Dangers of gambling

A first gain experience may give the impression of being lucky or knowing how to master the game. However, we have no power over the randomness of games of chance  and in the long term, we can only lose. These losses then feed the urge to play to catch up with our losses. Instead of being a solution, then the game makes things worse! It’s a vicious circle. This can quickly lead to an addiction which may have an impact in different spheres of life: money, friends, children, dignity and confidence.

Compulsive gambling has serious consequences. These effects are particularly insidious, since they affect almost all areas of the player’s life. It can have serious consequences on your finance, family and in terms of your health and relation with your loved ones.

Financial problems include debts, blocked credit cards, unpaid bills, mortgages, personal loans, checks without funds, housing evictions, forced home sales, bankruptcies, excessive debt, illegal acts of fraud or theft, and this can sometimes lead to jail time. Work and study problems involve absenteeism, delays, thefts, irritability, sleeplessness, job loss, bankruptcy, dropping out of school, decreasing quality of work. With respect to family and entourage, a normal family life becomes difficult to maintain when the gambler spends more and more time playing games or thinking about them. Issues encompass difficulties within the family or couple, neglect of children or disputes within a couple, neglecting your family and loved ones, isolation, loneliness, violent reactions from your partner.

Half of the children of compulsive gamblers become addicts themselves. Often this leads to separation or divorce. Regarding health, self-confidence declines as the loss of money increases, suicide attempts or suicidal ideation are common, as well as irritability, lack of taste for anything, emptiness without play, stress, anxiety, mood swings, hyperactivity, attention problems, obsessive compulsive disorder, and depression. Some physical symptoms are muscle tension, fatigue, stomach illness, insomnia, ulcers, inflammation of the colon, high blood pressure, migraines, and skin problems. To cope with their anxiety and depression, it is frequent for the addict to turn to cigarettes, alcohol or other drugs.

For young children a later addiction can start with video games. Video games are a very popular type of game for many people, especially children who may spend much time watching a television screen or play on the computer. You should know that addiction to video games can have a negative impact, particularly in children’s development. Accordingly parents need to have a better understanding about the dangers of video games, especially for your children.

There is a danger to the physical health of the child. If a child plays video games a long time, there is rarely physical activity at all. Recently, some video game manufacturers are already changing the game system to be more interactive. However, these changes still cannot replace the benefits of running, jumping, and other physical games. Thus, many people believe that video games contribute greatly to the problem of obesity. In addition to obesity, the dangers of video games for physical health can also cause children to experience muscle spasms. Video games can also have an impact in their real world. Because many children imitate their heroes in the game, this can lead the child to violence against his friends.

There are of course dangers to the child’s psychology as well. Video games have a large psychological impact on children. Therefore the choice of games is important. Many video games contain violence. If children imitate these games in real life, it will affect their psychological growth. Research has shown that children who spend much time with video games have a more aggressive personality and tend to behave less well with their environment. Children may be aggressive toward their friends, teachers and even parents.

How to face the danger of video games? There are several steps you can do to help children avoid the dangers of video games. Limit their time playing video games, a maximum of 2 hours per day and only on weekends. Keep an eye on them when they play and make sure they do not imitate the bad things that may exist in some video games. Be sure to choose the type of game that is educational and age appropriate for your children. Do not place the video game device in the nursery. Put the game in the family room so you can always keep an eye on them. And let the children understand that real life is not what they see in video games.

 

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    This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 7th, 2012 at 5:46 am and is filed under news. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.