“The NHS is severely impaired in its ability to address new pathologies such as problem gambling, because it is having to spend all its money on drug and alcohol treatment” says psychiatrist Henrietta Bowden-Jones.
Possibly half a million UK ‘problem gamblers’
Problem gambling is one of the many secret addictions that doesn’t seem to be given as much credence or attention as other more ‘mainstream’ dependencies. Unjustifiably so, because gambling addiction is a very real problem that can have devastating effects on the user’s life and the life of their family and loved ones, just as drug addiction or alcoholism can.
The difference with gambling addiction, though, is that it can often be better hidden. In a society with effortless access to numerous online gambling sites, with enticing incentives of free first time bets intended to draw customers of all ages in, the prevalence of addiction is rising.
Official numbers vary, with gamblingaddiction.co.uk estimating there to be around 350,000 problem gamblers in the UK, while the NHS suggests there could be as many as 593,000. The most recent statistical publication from the National Centre for Social Research on behalf of The Gambling Commission was conducted back in 2010, and estimated that while around 73% of the British adult population had participated in some form of gambling in the previous year – around 35.5 million adults – the number suffering from problem gaming was thought to be round 450,000.
The diagnostic criteria
But what exactly constitutes “problem gambling”. At what stage does it turn from an impulsive bit of fun to a reckless, life-consuming addiction that demands rehabilitation? The DSM-5 — the diagnostic statistical manual used universally in the diagnosis of mental disorders — requires at least four occurrences of the following symptoms to be present over the period of a month, for a diagnosis of problem gambling:
The individual needs to gamble with increasing sums of money in order to achieve the same pleasure response.
The individual is restless or irritable when attempting to cut down on gambling.
The individual has made repeated unsuccessful attempts in the past to cut back on the gambling.
The individual is preoccupied with thoughts of past, present and future gambling.
The individual often gambles when feeling distressed (e.g depressed, anxious or guilty).
After losing money, the individual often returns the next day to try and win it back.
The individual lies to conceal the extent of their gambling.
The individual has jeopardised or lost a significant relationship / job / vocational pursuit as a result of gambling.
The individual relies on others to provide money to relieve desperate financial situations caused by their gambling.
NHS needs to catch up
But while problem gambling was recognised as a disorder and added to the DSM way back in 1980, the NHS doesn’t seem to have caught up yet. When comparing the wealth of detailed supportive information available on the NHS website for alcoholism and drug addiction, the comparable pages for gambling addiction are sparse. It lists only two national charities / helplines and a single specialist gambling addiction clinic in the whole of the UK.
“The NHS is severely impaired in its ability to address new pathologies such as problem gambling, because it is having to spend all its money on drug and alcohol treatment” says psychiatrist Henrietta Bowden-Jones, founder of The National Problem Gambling Clinic, established in 2008.
The prognosis for gambling addicts is again difficult to ascertain due to the lack of research in the area. The little research that has been conducted, both epidemiological and clinical, demonstrates that problem gambling is highly co-morbid with other psychiatric conditions – conditions which could affect likelihood of relapse vs. successful rehabilitation.
Most published studies have employed relatively small sample sizes, are of limited duration and involve possibly non-representative clinical groups (e.g. those without co-occurring psychiatric disorders). That said, some studies have indicated that treatment can be successful in the long term, with mindfulness-based and CBT focused treatments.
The particular issue with treating gambling addiction is that, unlike drugs, money is not an illicit substance. It needs to be handled every day, making stimulus control in recovering gambling addicts extremely difficult. Due to the lack of available treatment, the trends would seem to indicate that more and more patients are turning to private therapy and seeking bespoke care outside of the oversubscribed NHS, in order to connect with a specialist on a deeper and more personal level to promote the likelihood of successful lifetime rehabilitation.
City Addictions, March 5, 2017
RELATED CONTENT
Relapse does not mean 'back to square one'
Article
Drugs, alcohol, exercise, sex, pornography, gambling....It seems anything pleasurable can become addictive, but how to draw the line between a harmless hobby and a problem? What elements of treatment are most important in helping tackle addictions?
Professor David Nutt was infamously sacked from his role as Chief Drugs Advisor after publishing a report in the Lancet which challenged the government's policy on drugs, stating that alcohol is in fact more dangerous than heroin.
