in order to achieve the desired excitement;

3.                    has repeated unsuccessful efforts to control, cut back, or stop gambling;

4.                    is restless or irritable when attempting to cut down or stop gambling;

5.                    gambles as a way of escaping from problems or of relieving a dysphonic mood (e.g. feelings of helplessness, guilt, anxiety, depression);

6.                    after losing money gambling, often returns another day to get even ("chasing" one's losses);

7.                    lies to family members, therapist, or others to conceal the extent of involvement with gambling;

8.                    has committed illegal acts such as forgery, fraud theft, or embezzlement to finance gambling;

9.                    has jeopardized or lost a significant relationship, job, or educational or career opportunity because of gambling;

10.                relies on others to provide money to relieve a desperate financial situation caused by gambling.

This mentally crippling illness can seriously handicap those addicted from being gainfully employed, and seriously limit their ability to effectively carry out their familial responsibilities. The ugly side of the compulsive gambling ledger is not only the loss of productivity, broken homes and welfare costs, but also the criminal activities of its addicted captives who frantically search, often illicitly, for the finances to try again and again, in vain, to win back their losses. The end of the road is the loss of employment, self respect and too often their lives through their own self destruction in a last attempt to escape the life they cannot any longer endure.

Once pathological gambling is recognized and self-admitted, it is very successfully treatable. The best and most cost effective treatment available is the 12-step programmed of Gamblers Anonymous, a fellowship for men and women who are self-admitted compulsive gamblers. Entering this fellowship in combination with appropriate treatment is successful for anyone who is determined to change their behavior and maintain the new lifestyle advocated.

Unfortunately, by the time the 1% of diagnosable pathological gamblers seek help, it is usually as a result of the break-up of the family, arrest and charges for gambling-related criminal activity or suicide attempts. For these people in crisis, separation from society and the triggers (such as money) and the stressors which encourage gambling behavior, is critical to their survival and well-being. In many of these cases, in-patient treatment coupled with the Gamblers Anonymous programmed is the most effective treatment.