Your brain on gambling

I myself am not a serious gambler. I have never been interested in gambling and to be honest, I don't consider it a very good spending of free time. But it's a well-known fact that gambling is a whole industry and we cannot stop it. With the growth of the gambling industry, the resarches that explains the effects of gambling on the brain also increase reciprocally.

 Gambling has existed since the ancient times and there are gambling fans all over the world from all ages, occupations and walks of life. Some people do it for money, some do it just for the fun, some are just obsessed. The uncontrollable urge to gamble can impact seriously not only our material wealth but also our relationships, our mental health and our whole life.What is the actual reason behind that gambling addiction?

Sometimes I wonder why so many people get hooked on playing excessively in casinos and gambling clubs. They cannot stop gambling even when they see they lose everything.You know that the games are innumerable - from poker games and roulettes to slot machines. Because every player is different, the reasons behind their choice are different too. One thing we know for sure that gambling games get us excited and especially during the moment when we win. In this moment we feel a surge of adrenalin and this is the thing which urge us to gamble more. Some people go even to the extent of losing their properties, families and even their sanity.

The neurotransmitter dopamine, responsible for the brain's pleasure centers plays a main role in this case. Dopamin is influencing how we see the world and our response to it. Also, it's involved with the processing of the natural rewards such as food, which are essential of our survival. The scientists are doing researches about what is the role of dopamine in the brain. From the brain's perspective, gambling has much in common with addictive drugs. That's because gambling activates the reward system just as drugs do. Every time we win on blackjack or eat a tasty piece of cake for instance our dopamine neurons get extremely excited. As a result of this, we expect even more rewards in the future. Those neurons wants to solve the logic of luck. It's an interesting fact that the random rewards of gambling are much more preferable than the predictable ones. The excitement from the win trick us into trying again and again to understand the secret of it.

 But why some people don't become addicted gambling players? they try a couple of times and when they don't win, they decide to give up. Others get hooked because they cannot resist the temptation, they become obsessed with the excitement they get when they occasionally win, they get high from winning a bet. Studies has shown that the brains of the regular gamblers and also the drug addicts function in a different way. There is less activation of their brain's prefrontal cortex in response to cues related to gambling. This region in the brain is responsible for the impulsivity control, cognitive control and decision-making. So, the conclusion is that people wth gambling disorder are more impulsive than the others, as they have difficulty in controlling their reactions.

But how to stop the addiction? There are some good ways for preventing the serious obsession with gambling. One thing that is important is that the sooner the person realizes that he/she has a problem, the better. If you are addicted to gambling, there is a way to overcome it. I will number here some helpful things to try:

Change the activity:

You should find something  that you like to do, which can replace gambling. For example you can go out with friends, find enjoyable sport, go shopping, read, watch movies, start some interesting hobby like cooking for example. This will remove your focus from gambling.

Learn about gambling addiction:

Inform yourself about this problem. Educate yourself about the tricks that plays on your psyche and try to prevent them.

Get help:

Rely on some close member of your family to take control of your money. When you don't have access to your money, you will be less likely to gamble big sums away.

Attend an anonymous group support:

Getting support from other people sharing the same problem with you can be very helpful for you to recover from problem gambling.

Ask yourself if it's worthy:

Thing about how gambling influenced your life, whether in a positive or negative way. You can make a list of the things that has changed in your life since you have started gambling and a list of the things that will change if you stop this bad habbit.

 

Take advice:

If you had a severe addiction, don't hesitate to find a good counselor, specialized in addictions, and talk with them about your problem.

If you are just an enthusiastic player,  who tries to make a profit by the things that they enjoy, then I will recommend you online betting. This is one of the milder forms of gambling obsession. If you are a fan of sport events, it's the perfect option for you.
Have you ever heard about online betting? Its popularity is growing because it's a very convenient  and easy way for making bets that saves much time. You can make bets from your home without going to a bookmaker's shop and this betting method is very helpful to those who travel often or just don't have enough time to bet in the old-fashioned way such as going to a casiono.

 One sport betting website which I would recommend you is Betenemy. It's completely free. There you can find bookmakers' detailed reviews, a lot of useful information about how to bet, sport events predictions, advices from specialists for both beginner and advanced players. Also, there are proven strategies which you can use to increase your chances for success.

Finally, the choise is your whether you're going to fall in the trap of obsessive gambling. It's not a bad thing to enjoy gambling, just make sure you don't lose your life doing it. There are many ways that help you still enjoy your favourite games while saving time, trouble and even making money.