Researchers have noticed a high correlation between problem gambling and alcoholism. This probably comes as no surprise to anyone who has interacted with a person who has a gambling disorder. With gambling terminals built into bar tops and cocktails waitresses circulating through the gaming floor, casinos can be dangerous places for anyone with a tendency towards gambling or alcohol addiction and fraught with peril for those who suffer from both. If you suffer from both addictions, you can attend gambling addiction treatment centers for gambling addiction help.
Impulsivity
One of the defining features shared by individuals who suffer from addictions to both gambling and alcohol is impulsivity. The environment of a casino is a particularly dangerous place to act on a whim, with many places to overextend your finances and many tempting rewards seemingly within reach. Since an early symptoms of inebriation is impairment of judgment, it makes sense that casinos are almost uniformly structured around bars offering cheap or even free alcoholic beverages. Their aim is to ramp that impulsivity up by reducing their patron’s ability to think logically about consequences.
Alcohol also acts to loosen emotional restraints, amplifying the high the gambler experiences during winsand shaping the way the session is remembered later. These effects can be further ratcheted up by gambling in groups – either one you brought into the casino or new no judgement friends you made while you were there. It is common for individuals who suffer from alcohol addiction to seek out casinos because higher levels of intoxication are normalized there so they feel less social stigma for their drinking habits.
Feedback Loop
Gambling and alcohol addictions can contribute to a feedback loop that exacerbates the situation of both mental health disorders, and most casinos are structured to heavily take advantage of this. If you or a loved one has any inclination towards one of these addictive behaviors, trips to a casino should be treated with the utmost caution.
If you or someone you know is addicted to alcohol and gambling give us a call at (833) 596-3502 to talk with us about medically supervised alcohol detox and our gambling addiction treatment services.