Abstract
Gambling is an activity that has been around a long time. We can trace the practice of gambling all the way back to biblical times. There are many, many people who believe that gambling can be a very lucrative thing and can bring in a lot of profit. In many cases gambling can be very addictive and very dangerous to a person’s life. This paper will show how many relationships are damaged due to gambling. These relationships being marriages, friends, siblings, parents, co-workers, etc. In addition, this paper will give a background on gambling and show how a counselor can help one who’s life has already been damaged by gambling.
Introduction
“I’ll bet you ten dollars that Minnesota beats Dallas this weekend.” “No way, not unless you give me 10 points.” “Fine, I’ll give you Dallas plus ten points.” “You’re on!” This is a very common thing heard between friends prior to a big game. Sure, it may seem harmless at the time, but after the game someone is going o be out ten dollars, and it I guaranteed that they won’t be very happy. This can sometimes cause a problem in the relationship between the two friends. It may end up that one of them feels cheated after the game, or one does not pay, but thee are many things that can cause these two buds to wind up in an argument. Sure, some people can make friendly bets like this and nothing will happen. The truth is, though, these friendly, sometimes harmless little bets can lead to bigger, more risky wagers, which, in many cases, leads to problems. Gambling is a problem that is prevalent all across the country, whether it be legal or not. Also, it is something that practically everybody does at one time or another, sometimes they just don’t realize it. Gambling is something that, once one becomes more involved in it, the more it damages one’s personal relationships with others. Counseling a compulsive gambler is something that can not be taken lightly, it is a very serious subject in the world today. The purpose of this paper is to show how gambling can be harmful to people’s lives and provide some insight on how to provide help for them.
The Research paper on Gambling and Pathological Problem
Prior to the case studies and research reports by known psychologist of our time, gambling is see as an act of passing away the time in a friendly atmosphere of playing for money. When gambling is becoming a habit for someone, gambling started to connote as an act that is bad, especially when the person involved in gambling bets his money allocated for the need of his family for food and rent. ...
The Background of Gambling
Gambling is something that has been around for quite some time. It comes in many different forms, so sometimes it is very hard to notice. For example, if a person walks across the street at a crosswalk, where the light is green and the sign says walk, they are still taking the chance that a car will not run the red light and hit them. So, in essence they are taking a gamble that the person in the car will obey the traffic law of stopping at a red light. In this sense, people gamble every day of their lives.
The most commonly noticed, and most dangerous forms of gambling usually deal with playing cards, and/or casinos. Betting on horse races or sports games are also among the common forms of gambling that are considered illegal in many of the U.S. states. These forms of gambling can cause the most problems in peoples lives.
Gambling is all based in chance. People take a chance in cards, for example, that they will get closer to 21 than the dealer will, and they bet obscene amounts of money on it. After losing an
obscene amount of money, people tend to continue to place bets until they have either won their money back, or lost it all. Usually it’s the latter, which makes gambling a dead end street, with no hope of ever turning around. Once one is sucked in, it is nearly impossible to get out. (Peterson, 1974, p. 161)
This excerpt sums what exactly gambling is capable of. There are many people who go to casinos, or place bets of football games because it is a form of entertainment for them. It can be fun and it can be entertaining, if it is done in the right context. First, it must be done in moderation. One who places many bets for huge chunks of money every week, has a problem. One who goes to the casino once every two or three months with extra money they happen to have, or one who makes a friendly wager over a basketball game, which might not even include any type of currency, would be okay. It is the people who receive a major high from risking a lot of money on a card game, and who enjoy it so much that they do it often that need help. It is the compulsive gamblers that are the ones who really need help.
The Essay on People often complain about life in the U.S.
People complain when most of their needs are not met. The irony of it lies when complaints are just piled up without any further insights on how to solve such problems. In the long run, complaints become a part of the lifestyle of people who are good at pointing at the loopholes most especially of the government, and of the leaders. As there would always be a reason for every action that is done, ...
What makes one a compulsive gambler? This is a question that many counselors should be aware of.
A compulsive gambler is one who can never turn down a wager, not matter how high it is, nor how much risk is involved, would be considered a compulsive gambler. One who lives their lives in a way in which they rely on gambling as a form of making money, would be considered a compulsive gambler. (Larkin and Griffiths, 1998, p. 77)
A compulsive gambler is one who needs a lot of help. Chances are they are single. If they are not single, their marriage is struggling. This is not meant to be a stereotype, but some research has shown that 90% of marriages that involve a compulsive gambler ends in divorce (Winter and Rich, 1998).
