January4
Gambling Addiction
It turns out that gambling addiction is a medical condition. It fits into the category of Obsessive Compulsive Spectrum disorders which also includes Aspergers, Tourettes and Trichotillimania (unstoppable hair eating).
Recent research has concluded that the same drugs used for substance abuse.
Pathological Gambling May Be Successfully Treated with Medications for Substance Addiction. Pathological gambling can be successfully treated with medications that decrease urges and increase inhibitions. Researchers found positive outcomes in gamblers treated with medications often used for substance addictions when treatment were individualized based on unique subtype (urge driven; lack inhibition).
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I had an interesting conversation with a psychologist a few weeks ago who helped treat problem gamblers. She suggested that there were at least three different broad groups that the people fit into, which required different treatment and had different prognoses.
I also heard a sad radio story of a gambler who lost a lot of her belongings, friends and family after changing medication for an unrelated condition. It seems one of the side-effects affected brain function. When she changed medication again, her compulsion to gamble quickly faded.
Perhaps the Obsessive Compulsive Spectrum only describes some patients?
Is this related to Oxytocin?
Julian - I’m no pyschologist but my limited experience of mental health suggests that the labels and diagnosis for these types of illnesses are quite vague and change from person to person.
For example, OCS refers to syndromes and disorders similar to but not Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.
jackt- No. Oxytocin is a hormone released in the body to increase risk taking and promote trust. It does relate to con artists but I’ve not heard of link between compulsive gambling and oxytocin.