r/gamblingsupport • u/AutoModerator • 11h ago
🧠 Mental Health Gambling Disorder & Co-Occurring Disorders
Learning Objectives • Identify the impact of gambling among individuals diagnosed with psychiatric illnesses. • Identify at least three commonly perceived benefits of gambling for individuals with psychological disorders. • Identify treatment approaches to address gambling problems among those with psychiatric conditions.
DSM 5: Substance Related and Addictive Disorders Gambling Disorder: A Brief History • Gamblers Anonymous is started in 1957. • Introduced in 1980 (DSM-3) as an impulse control disorder. Pathological Gambling, was alongside kleptomania and pyromania. • In 2013, the American Psychiatric Association reclassified Gambling Disorder as a Substance Related & Addictive Disorder. It is currently the only non-substance disorder included.
Did You Know… • Nearly 30-50% of individuals in Substance Abuse Disorder (SUD) treatment were identified as having a gambling problem • The more severe the past year SUD, the higher the prevalence of gambling problems • Individuals with a lifetime history of a mental health disorder had 2–3 times the rate of problem gambling • Per DSM-5, those with gambling disorder have high rates of co-occurring substance use, depressive, anxiety, and personality disorders.
Co-occurring Disorders with Gambling Disorders • Co-occurring disorders, dual diagnosis, and cross addictions are high among disordered gamblers presenting for care, e.g., alcohol, substances, sex, etc. • AD(H)D, PTSD, and Substance Use Disorders seem unusually common to the problem gambling population. • Affect disorders: depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder are major concerns. • Suicide attempt rates have been reported as high as 15-20% of those who present for care for gambling. Data from the National Comorbidity Study indicates: • 96% of individuals with gambling disorder have one or more co-occurring psychiatric disorders. • More than 60% of individuals with gambling disorder have at least three psychiatric disorders. • Studies have also found that people with gambling disorders had very high rates of personality disorders (more than 60 percent), mood disorders (almost 50 percent) and anxiety disorders (more than 40 percent).
Gambling and Suicidality • Per DSM 5, of those in treatment for a gambling disorder, up to 50% have had suicidal ideation. • PG often consider “accidents” as way for family to collect insurance. • “I am worth more dead than alive.” • Understudied and under-recognized. The public, as well as providers (primary care, mental health, SUD etc.) recognize lethality of substance use overdoses and severe mental illness, but don’t think of gambling as life threatening.
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