Mental illness after gambling loss

Ha Tinh 34 year old male patient, addicted to gambling, lost football betting with an amount of money believed to be billions of dong, leading to mental illness.

The patient resides in Ha Tinh city, has a history of good health, does not use stimulants, and started gambling when he was a university student, mainly betting on football with normal frequency and amount of money.

After graduating, the patient worked for a foreign company with a good income, and at the same time gambled with more money and more frequently. This situation led to family conflicts and divorce, so the man went to an internet cafe to eat, live, and play cards online every month.

According to the family, the patient spends 60-80 million VND per month on gambling, and currently has a debt of several billion VND.

A few weeks ago, he felt tired, had more low self-esteem, often had negative thoughts, lost 10 kg, had palpitations, fast heartbeat, trembling limbs, and felt hot all over. His family took him to Bach Mai Mental Health Institute ( Hanoi ) for examination.

Here, the results showed that the patient had anxiety disorder and depression, treated with medication combined with psychological counseling. Currently, the man is less anxious and can eat and sleep.

A patient is being treated by a psychologist at the Institute of Mental Health. Photo: Le Nga — A patient is being treated by a psychologist at the Institute of Mental Health. Photo: *Le Nga*

On February 26, Dr. Le Thi Thu Ha, Head of Department M7, Institute of Mental Health, said that gambling disorder (pathological gambling/gambling addiction) involves repeated gambling behavior, leading to problems for individuals, families and society.

Gambling addiction or gambling addiction is a mental disorder comparable to alcoholism or drug addiction. It is characterized by a disturbance in the brain's circuitry. The patient has four or more of the following signs: The need to gamble with increasing amounts of money to achieve the desired excitement. Restlessness or irritability when trying to cut down or stop gambling. Repeated successful attempts to control, cut down or stop gambling. Often preoccupied with gambling (e.g., having persistent thoughts about reliving past gambling experiences or planning the next adventure, thinking of ways to earn money to gamble). Lying to conceal the extent of involvement in gambling...

“People with gambling disorders may also have disturbances in eating, sleep, exercise, and other health-related behaviors, leading to negative physical and mental outcomes,” said Dr. Ha.

In particular, gambling disorders often occur concurrently with substance use disorders, emotional disorders, anxiety and personality disorders. Dr. Ha said that studies also found that people with gambling disorders have a very high rate of personality disorders, over 60%; emotional disorders about 50%; anxiety disorders over 40%.

Patients may receive psychotherapy, neuromodulation, and pharmacotherapy. After discharge, they need follow-up visits and a lot of psychological support from their families.

Le Nga

Source link