Tinder has skyrocketed in popularity since its inception in 2012. Its trajectory has proven remarkable: within two short years it was registering about one billion ‘swipes’ per day opening up a whole new world of internet assisted casual sex.
The drug ketamine is mainly used as an anaesthetic, particularly in emergency medicine. But in some countries, it's become popular as a recreational drug. China is one — the authorities there say its use is soaring among young people — while its price continues to drop.
This BBC Newsnight report asks if the prescription drug addiction problem sweeping the United States could be replicated in the UK. With interviews with people who have struggled with addiction, and those offering help and support.
What happens inside the brain of a gambling addict when they make a bet - and can the secret to their addiction be found within the brain itself? BBC Panorama filmed a unique experiment designed to find out.
In this piece form Buzzfeed, Patrick Strudwick investigates the hidden world of "chemsex", following the conviction of Stephen Port for the rape, drugging, and murder of four young men.
Bruce Parry spends time with workers of an illegal cocaine-making factory located deep in the heart of the Amazon jungle. Remarkable footage from BBC documentary Amazon with Bruce Parry.
In this piece from The Guardian one woman speaks candidly about her experiences of blacking out after too much alcohol, and too many times, waking up in a stranger’s bed.
Ferris Jabr, reporting for Scientific American, discovers that pathological gamblers and drug addicts share many of the same genetic predispositions for impulsivity and reward seeking.
Did cocaine use by bankers cause the financial crisis?
Best Of The Web
Geraint Anderson, renegade stockbroker author of ‘Cityboy’, reflects on former drug tsar David Nutt’s opinion piece suggesting that coked-up bankers were responsible for the credit crunch.
Toxicologist Richard Church has a simple warning for young party-goers who may think the club drug 'Molly', an allegedly pure form of MDMA, is safe. "Don't trust your drug dealer," says Dr Church. Molly is not the Molly they thought it was. It is not pure.
Fry never took cocaine while he was working, on a stage or in a television studio. He would call it, rather creepily, the ‘pudding’ that would give him an extra 'reward' afterwards.
The detrimental physical effects of cocaine are well documented, but lesser known is its neurological impact on brain functioning, in areas such as attention span, decision-making and memory.
Your Brain on Porn - Scary Effects of Porn Addiction
Video
Scientists in the field of neuroscience and brain imaging are showing in study after study that high speed internet porn can change the brain just like drug addiction. This wreaks havoc on the reward/pleasure system in the brain resulting in devastating effects.
Honey, it just doesn't work if it's not on the internet
Video
Patrick Carnes is a best-selling author and a leading proponent of the viewpoint that some sexual behaviour can be seen as an addiction. Indeed it was Carnes who popularised the term 'sex addiction'.
Gambling is all around us, whether in casinos and betting shops, or in the growing number of online bingo and roulette websites. What determines who can keep it to the odd flutter, and for whom gambling can get out of control?
BBC's Weird Nature series shows how Vervet Monkeys in the Caribbean have taken to stealing cocktails from people on the beach. Studies show that they have the same percentage of teetotal and alcoholic individuals as the human population.
Reported cases of sex addiction in America are now in the millions. Some estimates suggest 3 to 5% of the American population, including stories of ordinary folk . . . like the Doherty’s from San Antonio
A short documentary looking at life the stories of eight alcoholics from their first drink, to their rock bottom, and then to their recovery. Director Mikey Trotter asks ‘what makes alcoholics drink’ and ‘how do you try and get sober.'
In making the drug illegal, the government only succeeded in compromising its quality and hiking up its price, making it not only more unaffordable, but more dangerous.
There's a tendency in economics to think that financial risk-taking is a purely cognitive activity, but as Dr John Coates explains, it's more quirky than that. Young male city traders on a winning streak shift their risk preferences and take on too much risk.
Clues from our distant ancestral past suggest that an attraction to alcohol may once have conferred an evolutionary advantage, and explain the the mystery of why we humans are often compelled to consume what is essentially a toxin.
The pleasure derived from success is borne of the very same brain pathways that make substance use so irresistible to some. Traits that make a good CEO are exactly those that make a ‘good’ addict.
Alex Aldridge, a freelance journalist writing in The Guardian, reflects on the implication given by the BBC drama Silk that cocaine use is rife in the legal profession.
