The definition of gambling addiction
On the website of the Ministry of Health, to give a definition of the Pathology , we read that the gambling addiction is “the inability to resist the impulse to gamble or to make bets, despite the individual who is affected being aware that this can lead to serious consequences ”.
The risk to which the gambler may incur, in fact, is not only the uncontrolled loss of his economic resources (and / or family resources) but also of putting aside normal daily activities (such as study and work) and his own Dear. Moreover, in the most extreme cases, compulsive gambling illness can even lead to suicide .
This is why the State, through the bill dated 09/13/2012 n. 1958 (art. 5), provides for levels ofassistance , with reference to prevention, treatment and rehabilitation services for people affected by gambling addiction.
The State, however, must be honest, is a sort of two-faced Janus: because on the one hand it recognizes the gambling addiction as a serious illness while on the other it grants too many concessions to gambling houses, even hammering on television with lottery promotions – between which the very famous Scratch and Win .
PERSONALIZED TIPS
Log in to your Personal Health Area and enter your details: every week you will receive free advice tailored to you by doctors Symptoms of gambling addiction Given this premise, even the gambling addiction, like any other disease, presents symptoms. However, there are those who call it hidden because there are no obvious physical signs such as, for example, with drugs or alcohol .
However, to understand if the game is a problem, the advice is to answer these questions:
Are you absent from work or university to play?
Games to escape from a boring or unhappy life?
When you play and stay without money, do you feel lost and desperate and need to play as soon as possible?
Do you play until you have lost your last cent, even the price of the bus ticket to go home or the cost of a cup of coffee?
Have you ever lied to hide the amount of money or time spent playing?
Have the others ever criticized the fact that you play?
Have you ever lied, stolen or borrowed money just to get the money to play or to pay gambling debts?
Are you reluctant to spend “game money” on anything else?
Have you lost interest in your family, friends or pastimes?
After losing, do you feel that you have to try to win back as much as you lost as soon as possible?
Do quarrels, frustrations or disappointments make you want to play more?
Do you feel depressed or want to commit suicide because of your game?
The more questions you answer positively, the more likely it is to be connected to serious gambling problems, so help is needed