A short description of a compulsive gambler’s behavior would be as follows: disregard for other people’s needs, low self-esteem, a feeling that there is something missing in their lives, and in many cases a compulsive gambler will rely on alcohol for help, instead of seeking help elsewhere. Of course, there are some exceptions to these characteristics, but not many. It s true that there are some people who make their living off of gambling and it has paid off for them. The chances of it actually paying off are close to one in a million, but there are a few people out there who make money off of gambling. It is these people who set bad examples for everyone else. If someone sees a story on the news about someone winning millions at the casino, it will only encourage them to go and try to do the same. Once one begins to gamble moderately, if they are not careful, they will turn into compulsive gamblers. “Seven times out of ten, those who start off gambling conservatively, will end up in over their heads” (Rogers, 1998, p. 121).
The Essay on Problem gambling
Gambling is something that people are capable of enjoying once in a while, but for others it can turn into an activity that is hard to control. Gambling is the act of risking money, property, or something of value on an activity that has an uncertain outcome. This can include, lotteries and bingos, card games, going to casinos, buying multiple kinds of tickets, making bets, and games such as pool, ...
What this means is that if people chose to start gambling for fun, they could end up becoming more and more addicted to the gambling pastime, which can only lead to trouble.
One of the main areas of a person’s life that is most effected by their gambling problem is their relationships. Once one begins to gamble more and more frequently, they tend to cut off most of the relationships with the important people in their lives. When a family member, friend, or even spouse confronts a person with a gambling problem their first instinct is to deny they even have a problem. This starts arguments and creates tension between the gambler and his family member, friend, spouse, etc. This tension is what leads to broken relationships in the gambler’s life (Larkin and Griffiths, 1998).
Is at this point that one needs to seek professional help. A well recommended form of help would be to seek the advice of a counselor, a psychologist. It is their job to find out how deep the individuals problem lies. It is only with this help that one can truly see what their problem is doing to their life. It is easy for other’s to see the damage that gambling is doing to one’s life, but it is difficult to for the person with the problem to see the actual effects of the problem.
Solutions
There are several solutions to the gambling problem that plagues today’s society. The most common answer is to ban gambling in the United States altogether, just make it illegal. Many states have already done so, but it still seems to be a big problem. People still find ways to gamble. Whether it be card games in the privacy of their own home, driving out of state to a place where gambling is legal, and so on. One solution that could possibly work is to advertise more about how gambling ruins lives. Statistics of people losing it all compared to those who actually win should be more readily available to the public. “Casinos usually rake in hundreds of thousands of dollars in a single day” (Eadington, 1999, p. 184).
The Term Paper on What Are The Main Problems Experienced By Young People?
Young people are often told, “teenage years are the best years of your life – treasure it”. In town, happy groups of secondary and college students roam the streets, appearing energetic and radiant. However, this is only part of the picture. In Singapore, many problems arise among teenagers. Yearly, figures of depression rates among teenagers escalate and we cannot help but ...
The numbers of losers to winners is unreal. People should be made more aware of this. Also, people who know others with a gambling problem should help them to seek the help they need. They need to be more vocal and more aggressive in getting people help. This also means that counselors and those who will be sought after for help should be aware of the problems that compulsive gamblers face. They should be ready to deal with the tough problems that are being put in front of them.
Counseling A Compulsive Gambler
Counseling a compulsive gambler is not an easy task. As was mentioned before, one needs to be knowledgeable about the problems of gamblers and how they can help. “People with gambling problems need to be cut off from gambling altogether. They need to have it cut out of their lives permanently” (Winters and Rich, 1998).
A counselor needs to be aware of this fact. If one was to use the behavioral contract approach with a client who has a severe problem with gambling, they need to make sure that any and all forms of gambling are not used as any type of reward. Clients who are seeking help with their problem are going to need to be taught to focus more on the family. Whether it be their marriage, their parents, or their siblings, it is important to help them build stronger relationships within their families in order for them to solve their problem (Morgan and McMillan, 1997).
This is a key point to focus on when counseling a compulsive gambler. Request to them that they spend more time with family members, or friends. As long as they are spending time with people who are good influences on them, they will start to get rid of their problem. One thing that is important to keep in mind is that a compulsive gambler will always be a compulsive gambler. This is why they need to have no contact with any form of gambling whatsoever. As soon as they begin to start gambling again, even just once, their problem will start up again.