When asked which drug kills the most users per year what springs to mind? Heroin? Cocaine? Certainly not Paracetamol. But prescription drug abuse is responsible for a significant number of drug related deaths across the globe.
Nina Lakhani, reporting for The Independent, asks how an unchecked culture of legal drug addiction has been allowed to flourish, with two million addicted to tranquillisers, and many thousands abusing over-the-counter painkillers.
Investigating this piece for The Mail on Sunday, Laura Topham discovered how ketamine, previously the preserve of hardcore clubbers, has became hugely popular with Britain's young upper classes.
Researchers in Germany dubbed a certain variant of the CAMK4 gene the ‘cocaine gene' after discovering that cocaine addicts were 25% more likely to carry this variant than non-users.
This piece from The Independent reveals that as far back as 2000 there was significant cause for concern that alcohol and drug taking in the legal professions was undermining public faith.
Stuart Adams has a long history of addictive behaviour, particularly problem gambling. Now receiving counselling through GamCare he is attempting to turn his life around.
The reason behind the difference in MDMA’s biological interactivity for men and women is due to women typically having lower body mass indexes, but not adjusting their dosages appropriately to account for this.
Powder cocaine has a stereotyped reputation as the ‘recreational’ drug of choice for rich high-flyers in pressured jobs, but recreation can quickly become a destructive dependency. What are the reasons for this, and how can problematic use be alleviated with treatment?
How cracking down on prescription peddling pain clinics created an even more devastating epidemic that remains ongoing and growing to this day: an eruption of widespread heroin addiction
Ketamine has been on the club scene for decades, although only quite recently are its debilitating long-term side effects coming to light. But it's also a life saver in developing countries where it serves as a cheap and available anaesthetic.
While controversy over its definition – and even its very existence – continues to foment, sex addiction, all too often steeped in shame and guilt, is a very real problem that has a spectacular ability to destroy lives and relationships.
Drugs, alcohol, exercise, sex, pornography, gambling....It seems anything pleasurable can become addictive, but how to draw the line between a harmless hobby and a problem? What elements of treatment are most important in helping tackle addictions?
Professor David Nutt was infamously sacked from his role as Chief Drugs Advisor after publishing a report in the Lancet which challenged the government's policy on drugs, stating that alcohol is in fact more dangerous than heroin.
Tinder has skyrocketed in popularity since its inception in 2012. Its trajectory has proven remarkable: within two short years it was registering about one billion ‘swipes’ per day opening up a whole new world of internet assisted casual sex.
The drug ketamine is mainly used as an anaesthetic, particularly in emergency medicine. But in some countries, it's become popular as a recreational drug. China is one — the authorities there say its use is soaring among young people — while its price continues to drop.
This BBC Newsnight report asks if the prescription drug addiction problem sweeping the United States could be replicated in the UK. With interviews with people who have struggled with addiction, and those offering help and support.
What happens inside the brain of a gambling addict when they make a bet - and can the secret to their addiction be found within the brain itself? BBC Panorama filmed a unique experiment designed to find out.
In this piece form Buzzfeed, Patrick Strudwick investigates the hidden world of "chemsex", following the conviction of Stephen Port for the rape, drugging, and murder of four young men.
Bruce Parry spends time with workers of an illegal cocaine-making factory located deep in the heart of the Amazon jungle. Remarkable footage from BBC documentary Amazon with Bruce Parry.
In this piece from The Guardian one woman speaks candidly about her experiences of blacking out after too much alcohol, and too many times, waking up in a stranger’s bed.
Ferris Jabr, reporting for Scientific American, discovers that pathological gamblers and drug addicts share many of the same genetic predispositions for impulsivity and reward seeking.
Did cocaine use by bankers cause the financial crisis?
Best Of The Web
Geraint Anderson, renegade stockbroker author of ‘Cityboy’, reflects on former drug tsar David Nutt’s opinion piece suggesting that coked-up bankers were responsible for the credit crunch.
Toxicologist Richard Church has a simple warning for young party-goers who may think the club drug 'Molly', an allegedly pure form of MDMA, is safe. "Don't trust your drug dealer," says Dr Church. Molly is not the Molly they thought it was. It is not pure.
