Understanding Behavioral Addictions Research Assignment (Essay Sample)

Understanding Behavioral Addictions
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Understanding Behavioral Addictions
Introduction
Gambling can be defined as the act of playing games of chances with the aim of acquiring money. In some states, gambling has been legalized while in some this is not the case. Compulsive gambling is a mental disorder. It is characterized by a continuous loss of control over gambling by an individual, and he tends to be preoccupied with gambling such that when he gets the money he always bets and he has become addicted to this act. Most of the people today are addicted to gambling since they think it is an easier way of getting rich. The culture has influenced people’s view of gambling. In some communities, gambling was just a game aim at bringing out the fun part of life (Van & Davis, 2016).
Moreover, some people adopted it and made it a lifestyle, and this became a part of the reason why they are addicted to it. In a survey conducted among 2630 Americans, it was evident that men and women gambled equally but men were more of risk takers compared to women. Therefore, this paper looks at compulsive gambling, its treatment which includes administration of drugs to the patient and the challenges that may arise in his treatment where the patient may either give the doctor wrong information or he may not be willing to provide him with information.
A commonly used treatment protocol of gambling is the administration of medication such as mood stabilizers and antidepressants to the addicted person. He is given these drugs since may be from the fact that he is a compulsive gambler due to depression which, may be caused by personal problems. They are therefore given these drugs to help the individual come out of the state of depression which is a cause of his gambling habit (Yakovenko & David, 2012). In addition to that, he may also be given narcotic antagonists which are used to treat substance abuse. Various challenges come up with the treatment. The first is that the gambler may be reluctant in answering the questions asked by the doctor. At times, these people tend to respond wrongly leading to the wrong diagnosis.
I would integrate a strength-based perspective when dealing with his addiction. I would focus on the patient’s likes and use what he loves to get useful information from him (Langham, Erika, 2017). For example, if the person loves going for nature walks, I would go for a nature walk w...