How Gambling Can Affect Your Health and Relationships
Gambling is a risky habit that many people have at some stage in their lives. It can be a fun way to spend time and money, but for some it can become a problem that is hard to control. It can also affect your health and relationships. It is illegal in most countries, but in the United States it is legal in some places and can be regulated and monitored.
There are a number of factors that can trigger gambling problems, including where you live and your family’s history of problematic gambling. Psychological disorders and conditions, such as anxiety and depression, can also increase your risk of developing a problem with gambling. The environment in which you live and the types of gambling that are available to you may also be a factor.
Your beliefs around gambling can also lead to a problem, for example, you might think that you’re more likely to win than you are or that certain rituals will bring you luck. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can help you recognise these thoughts and feelings and change them to better manage your gambling.
You can also try to find ways to prevent your gambling from causing harm, for example, by setting limits and avoiding places where you can lose too much money. You can also postpone your gambling until you’ve had a chance to get over the excitement of winning or losing.
There is also a risk that your gambling habits could be making you feel depressed and anxious, so it’s important to talk to someone about these feelings if you think they might be affecting your gambling. You can also take part in support groups that will help you to change your thinking about gambling, for example, Gamblers Anonymous.
Harmful Gambling
The word harm is used to describe negative consequences that are caused by a person’s behaviour or diagnosis, but there is still a lot of uncertainty about what this term means in terms of gambling and how it can be measured in a public health context. This has been particularly true in relation to alcohol and drugs, where there is a wide range of different classifications of harm.
It is therefore crucial to establish a more definitive definition of harm in order to allow for the assessment of gambling related harms more reliably and in a way that is consistent with other public health concerns. This is important because of the high rates of suicide and other mental health problems associated with gambling, and the high levels of stigma attached to it.
To achieve this aim, the conceptual framework and proposed definition have been developed based on the data collected from individuals who engaged in harmful gambling over the course of the project and the consultation with experts and community sources described in more detail below.
A critical feature of the definition is that it is able to capture harms across a broad range of domains in the life of the person who engages in gambling, their families and friends, and broader society. These domains include financial harms, relationship harms and impacts on the person’s health and work or study activity.