The Essay on Gambling Problems Gamble Money
The subject of gambling is greatly argued in America. Gambling has unexpectedly become a great source of entertainment for people of all ages. Also Gambling has basically become a "sport" for those who are interested. Last, if done responsibly, gambling is harmless fun. Problems in gambling can lead to financial ruin, legal problems, loss of career and family, or even suicide. In this case ...
Once again, counseling a compulsive gambler is not an easy task. The counselor must be dedicated to the task. The counselor should not be one who passes any sort of judgement on the client. The counselor should talk through the problem with the client, using appropriate posture and eye contact to let the client know the attention is focused solely on them. While talking the problem through, the counselor should hopefully learn the root of the problem, thus helping him start the process of helping. The client will probably be coming in with many excuses for his or her problem. The counselor should keep the client’s focus ion their goal. Their goal should be to kick the habit of gambling. The counselor should be aware of the other lives that the client’s problems are effecting. That way the counselor can possibly get a hold of those people and allow them to act as witnesses to the client’s reaching of the goal. The counselor should get some sort of commitment out of the client. If the client just walks away without any type of program or contract to follow, he or she will probably not be successful in reaching the goal. The counselor should also check up on the client to make sure all is going according to plan.
One major thing a counselor can do for a compulsive gambler is to get them addicted to something else. They should focus the clients attention away from gambling. The counselor could get them started on a new hobby that could fill the void in their life that the lack of gambling will cause. Such things as movies, sports cards, video games, and models could be used. Also, things like yard work, and other work around the house could be positive activities. There are many things that one could try to focus the gambler’s attention on. As long as the counselor makes sure that there is no gambling involved, in any form. This could be the counselor’s main focus in his counseling of a compulsive gambler.
Conclusion
As one can see, gambling can be very damaging to one’s life. As the saying goes, with gambling ‘even if you win, you lose.’ This is very true, because those who win millions at a casino are likely to not know how to manage that large amount of money. There have been many cases where a big winner has turned out to be the big loser by gambling it all away, spending it all to fast, etc. In some cases this has lead to suicide. Suicide is also an effect of people who lose big. The amount of gambling related suicides has tripled in the past twenty years (Blaszczynski, 1998).
The Term Paper on The Range Of Client Problems And The Helping Skills Used With Clients
The Range of Client Problems and the Helping Skills Used with Clients Buddha once said, “If you light a lamp for someone else it will also brighten your path”. The purpose of helping is to assist others in learning to overcome and/or cope with the problems they face in every day life. Those providing the help often do so to feel a sense of purpose by making a positive impact on other’s lives. In ...
This is why it is so important for people to seek help if they know they have a problem, or for others to seek help for them. If gambling continues to be such a significant part of American’s lives, there is little hope for the high divorce rate and suicide rate to decrease in this country. Something needs to be done about this dangerous hobby and counseling is definitely a step in the right direction.
References
Barthelme, F., & Barthelme, S. (1999).
Good losers. The New Yorker, LXXV, 46-61.
Bergler, E. (1958).
The psychology of gambling. London: International Press.
Blaszczynksi, A. & Farrell, E. (1998).
A case series of 44 completed gambling related suicides. Journal of Gambling Studies, 14, 93-110.
Eadington, W. (1999).
The economics of casino gambling. The Journal of
Economic Perspective, 13 (3), 172-193.
Forshy , G. (1998).
Lonely crusade: Fighting the gambling industry. The
Christian Century, 115, 1052-1057
Larkin, M. & Griffiths, M. (1998).
Response to Schaffer (1996): The case for a ‘complex systems’ conceptualization of addiction. Journal of Gambling Studies, 14, 73-82.
Morgan, B., & Mac Millan, P. (1997).
Helping clients move to constructive change: A three-phase integrated counseling model. Journal of Counseling and Development, 77, 153-159.
Peterson, W. (1974).
What You Should Know About Gambling. New Canaan, CT: Keats Publishing.
Rogers, P. (1998).
The cognitive psychology of lottery gambling: A theoretical review. Journal of Gambling Studies, 14, 111-133.
Winters, K., & Rich, T. (1998).
A twin study of adult gambling behavior. Journal of Gambling Studies. 14, 213-226.