Gambling in the broad sense is considered a mental disorder associated with a person’s constant desire to gamble. In this case, dependence can arise from any type of entertainment, however, the most common variant is the harmful effect of computer games on a person.
Gambling is a mental illness that entails a number of serious consequences not only for the person himself, but also for his close environment. Dependence on computer games begins, as a rule, with a seemingly innocuous desire to relax. Gradually, the virtual world takes hold of a person’s consciousness so much that without a game he cannot survive even a minute. Recognizing the presence of gambling is not difficult. Identify a mental disorder of this type can be just a few signs.
Signs of gambling addiction:
- painful reaction to loss (in this case, not just a short-term disorder, but to a greater extent the occurrence of aggression, apathy and other pronounced emotions);
- constant desire to play, discuss games with others (the gamer's thoughts are devoted only to games, the desire to draw up a certain strategy, predict the actions of rivals, any other topics do not cause him interest);
- the emergence of a constant desire to recoup by any means (the cycle "game - loss - aggression" is repeated constantly, despite numerous failures and becomes the meaning of the gamer's life in the literal sense);
- during the game, a person is completely immersed in the virtual world, the slightest attempts to distract him cause aggression, the result of actions in the game or on the computer screen becomes the most significant event in life.
During an attack of aggression, a gamer can not only express dissatisfaction with screams, threats or other emotions, but also harm his health or even the life of a loved one. People dependent on the game can play for interest or for money, and the availability of a monetary issue does not play absolutely any role in the possible consequences for the psyche.
Gambling is a disease that goes through three stages in its development: first, a person becomes especially interested in games and chooses a specific entertainment, then he begins to constantly think about virtual events, and the result is the perception of the game as a life goal and the most important event. A person with a diagnosis of gambling can harm not only others, but also to himself. There are frequent cases of suicide among this category of patients.
If there are signs of gambling, it is necessary to seek help from specialists as soon as possible. It is very difficult to cure such a disease, therefore, attempts to cope with trouble on their own can only aggravate the clinical picture.