Okay, allow me to be totally real here. Quitting gambling for me sucked. It was hard, really hard to stop. I liked gambling. I liked playing online slots and video poker because for those few hours, I did not have to think or feel anything. Just click the mouse over and over and over. Every day I woke up, I could not wait to play my favorite games. I liked the sounds and the colors on my screen, and I loved when I won. No feeling in the world matches the feeling of a win. If only for a moment or two, everything was okay after a win.
On the day that I decided enough was enough, was the best day and the worst day of my life. It was so hard giving up something I enjoyed.
Over time and as the days in recovery became weeks, months, and years, I thought more about why it was so hard to give up gambling.
From the outside looking in, many people might
think that gambling can be stopped at any time.
For the problem gambler, this is not the case. Problem gamblers spend huge amounts of money,
sell everything they own, and destroy their life simply to stay in the
game. It is not as simple as stopping
whenever you want to.
There are things that happen in a problem
gambler’s mind that make it nearly impossible to stop gambling. These brain tricks keep gamblers in the game
through irrational decision making and are very powerful. They are powerful enough to keep a person
playing despite all the negative consequences.
Big-Win
Memory
Problem gamblers focus on the wins. They could lose thousands of dollars but they
remember with great detail the time they won $100. This win pushes all the losses out of existence
in the mind. Memories do influence how
we behave in general; therefore, the memory of the wins, keeps the gambler in
the game. The thought process becomes, I
won before, I can win again. The problem
with these memories is that they are distorted.
A person who lost $1,000 and won $50 and remembers only the $50 win, is
not thinking rationally. If a problem
gambler decides to enter treatment, new thoughts should include focusing on how
much was lost.
Near
Misses
In general, many people like to experience
pleasure. Our brains are wired to seek
pleasure to get a reward. Problem
gamblers also like to seek pleasure and get a reward; however, the brain of a
problem gambler is wired differently.
Their brain lights up even when they almost win. In a recent study, it was found that if a
problem gambler almost wins, the reward centers of their brain are activated
the same as if there was a bigger win.
If a video poker addict wins 20 coins instead of 50 coins, the brain’s
reward system is still activated. It is
as if the brain makes losing almost as gratifying as winning. This makes it more difficult for the problem
gambler to stop gambling. In recovery,
the problem gambler will need to incorporate activities that activate the
reward system in the brain without gambling.
Gambler’s
Fallacy
Many problem gamblers do not think about the
odds of what they are betting. Some
believe they can predict a win and often feel superior to odds. This is a form of magical thinking that will
keep a gambler in the game. Some
gamblers report that they know when and where a win will occur such as what
card is next in the deck. Gambler’s
fallacy is seen with lotteries. The
gambler will not think about how the odds of winning the lottery are so
outrageous but rather focus on them being the one in a one and a million
outcome.
Illusion
of Control
Illusion of control and gambler’s fallacy are
similar. Illusion of control is
superstition whereby the gambler believes they can control the outcome of their
gambling. Some problem gamblers might
have a lucky shirt or a piece of jewelry that will ensure the win. This is false confidence that can lead to an
increase of risky betting. This illusion
of control is pervasive and many gamblers believe that they have control over
other parts of their lives.
Recovery is Possible 
Leave a comment