gettingpastgambling.com

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GAMBLING ADDICTION


Q. Help! I'm a gambler and addicted to poker machines. This is ruining my life. Any spiritual advice?

A. A very interesting problem. This is what we received from Spirit and our own general knowledge. Gamblers (particularly those who use poker machines often) release certain hormones into their bodies while engaging in the gambling activity. This is like a chemical cocktail which can alternately calm you down and produce a spacey 4th dimensional feeling or produce a euphoric excited feeling. Hormones involved include endorphins, seratonin (emotional stability), dopamine (well being), phenylethylamine (excitement levels) and noradrenalin (makes you feel you can accomplish anything).

With such a strong concoction of feel good hormones, it is no wonder that you soon become addicted! Small wins on the poker machines add to the feeling of euphoria. The dim lighting of most clubs, flashing lights, neon lights etc also stimulate melatonin in your blood stream which adds to the feel good concoction pumping through your veins. The action of pressing buttons or pulling the poker machine lever is hypnotic in effect. Thus time becomes distorted and money and surroundings become meaningless.

If you were a billionaire, you would not have a huge downside! But since most people aren't billionaires, financial problems caused by endless streams of dollars disappearing into "one arm bandit" slots to support the gambling addiction, soon result in financial woes and depression. Of course the more depressed you are - the more potent the feel good hormone cocktail feels, until eventually you will do anything to maintain it, just like a heroin addict! Family, job, ethics, all go by the board - all you want is the gambling fix! Does this sound like you?

Add to this the fact that you've more than likely set this scenario up before you incarnated, as a huge emotional block for you to overcome and you have a huge problem. But it's not insurmountable. Otherwise you wouldn't have set it up as a test for yourself. There is always an answer and a solution. That is how the Universe works.

How can you overcome this gambling addiction and get your life back on track? These are Spirit's and our own suggestions-

1. Accept that you are addicted.
2. Agree that you want to be free of the addiction.
3. Be prepared to try anything to be free of it.
4. Realise that you are suffering depression and may need some chemical help from a doctor, such as mild anti-depressives to overcome your depression initially.
5. Realise that you are addicted to the hormone rush and feeling of contentment caused by the hormone cocktail not just the actual gambling.
6. The contented spacey feeling you experience can be substituted by learning meditation and increasing the spiritual content in your life. You will then achieve this feeling naturally as you rise up to the 4th dimension.
7. Finding your Life Plan and World plan will help you to understand firstly why this problem has been presented to you and why you have incarnated to earth.
8. Live your Life and World Plans. This will be so satisfying and make you both exhilarated and contented, that gambling addiction will feel very inferior.
9. Ask your personal guides for help in overcoming your addiction.
10. Ask that in your dream state these things are explained to you and you also receive celestial guidance on these matters.
11. Begin to value other things in your life. You have made the addiction central to everything.
12. Change your lifestyle if necessary. Be daring! What have you got to lose? Create the life you want!
13. Have faith. Realise everything happens for a purpose. You can overcome this addiction. Speak to others who have successfully overcome the gambling fever. Gain their support and help.

Blessings to you! May you overcome your addiction.
The Abbotts.



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http://www.spiritwatch.com/sw9illness.htm

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THE MARKS OF AN ADDICTION
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Those who work with people caught in addictions identify at least five telltale signs, which when found together indicate the presence of an enslaving, destructive dependency.

1. Absorbing Focus.
All addictions consume time, thought, and energy. They are not mere pastimes. They are obsessions and preoccupations that demand more and more from us.

2. Increasing Tolerance.
The pattern of diminishing returns is also common. We need increasing amounts to maintain the same effect. Drug addicts need more crack to get the same high. Alcoholics need more alcohol to maintain the "buzz" that came so easily at first. The sex addict moves from soft- to hard-core pornography, or from normal marital relations to socially and biblically forbidden encounters.

3. Growing Denial.
To protect the sacred moments of our pleasure, we deny that our "interest" is ruining us. Because there is so much to lose, we hide from others the extent of our enslavement. We convince ourselves that we can stop whenever we want. We learn to live in two worlds at the same time. We even believe our own stories. We become accomplished actors in front of others because of our fear of being found out.

