Our gambling addiction therapists in Peachtree City, GA will collaborate with you to identify and alter thought patterns and behaviors that drive your gambling compulsions, often employing cognitive behavioral techniques. The primary objective of this counseling is to assist you in regaining control, establishing healthier habits, and addressing any underlying emotional or psychological issues.
The length of gambling addiction counseling can differ depending on the person’s particular requirements and the seriousness of their addiction. Typically, this form of counseling includes multiple sessions spanning from several weeks to several months. The precise number of sessions and overall therapy duration are determined through discussions with the counselor.
Therapy for a Gambling Addiction in Peachtree City, GA—Counselors
When a gambling addiction develops, it changes an individual’s brain. It produces the classic symptoms of addiction, but it also responds to treatment. In particular, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy has proven an effective treatment for an addiction to gambling. Fortunately, the mental health professionals at Thriveworks Peachtree City offer therapy for gambling addiction. We know that gambling can cause significant harm, but we also know what it takes to heal. Reach out today for help.
Gambling, the Brain, and Addiction
Mental health professionals have known for a while that gambling can cause trouble in some people’s lives, but the extent to which it causes harm is just now being discovered. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) had categorized gambling compulsion in its chapter on impulse control disorders. In the current edition, DSM-5, it categorizes gambling compulsion in its chapter on addiction.
A number of studies informed this change. Researchers have studied what is happening in an individual’s brain when gambling becomes compulsive, and what is going on in the brain when people become addicted to gambling is the same as when they become addicted to shopping or sex or opioids or alcohol. When people become addicted to gambling, dopamine, a feel-good hormone, has flooded their brain. They experience a high as they gamble, and that feeling is what keeps them coming back. That feeling is what leads them to prioritize gambling over their own well-being and over the well-being of others. To recover from addiction, brain balance has to be restored.
Gambling Addiction’s Diagnostics
An individual who exhibits at least four of these for a minimum of one year may be addicted to gambling:
- Allocating more and more funds for gambling and spending more time gambling in order to experience the same high.
- Feeling irritable and restless when trying to curb gambling or stop it.
- Spending a significant amount of time on a regular basis thinking about bets, remembering past experiences of gambling, and/or making arrangement for future gambles.
- Using gambling as an escape or as a way to handle challenging circumstances and feelings like anxiety, depression, guilt, and more.
- After a loss, double down one’s efforts, trying to win the money back through more gambling.
- Lying to loved ones about how much, when, and where one gambles.
- Prioritizing gambling above all else; sacrificing relationships, financial stability, professional advancement, social opportunities, and more in order to gamble.
- Borrowing money in order to gamble; refusing to quite despite financial trouble.
Negative Thinking Patterns and Gambling Addictions
Even a passing glance at the signs of addiction can show how much harm it can cause, but these behaviors are the tip of the iceberg. Below the water is a pattern of distorted beliefs that addiction teaches people and that keep people entrapped in addiction. Two examples of these distorted beliefs include…
- Superstitions: These rituals have no physiological or logical connection to a gambler’s success or failure, but they often play a key role in addiction formation. People may fixate upon a particular article of clothing to wear or a certain slot machine to use. These superstitions can add fuel to the fire of addiction.
- Denial: Addiction keep people in denial about the trouble they are causing. Addiction often minimizes the problem or the effects. It can reframe actions to cover its tracks. Denial is a strong belief pattern.
Thriveworks Peachtree City Offers Gambling Addiction Treatment—Scheduling an Appointment
Was there anything that stood out to you as you read about gambling addiction? If you recognized any of the signs of addiction in your own life, it may be time to reach out. Consider scheduling an appointment at Thriveworks Peachtree City. Our therapists are ready to meet with you. When you contact our office, your first appointment may be within the week. We offer evening and weekend sessions, but we do not keep a waitlist. Our therapists are credentialed with many different insurance companies so they can accept a variety of insurance plans. Let’s get started. Call today.
