Gambling taruhan bola is an activity where people risk money or personal belongings for a chance at winning a prize. It can be as simple as playing scratchcards or betting on football accumulators.
Problem gambling can harm a person’s health, relationships and performance at work or school. It can also lead to financial problems and even homelessness.
Definition
In general, gambling involves risking something of value (including money) on an event that is determined at least in part by chance. The gambler hopes to win more than what he or she risked.
Many people enjoy gambling and have no problems with it, but some individuals engage in compulsive behavior that causes serious harm to their personal lives, careers, family or relationships. Problem gambling can damage health, drain savings and create debt. It can also lead to theft or fraud in order to fund the habit.
Pathological gambling is defined by a series of criteria in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), published by the American Psychiatric Association. These criteria include the following: a desire to gamble, loss of control over the behavior, preoccupation with gambling, and a pattern of behavior that includes increased amounts of time spent gambling and increasing frequency of gambling activities. A history of mood disorders has been found to be associated with pathological gambling.
Origins
The earliest forms of gambling are thought to date back to ancient times. Dice games were used to determine fate and fortune, and people bet on chariot races and gladiator fights. Some cultures embraced these games while others considered them to be a sin or a weakness. This dichotomy between attitudes toward gambling has existed throughout history.
In modern times, it’s easy to find an online casino or place a football accumulator on the internet. However, it’s difficult to understand what drives us to gamble. Many experts believe it’s a basic human desire to control the randomness that permeates the world around us.
Gambling has a long and complicated history, and its popularity continues to rise. Today, it’s estimated that Americans gamble $900 billion a year. However, there are still many laws and regulations that prohibit gambling. The reason behind this is not clear, but it may be because the risks of gambling are higher than those of other activities.
Symptoms
A person with a gambling addiction may feel depressed and anxious, have trouble sleeping, show signs of malnutrition, or develop an eating disorder. They may also steal or commit fraud in order to finance their gambling addiction or recover their losses, which can lead to serious legal consequences. Their relationships with family members and friends may be strained because they spend so much time gambling.
Compulsive gamblers often seek out the excitement of betting, as well as a way to escape painful emotions or boredom. They become restless and irritable when they try to cut back or quit gambling, especially if others are pressuring them to do so. They may lie to others about how much they gamble or keep secrets about their gambling habits. They may also begin to place larger bets in an attempt to feel the same level of excitement and risk-taking they used to experience. They may also be in debt or borrowing money from friends and family to finance their gambling habit.
Treatment
Gambling is a popular pastime for many people. It can be enjoyable and harmless, but for some it can become a serious problem that negatively affects their health and relationships. It can also strain or destroy finances, causing debt and even homelessness.
Treatments for gambling include psychotherapy, medications and self-help groups. Depending on your needs, you can stay at an inpatient rehabilitation center or find outpatient treatment programs that offer flexible schedules.
Behavioral counseling, in which you are given reinforcement for specific gambling-related behaviors, and imaginal desensitization, in which you imagine the experience of gambling without actually engaging in it, are both widely used and effective in treating compulsive gambling. One trial using imaginal desensitization showed that it can reduce key gambling-related urges effectively.
A number of studies have compared those who seek treatment for pathological gambling with those who do not, but substantial progress has been made only in the area of identifying the characteristics of clients seeking treatment and in matching them to treatment approaches.