4. Damaging Consequences.
There is no such thing as a harmless addiction. All addictions are destructive to ourselves and those we love. Directly or indirectly, our obsessions can destroy our family and our friendships. We can lose our job, our health, our self-respect, and our reputation. Addictions are enslaving, destructive dependencies. They destroy our capacity for self-control and our ability to know and enjoy the God who has made us for Himself.

5. Painful Withdrawal.
Anything we habitually use to give us an artificial sense of well-being results in pain when it's taken away. Angry outbursts, agitation, anxiety, panic attacks, tremors, and depression are all costs of withdrawal. When deprived of our addiction, we are likely to feel that we have lost something essential to our survival.

In light of such painful results, we might wonder why we are so willing to become dependent on self-destructive ways of thinking and acting.

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By: Michael Russell

Gambling addictions are no longer unheard of - they are believed to be rising now more than ever due to the increasing opportunities to gamble. There are more casinos, sports betting and slot machines than ever before. If you stay away from casinos, there is also telephone betting and even more gambling on the internet. It is truly an addiction that can be difficult to conquer.

Gambling can and does become a serious problem. It often leads to financial and relationship ruin in most, if not all, cases. For some, attempted suicide after losing a bet is not unheard of. Pathological gambling is much more common among men than in women, though the number female gambling addicts are on the rise as well. Gambling addicts are also more likely to smoke cigarettes and abuse alcohol compared to recreational gamblers and this can compound the problem. There are four phases that can help you realize a gambling addiction: the winning phase, the chasing phase, the desperation phase and hopelessness.

1. The Winning Phase - This is a short and sometimes non-existent phase that associates escape from problems with winning several small or large bets. It can give a temporary boost in self-esteem and a sense of empowerment. The excitement and titillation often felt at the casino is used to charge up the lives of those predisposed by some conditions and loneliness.

2. The Chasing Phase - The addiction starts to unravel when a number of losses are attributed to poor luck. Somehow, no win is ever enough. More often, the person prefers to gamble alone. They start to hide their gambling because the losses have put them in a tight financial spot. The addict begins to ignore his or her family and then becomes irritable when not gambling. Slowly, gambling and betting become the sole coping mechanism to the larger issues in life. The addict can gamble until he is insolvent and can become unapproachable about the problem. This phase can last a number of years, with the addict progressively placing larger bets on longer odds. More often than not, the addict starts borrowing money to support the habit and his family life is gone.

3. The Desperation Phase The addict behaves there is little, if no time for anything else and nothing else in life matters except the thrill of betting more. He resorts to lying, manipulation and complete denial of criticism. He usually externalizes the blame and does not hold himself accountable for his desperate state. Sometimes he can exhibit acute anger at others who deny that his gambling is just "normal". Usually, his finances are a wreck and bills remain unpaid. The family by now knows the addiction but remains suffering and powerless. Sometimes the gambler contemplates suicide and sees death as the only exit strategy. This is the point where most remediation occurs but relapses from initial recovery programs can be frequent. Unfortunately, there are many who undertake the recovery program but keep gambling anyway.

4. The Hopeless Phase This phase goes beyond "bad enough" and usually involves clinical depression, suicide, or criminal actions that often land them in jail.

http://www.addiction-zone.com/info/Gambling-Addiction/Four-Steps-of-the-Gambling-Addiction.html

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For most people, gambling is simply a way to make sporting events more interesting, or a part of an annual trip to Las Vegas. However, for some, gambling can be a dangerous addiction that ruins marriages, ends careers, and can result in bankruptcy and even suicide. Gambling addictions have become so prevalent that the American Psychiatric Association now identifies “gambling addiction” as a psychiatric disorder afflicting one to three percent of American adults. With the growing popularity of online gambling sites, these estimates may continue to rise.

So what is the allure of online gambling? Well, the most obvious answer is convenience. Gamblers no longer need to travel to Vegas or Atlantic City, as the Internet provides access to gambling 24 hours a day, seven days a week with complete anonymity. Further, online gambling occurs without the actual or immediate exchange of money. It’s easy for participants to loose site of the fact that they are actually playing for real cash! Other attractions include the ease with which people can set up accounts and the escape associated with spending hours playing games online.

