The psychotherapist explained the reasons for adult gambling addiction

Gambling addiction is most often associated with a lack of control, pleasure, and meaning in life, rather than a psychological breakdown. On April 1, Vladislav Konkin, a psychotherapist and supervisor of the Department of Psychotherapists at the Three Sisters Clinic, told Izvestia.

According to the expert, gambling addiction in adulthood is not associated with some kind of mental malfunction, but is caused by life difficulties, stress and a sense of impasse.

"Addiction is formed not because of the games themselves, but because of the scarcity in life: control, pleasure, intimacy, meaning. In this case, the game becomes a way of compensation. It gives you what a person lacks in reality," the therapist explained.

The game environment, with its clear rules and fast results, provides a sense of manageability and predictability that is often lacking in everyday life. The therapist added that there is no specific psychotype prone to gambling addiction. Most often it is a combination of personal characteristics, life situation and accessibility of the game.

"The line between hobby and addiction runs where suffering appears. This is, in general, a universal criterion," the expert noted.

According to him, if a person begins to feel regret about the time spent or important areas of life suffer — work, relationships, then this is no longer just a vacation. The therapist suggested several approaches to overcoming addiction, including acknowledging the problem without excessive self-criticism and finding alternatives that can replace the game in real life.

"But more often, the gradual path turns out to be more stable. This is a search for alternatives — what can replace the game, what forms of pleasure or engagement can appear in real life. Sometimes these are big changes, sometimes they are simple and affordable things that help reduce addiction," he stressed, adding that the main way to get rid of addiction is to work with the causes of the problem, change reality itself and create new goals in life.

Here's an adventure: What to play in April

Players will explore the depths of the Pacific Ocean, confront hostile artificial intelligence and investigate mysterious cases.

Psychologist Oleg Zakharchenko told on March 29 what real benefits modern projects bring to gamers and where the fine line of reason runs. According to him, games can temporarily reduce anxiety: studies show that even a few minutes of gameplay reduce stress levels and heart rate. This is due to distraction, the "flow" effect, and a sense of progress that stimulates the dopamine system.

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