Your emotional well-being and gambling might sometimes seem like mutually exclusive things. And to be honest, even though sometimes people simply gamble for fun and it’s not harmful, there are many times when gambling leads to catastrophic impacts on emotional well-being.
We’re going to discuss emotional well-being and gambling today so you can protect yourself that bit better. By being aware of the potential negative effects, we hope you’ll be able to stop any problem gambling signs before they become overwhelming.
Emotional well-being and gambling: know your enemy
The first thing we’ve got to do is tell you exactly how emotional well-being and gambling can have disastrous impacts on one another.
Anxiety, depression and stress are all common complaints from people who are at risk of developing serious gambling addictions. As well as that, there can be massive emotional instability driven by the high highs of winning paired with the low lows of losing.
And if you do end up with a gambling addiction, the impacts can be even more stark. Shame, guilt and hopelessness can plague you, as well as clinical depression and suicidal thoughts. This is a terrifying impact on emotional well-being and gambling addiction is the cause.
If you or a loved one ever has suicidal thoughts, it’s important to reach out immediately and get help. In the US, you can contact 988 Lifeline. Meanwhile, in the UK and Ireland, reach out to the Samaritans.
Poor emotional well-being often leads to poor decisions
Even if your emotional well-being isn’t directly connected to your relationship with gambling and/or caused by something else, it can still have an impact.
For example, when you’re not in a good frame of mind. If you’re suffering with your emotional well-being, feeling stressed, angry, even tired, you’re not going to make smart decisions when you gamble. You need all your wits about you if you’re even thinking about placing a bet. Because gambling odds are designed to make profits for big companies, not you. So it’s important you’ve full control of your emotions before you gamble.
The science behind emotional well-being and gambling
If you want to delve deeper into emotional well-being and gambling, it’s important to understand how gambling psychology works. It all comes down to how it triggers the brain’s reward system. You can feel immense joy when you win and terrible fear around losing. And this cycle creates a highly addictive loop, similar to drugs and alcohol.
Just like other addictive things, the brain learns to crave this stimulus and leads to an unhealthy dependence on something that is terrible for your mental health.
How it can affect you in your daily life
Poor emotional well-being and gambling are linked to several conditions. Some of which, we’ve already discussed such as depression and anxiety. These are often linked to addiction, as well as financial issues caused by gambling.
Another way these issues might crop up is in sleep disorders. People who are struggling with gambling addiction often complain of insomnia and sleep deprivation.
It’s also alarming to note the prevalence of developing a dependence on alcohol and drugs when you’re balancing poor emotional well-being and gambling. In this case, you might need to seek treatment for multiple addictions at once.
Finding help for emotional well-being and gambling
Thankfully, there are lots of organizations out there that can help anyone struggling with their emotional well-being and gambling. Whether you’re worried about developing one or you’re already battling addiction, the important thing is to seek help.
If you’re in the USA, you can contact the National Council for Problem Gambling. And in the UK, you can find plenty of resources at Be Gamble Aware.