So when does an interest in gambling reach the point of addiction? There are generally three criteria used to diagnose an addiction of any kind. First and foremost is that the word “addiction” implies a loss of behavioral control. Those who are addicted simply cannot control their gambling. What may have started as a quick game of poker may turn into an all day – all night gambling bender. Second, addicted gamblers often develop a “tolerance” to gambling in the same way an alcoholic becomes increasingly tolerant to alcohol. Addicted gamblers will require higher and higher stakes in order to get the high that they desire. Finally, the extent to which a behavior interferes with one’s functioning is often used as criteria for diagnosing addiction. In the case of an addicted gambler, he or she may empty bank accounts, sell valued heirlooms, or build up massive amounts of dept. In extreme cases, an addicted gambler may steal from friends and family members to finance their addiction or even become clinically depressed following a devastating loss.

So how do you know if you have a gambling problem? Gambling anonymous suggests asking yourself questions such as these:

1. Have you repeatedly missed work or school because of gambling?

2. Have you ever felt guilty as result of your gambling?

3. Have you ever gambled in order to acquire money for bills or debts?

4. Have you ever gambled until you were completely out of money?

5. Have you ever gambled for longer periods than you had planned?

6. Have you ever gambled with more money than you had originally planned?

7. Have you ever considered suicide because of gambling?

This list is not exhaustive, but if you answer “yes” to any of the above questions, you may wish to speak with a professional counselor about your gambling.

Thankfully, a variety of resources exist to help those suffering from a gambling addiction. Twelve step programs such as those used in alcoholics anonymous and narcotics anonymous exist for those whose gambling has gotten out of control. Further, support groups such as Gam-Anon are easily accessible and are designed to assist those with a family member suffering from a gambling addiction.

http://www.addiction-zone.com/info/Gambling-Addiction/Gambling-Addiction.html

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In earlier days, gamblers used to trek to Las Vegas or the Atlantic City in order to find some real action they crave for. Now, the scenario is changed completely. Gamblers can find the real thrill in their hometowns these days.

Today, legalized gambling has become one of their rapid growing industries in America. The ever growing popularity of this game has made most people related to this industry make a lot of money.

Unfortunately, gambling has become a type of addiction for most people who are involved in this game. People may look at this game as a pleasure seeking behavior but sometimes, it becomes really difficult to get rid of this activity or even avoid a certain type of emotional pain.

In a wider perspective, addiction to gambling is a type of behavior that results in major disruptions in any area of life. One can suffer in one’s physical, social or even vocational area.

According to the American Psychological Association, compulsive gambling can be categorized or referred to as a type of mental disorder of impulse control. It is also referred to as a type of chronic & progressive disease that’s both diagnosable & treatable. According to a research, about 2 to 4 percent of Americans have already developed a gambling addiction.

Here are some of causes of addictive gambling:

The causes of pathological gambling are not known yet. However, researches have made many observations & came to the following conclusions:

a)Excess exposure to gambling under certain circumstances in which it is valued.

b)A greater capacity for self deception.

c)State of feeling intolerable such as depression, helplessness or guilt.

An addicted gambler would exhibit the following symptoms:

a)Lying

b)Stealing money

c)Excessive borrowing of money.

d)Loss of control.

e)Escapes

f)Illegal acts

g)Tolerance

h)Withdrawal

i)Greater risk of significant relationship

j)Bailout

k)Preoccupation

The state of preoccupation occurs when the gambler constantly thinks about gambling. The individual may recall his or her experience in the past. The life of the gambler gets restricted to gambling & different way to acquire money for gambling. The gambler in this phase may spend money that’s meant for some other purposes in order to fulfill the satisfaction gained by gambling.

a)Often a gambler becomes tolerant of the gambling. Here he needs a good amount of money in to gambler.

b)Stopping gambling suddenly may lead to withdrawal. This process may cause a lot of irritability whenever he or she tries to gamble less or quit gambling.

c)Addiction to gambling can lead to lying to friends, family members & near & dear ones.

d)A gambler loses control on his or her addiction to gambling.