Fry never took cocaine while he was working, on a stage or in a television studio. He would call it, rather creepily, the ‘pudding’ that would give him an extra 'reward' afterwards.
The detrimental physical effects of cocaine are well documented, but lesser known is its neurological impact on brain functioning, in areas such as attention span, decision-making and memory.
Your Brain on Porn - Scary Effects of Porn Addiction
Video
Scientists in the field of neuroscience and brain imaging are showing in study after study that high speed internet porn can change the brain just like drug addiction. This wreaks havoc on the reward/pleasure system in the brain resulting in devastating effects.
Honey, it just doesn't work if it's not on the internet
Video
Patrick Carnes is a best-selling author and a leading proponent of the viewpoint that some sexual behaviour can be seen as an addiction. Indeed it was Carnes who popularised the term 'sex addiction'.
Gambling is all around us, whether in casinos and betting shops, or in the growing number of online bingo and roulette websites. What determines who can keep it to the odd flutter, and for whom gambling can get out of control?
BBC's Weird Nature series shows how Vervet Monkeys in the Caribbean have taken to stealing cocktails from people on the beach. Studies show that they have the same percentage of teetotal and alcoholic individuals as the human population.
Reported cases of sex addiction in America are now in the millions. Some estimates suggest 3 to 5% of the American population, including stories of ordinary folk . . . like the Doherty’s from San Antonio
A short documentary looking at life the stories of eight alcoholics from their first drink, to their rock bottom, and then to their recovery. Director Mikey Trotter asks ‘what makes alcoholics drink’ and ‘how do you try and get sober.'
In making the drug illegal, the government only succeeded in compromising its quality and hiking up its price, making it not only more unaffordable, but more dangerous.
There's a tendency in economics to think that financial risk-taking is a purely cognitive activity, but as Dr John Coates explains, it's more quirky than that. Young male city traders on a winning streak shift their risk preferences and take on too much risk.
Clues from our distant ancestral past suggest that an attraction to alcohol may once have conferred an evolutionary advantage, and explain the the mystery of why we humans are often compelled to consume what is essentially a toxin.
The pleasure derived from success is borne of the very same brain pathways that make substance use so irresistible to some. Traits that make a good CEO are exactly those that make a ‘good’ addict.
Alex Aldridge, a freelance journalist writing in The Guardian, reflects on the implication given by the BBC drama Silk that cocaine use is rife in the legal profession.
When asked which drug kills the most users per year what springs to mind? Heroin? Cocaine? Certainly not Paracetamol. But prescription drug abuse is responsible for a significant number of drug related deaths across the globe.
Nina Lakhani, reporting for The Independent, asks how an unchecked culture of legal drug addiction has been allowed to flourish, with two million addicted to tranquillisers, and many thousands abusing over-the-counter painkillers.
Investigating this piece for The Mail on Sunday, Laura Topham discovered how ketamine, previously the preserve of hardcore clubbers, has became hugely popular with Britain's young upper classes.
Researchers in Germany dubbed a certain variant of the CAMK4 gene the ‘cocaine gene' after discovering that cocaine addicts were 25% more likely to carry this variant than non-users.
This piece from The Independent reveals that as far back as 2000 there was significant cause for concern that alcohol and drug taking in the legal professions was undermining public faith.
Stuart Adams has a long history of addictive behaviour, particularly problem gambling. Now receiving counselling through GamCare he is attempting to turn his life around.
The reason behind the difference in MDMA’s biological interactivity for men and women is due to women typically having lower body mass indexes, but not adjusting their dosages appropriately to account for this.
Powder cocaine has a stereotyped reputation as the ‘recreational’ drug of choice for rich high-flyers in pressured jobs, but recreation can quickly become a destructive dependency. What are the reasons for this, and how can problematic use be alleviated with treatment?
How cracking down on prescription peddling pain clinics created an even more devastating epidemic that remains ongoing and growing to this day: an eruption of widespread heroin addiction
Ketamine has been on the club scene for decades, although only quite recently are its debilitating long-term side effects coming to light. But it's also a life saver in developing countries where it serves as a cheap and available anaesthetic.
While controversy over its definition – and even its very existence – continues to foment, sex addiction, all too often steeped in shame and guilt, is a very real problem that has a spectacular ability to destroy lives and relationships.