Gambling is not good for individual’s life. Getting addicted to this game can have a lot of bad effects. Here are some of the common problems; an individual may fall due to gambling.

a)Loss of job or unemployment

b)Debt

c)Bankruptcy

d)Fraud

e)Embezzlement

f)Forgery

g)Getting involved in crime

h)Arrest

i)Incarceration

j)Poor physical & mental health

k)Attempt to suicide

If you want to get rid of addiction, it is very important to seek professional help. You can go for different therapies to get rid of gambling addiction.

http://theedgyblog.com/2008/03/25/gambling-addiction/

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The problem of addiction has become more and more pressing in our culture in the past decade. Alcoholics abuse loved ones, junkies congregate on inner city streets, convicted drink drivers re-offend and people gamble in casinos, leaving children forgotten in a car outside. Drug, cigarette and gambling addictions are high-profile now, with millions of dollars spent in advertising campaigns aimed at combating the problem. And its not just the addict who suffers. The effects ripple out through family and friends to the wider community.

If you dont over-indulge in any of the things already mentioned it can be tempting to think you are not an addict, but this may not be so. Addiction is endemic in our society and is not confined to drugs, alcohol and gambling. Work can actually be an addiction, relationships can be addictive, busy-ness, exercise, food, shopping, sex ... theres an endless list of substances and activities in which human beings can compulsively over-indulge.

What is addiction?

An addiction is indicated when there is a compulsive over-use of some substance or activity. The following questions may help you determine whether you have an addictive problem.

1. Has your use of the substance or participation in the activity increased over time?

2. If you stopped using the substance/activity would you experience some form of withdrawal? For example, irritability, headaches, boredom, mood swings, depression, anxiety.

3. Do you often take more of the substance or perform more of the activity than you intended?

4. Have you had a desire to cut down or made unsuccessful attempts to do so?

5. Do you over-use at times when you feel unhappy or stressed?

6. Has there been an effect on your social, relationship or occupational life?

7. Do you continue to use the substance or activity despite knowing it is having a negative effect on your life?

It can often be easier for an onlooker to ascertain whether a person has an addiction since the addict may still be in some level of denial about the problem. This is understandable because addictions frequently start as quite harmless and take hold gradually over time. The person may not have noticed their activity or substance use has crossed the line from harmless to harmful.

They do not realise it is no longer a choice but a compulsion. For example, a client, Angela*, came to therapy and initially reported she had no addictions. As I asked her about herself she revealed she smoked joint most evenings. When I inquired for how long she had done this Angela replied, Oh about 10 years, I guess. As I registered my surprise Angela began the process of acknowledging that what she had kidded herself was an innocuous recreation actually had a far more significant hold over her life.

Why do we become addicted?

Addictions are used to cover or mask psychological pain. We refuse to feel a particular emotion or face some life issue and instead we distract or numb ourselves by taking a substance or indulging in a repeated activity. For example, a client, Joanne*, had had a difficult home life and had poor self-esteem. Until recently she had taken a lot of drugs such as ecstasy and cocaine. As we worked together, Joanne gradually touched into a part of herself that felt unloved and unworthy. As she did so she said: I didnt know this was inside me. No wonder I took so many drugs. I was trying to fill this empty hole inside of me. This is what some addictions do they fill us with substitute feelings like euphoria or exhilaration so we can avoid those we dont want to feel.

Other addictions put us into a kind of trance where we seem to lose touch with ourselves. Many gamblers report this experience. Andrew, a client who spent huge amounts of time at poker machines said: Its like I become a zombie. It completely takes over me and I have no choice any more. It wont let me stop until I have spent every cent I have on me. Its like my rational self gets completely over-ridden. Andrews father had died almost a year before and Andrew had been unable to tolerate the grief he felt. By going into the gambling trance he could separate himself from the sadness that lay beneath the surface of his awareness, threatening to erupt.

Some addictions dont actually seem like addictions and can, in fact, be quite socially acceptable. They act more like a distraction from our inner pain. Over-work is the classic example. People use work to escape from all sorts of difficulties such as relationship or family issues or from unexpressed grief or sadness. Similarly, people addicted to relationships are often unable to tolerate feelings of loneliness. Alternatively, they may refuse to feel their insecurity, fear or lack of meaning in life, instead finding a partner who will compensate for their inadequacies. People who go from a broken relationship straight into another relationship with no break in between are often using relationships as an addiction.

Some theorists go as far as equating certain addictions with the avoidance of particular emotions: alcoholics use alcohol to cope with fear, people who smoke are blanketing anger, and marijuana masks the presence of sadness. If you suspect you have an addiction, ask yourself: What emotion do I refuse to feel? What issue can I not bear to confront?

Why we avoid emotions

With our cultures focus on mental and physical performance, its no surprise were not skilled in our emotional lives. We are not taught how to be emotionally literate. While schools coach our bodies in physical education and train our minds in maths and English, our hearts are left untutored. Its no wonder that when life events generate a particular emotion within us were not equipped to deal with it. We therefore unconsciously try to keep the feeling out of awareness by becoming addicted. Many people come to therapy saying things like life just doesnt seem to be satisfying or something just isnt quite right. When we explore the emotional content of their life its often like they are an emotion-free zone:

No, nothing upsets me much.
I cant remember the last time I cried.
Its not worth getting angry.
I just get on with things.

As a client, Monica, said, I just did the too-cool-to-care number the whole time. This get-over-it, get-on-with-it attitude forces emotions out of conscious awareness down into our unconscious being. We may then be astounded when strong feelings surface during therapy. Where on earth did this feeling come from? I had no idea I felt like this! people exclaim.

Our inability to deal with emotions can begin even before school age. Often things happen in families that just dont get talked about. One family member may be an alcoholic or have a mental illness; there may be emotional, physical or sexual abuse occurring or unexpressed grief or anger; or there may be relationship difficulties. Yet no one mentions these things. Psychologists call this the elephant in the lounge room syndrome. Its as if the family sits around the lounge room with an elephant there in the room with them yet no one says, Hey, whats an elephant doing here? For a child growing up in such a household its very confusing. They sense something is not right yet everyone acts as if all is normal. The child learns to distrust their own instincts, their own feeling-life. They begin to separate from their emotional self and join the family trance of avoidance. Later in life, when emotions that threaten to wake them from their trance surface, they will be at risk of using some addiction to keep them safely numb. It feels more comfortable and familiar that way.

Another way we can become out of touch with our emotional selves is if we experience some crisis or trauma where the physiological chaos that occurs sends our physical/emotional being into overwhelm. We may be unable to process and integrate all the incoming signals, especially if we are young. Therefore our system goes into shutdown and the energy is channelled off into a closed box in our unconscious mind. A corresponding physical block will occur in the body, especially along the spine. Later in life, when an emotion similar to that triggered by the early trauma occurs, it resonates with the emotions stored away in the box. Rather than allow the past emotion to escape, which would be like opening Pandoras box, we will unconsciously try to find a way to keep the threatening emotion safely stored away.

Another factor contributing to our incapacity to deal with emotions is the way our culture has encouraged a mind-body split. Most people inhabit their minds with a constant mental chatter going on in their head. They remain blissfully unaware of what might be going on in their body. Emotions occur in our psyche but they are also internal physical experiences. If you are out of touch with your body, when a strong emotion occurs you will experience it as physically uncomfortable because of its unfamiliarity. Unless you are alert, your survival system will switch into automatic operation. Your nervous system registers dangerous level of arousal and instructs the unconscious mind to do something! So you find a craving for food or alcohol arising or you suddenly find yourself very busy. This dampens the effect of the emotion so your nervous system registers safe levels regained well done! Your unconscious mind registers that the strategy works and will automatically switch on the craving at the next hint of emotional arousal. So begins an addiction. Addictions are so hard to break because its as if they are hard-wired into the body as a survival tactic. Unless you learn to tolerate emotions you will be pushing against a biological imperative for survival.

Dealing with addiction

One way to tackle an addiction is to re-educate your emotional self. To do this you will need to conduct an enquiry into your emotional functioning. It may be a certain intensity of any emotion that sets you off or it may be one particular emotion. In the past it has been culturally unacceptable for men to fully express sadness, so this may be the feeling they have difficulty with, whereas women have not been encouraged to express anger, so for them this may be their emotional blind spot.

The next step is to notice how a particular emotion affects your body. You begin to create an emotion-body map. There are four main categories of emotion: sadness, happiness, anger and fear. Sadness and happiness often affect the chest area, anger the jaw and neck, while fear clutches the stomach. This is a very general map and you will have your own idiosyncratic way of experiencing emotion. Treat yourself as an explorer of new territory. As you travel through each day see what you discover going on inside yourself.

As you watch the effect emotions have on your body you will notice it seems as if you have split in two: there is the observer you and the you feeling the emotion. Dont worry, this is not the beginning of a split personality! Its actually the beginning of a very healthy function that will lead to choice and freedom in life. This observer self will eventually give you mastery over your emotions. When there is only the you having the emotion its easy to get lost within and overwhelmed by the emotion. When the observer you is functioning you are in with a chance because this observer can soothe you, saying words to the effect of: Its OK. I recognise this feeling its fear. There it is in my stomach, pulsing away. It is really uncomfortable but I am not going to die. It is just energy moving through my body. I will take some deep breaths and ride the emotion through.

Watching for triggers

As you become skilled at self-observation you can then begin to watch your addictive behaviour in detail. Notice what goes on just before your addictive self takes hold. There will be some trigger emotion or thought that sets off the addictive cycle. For example, Jackie* had broken up with a long-term partner a couple of years ago and had taken to drinking heavily. She noticed that any time she was alone, uncomfortable feelings of loneliness and abandonment came up and her thoughts went something like: I will always be alone. People always leave me. No one will ever love me again. This is awful.

This feeling was intolerable for Jackie, so she would reach for a drink to numb the pain. Jackie came to realise that her feelings were so intense because they were echoing feelings she had buried as a child when her father had left the family after her parents separated. As Jackie became able to tolerate and consciously deal with her loneliness and sense of abandonment she was able to spend nights alone without reaching for a drink. It can be helpful to fill out a self-observation diary when you begin the process of dealing with your addiction.

Beware of using only the force of your will to counter the addiction. This approach may work for a while but if you never uncover the source of the addiction youll always be at risk and may find the hidden emotion manifesting in other ways such as in physical symptoms or relationship difficulties. I have met people who conquered alcohol only to find themselves addicted to gambling years later.

Also beware of treating your addiction as a disease. This implies you caught it and are therefore not responsible for your addiction. It encourages a powerless attitude. If you can own up to contributing to the addiction you will also be empowered to do something about it. Instead of being the victim of a bad gene, you are the agent of your own life and therefore of your own healing.

Getting support

Admitting your addiction to yourself is a great first step. Telling chosen others is also beneficial. It raises your awareness and you cant hide so much any more. Support groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous can be useful, as the effect of group support can be very powerful. Friends or family in the support role should be very careful not to take responsibility for motivating or controlling the addicted persons behaviour. Nor should they ignore it. The aim is to find a middle ground where you let the person know you see their behaviour but refrain from nagging or berating them. The desire and motivation to change has to come from the addicted person or it will not be long-lived.

Waking up

Dealing with an addiction is a challenging task, but there are huge payoffs. Its like a process of waking up except that before the awakening you did not recognise you were asleep. It takes energy to keep emotions locked away in your unconscious, which in turn takes energy away from your everyday life. You live your life only half awake since your addiction keeps you in a trance.

As you develop emotional competence, more energy becomes available and you will be free to live your life to its fullest potential. It can seem as if your life has been washed with a cleansing rain so that the world looks bright and alive again. Finding that you have the courage to face difficult issues will give you the confidence and strength to deal creatively with challenges in the future without having to go into avoidant survival mode. You will be rewarded with a depth and richness of experience you never knew was possible.

* Client names have been changed to protect confidentiality
http://www.wellbeing.com.au/natural_health_articles?cid=7166&pid=16479

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Why is slot machine gambling so addictive?
Why is it coined the "crack cocaine of addiction"?

Why is slot machine gambling considered to be the MOST addictive form of gambling that exists today?

I will try to answer these questions in this article. The questions are quite significant, and the answers can help to explain why so many people have gotten hooked on the "slots", "pokies", and "fruit machines".

Slot machines use what is known to psychological behaviorists as "intermittent reinforcement" Basically, what this means is that a winning hand on a slot machine only happens sometimes.

This type of reinforcement is known to be very powerful because an
individual is only rewarded at certain intervals. This can create an addictive reaction, resulting obsession quite easily. When you reward only sometimes., it is sure to create an obsessive reaction.

In addition, studies have shown that the neurotransmitter dopamine plays an important role in developing a gambling addiction. Dopamine is known as the "feel good" chemical. The illusions of patterns in slot machines, and the intermittent winning spins create a rush of dopamine in the brain that makes people desire continued play.

You have probably heard in the past that gambling addicts are "addicted to the action"and not really as interested in winning money like they may think they are. This is because the dopamine rush is so powerful and pleasurable, that the action of gambling becomes euphoric in its' own right. It is a means it itself rather than a means to an end.

The role of dopamine is in the brain is very significant and powerful. Individuals with Parkinson's Diseases who were taking medications to increase dopamine in their brains were becoming addicted to gambling, specifically, slot machine gambling. Once these individuals stopped the medication, their addictive and obsessive gambling stopped.

This happened to a significant amount of people taking these types of medications.

Slot machine addiction is considered to be the "crack cocaine" of gambling for a few different reasons.

Crack cocaine is one of the most highly addictive drugs that exists today. Slot machine gambling is also considered to be the most addictive form of gambling... hands down.

The two can also be compared to each other because of the very quick,
accelerating progression of the addiction. A person can hit total despair and devastation with a slot machine addiction in one to three years. Other forms of gambling do not accelerate as quickly.

Another comparison is how both forms of addiction can create such
debasement, despondency and despair because of the power and intensity of the addictive substance/behavior.

Stealing, prostitution, drugs, loss of job, marriage, and finances are common with both of these addictions. You may have heard horror stories of individuals with either of these addictions. These stories are all too common.

As you can see, it is very easy to compare slot machine addiction to crack cocaine addiction. The common characteristics of both addictions is quite impressive.

Why is Slot Machine Addiction Considered The MOST Addictive Form of
Gambling?

This question is related to the above two areas that I have covered, except for a few other concepts which I believe are worth noting:

• Slot machines are designed by psychologists and other specialists who are specifically instructed to design slot machines to seduce and addict people.

• The new video mulit-line electronic slot machines have graphics and colors that are very compelling and stimulating to the eye.

• The music in video slot machines is very stimulating, repetitive, seductive , and truly reinforcing. There is strong subliminal
suggestion in this.

• The bonus rounds in video slot machines can encourage continued play, even amidst great losses, since bonus rounds are very exciting and provide a rush.

• The speed of play, and the speed of modern slot machines keeps your
adrenaline pumping, especially with all of the above factors.

• The jackpots in slot machines can be huge, however, the chances of
winning these jackpots are equivalent to winning the power ball lottery, if not more improbable.

• Slot machines can be a place to "zone out". Today's slot machines can put you into a hypnotizing trance that is hard to break out of.

• Slot machines require little or no skill, making it easy to just sit there and push the buttons, without a thought, forethought, or contemplation.

• It is very easy to keep playing slot machines because all accept dollar bills, and give players coupons upon ending play. Money loses its' value and becomes "monopoly" money.

• ATM Machines are usually in close proximity to the slot machines,again, encouraging continued play.

• Many slot machines use denominations of 1 cent to 5 cents. This fools the gambler into thinking that they are not spending much. What is not being said, however, is that the maximum bet can be as high as $15-$20 per spin. Is this really a penny or nickel machine?

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michelle_Tee