What is cyber addiction and how is it treated in therapy?

Currently there is an increase in cases related to gambling addiction, and this is owes in large part to the popularization of online platforms that are offered as "casinos digital ”.

This has led to a form of gambling associated with new technologies, a phenomenon that affects younger and younger people and that can cause serious damage both emotionally and behaviorally and socially.

In this article we will see what this kind of psychological alterations framed within cyber gambling or pathological gambling associated with online gambling, a type of addiction without substance that is no less dangerous, and the way in which going to therapy helps to overcome the disorder and turn the page.

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The main characteristics of cyberludopathy

Cyber ​​gambling operates in the affected person in the same way as any other addictive disorder, since in it the same reward circuits intervene, which are stimulated each time the action towards which the person develops is carried out dependence.

These brain circuits are responsible for generating a feeling of pleasure or well-being in the person with said addiction., as well as maintaining the addictive behavior in a sustained way over time to obtain the desired sensation and avoid discomfort by not relapsing. In turn, what is known as tolerance occurs: the person increasingly needs to delve deeper into the addiction to obtain the desired experience. In the case of gambling or cyber gambling, this involves betting more and more, which leads, in most cases, to debt.

In the case of cyber gambling, addictive behavior occurs in various forms and it can be both sports betting and online slots and other digital gambling.

With that said, let's see what are the main characteristics of cyber problem.

1. Obsessive thoughts

The essential characteristic of people with cyber addiction, as in other addictions, are the constant and recurring thoughts about performing the action that generates well-being again.

People with this addiction tend to spend all day anticipating the moment when they will be able to gamble again, play or perform any type of action, and in the same way, they experience a feeling of discomfort while they are not Playing.

In addition, there comes a point where these types of thoughts keep them busy throughout the day and prevent them properly perform any other activity or paid work, thus endangering their social life and professional.

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2. Humor changes

People with cyber gambling or classic gambling may feel irritable or restless when they are not gambling or gambling. This also happens when trying to reduce the frequency of bets, something that they generally do not end up achieving on their own.

Changes in the personality and mood of the person are another of the classic symptoms that indicate that we are facing a case of addiction and these they are magnified as the person sinks deeper into their alteration.

Bad moods, unpleasant or out-of-tone responses, aggressiveness towards other people and even physical violence are frequent and very distinctive signs of this type of alteration based on addiction.

• Related article: "Pathological gambling: causes and symptoms of gambling addiction"

3. Various profiles

Although there is a common tendency to think that gambling affects more adult or middle-aged men, the truth is that the new forms of online gambling have led to the appearance of new profiles of addicted people, mainly adolescents, many of them minors.

The immediacy of new technologies and the possibility of betting at any time 24 hours a day is an element that favors the appearance of new addicts almost daily.

4. Impact on social relationships

These sudden mood swings often affect the people around them, too. They tend to pay for the frustration and discomfort felt by the person who is going through a situation of addiction.

It is common for a person with compulsive gambling see their social relationships progressively affected both in the field of friendships and at work, as well as family or partner relationships.

This situation ends up favoring said person isolating himself from his social environment, as well as from his loved ones, even going so far as to separate or divorce his partner.

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5. Impact in the workplace

In the same way, with a situation of cyberludopathy there is a high probability that the person will end up losing their jobSince during the day you can only focus on your addiction and the discomfort caused by not gambling or gambling.

As indicated, the relationship with co-workers is also affected, who often may be able to detect said addiction, in cases in which it is already in very advanced.

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6. Avoidance of daily problems

All the aforementioned problems very negatively affect the emotional well-being of the person, a fact that pushes him to continue doing the activity to which he is addicted in order to avoid them.

In this way, a feedback dynamic is produced in which the worse the addicted person's situation is, the greater his or her addictive behavior becomes and vice versa.

7. Altered perception of reality

It is common for most people with cyberludopathy to have their perception of the reality of unconsciously and feel able to control their addiction problem, when in reality it is not So.

In other cases they consider that they are experts in the operation of games of chance or that they are capable of detecting when the machine is "hot" or about to give the award.

• Related article: "17 curiosities about human perception"

8. Bet more and more

Addictions usually cause a situation of tolerance in the person, consisting in that each time needs more doses of the substance to which she is addicted or a greater amount of reward to feel the same wellness.

Exactly the same thing happens in the case of gambling or cyber gambling; that is to say, the affected person tends to bet more and more to continue feeling the same emotion as at the beginning.

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How do you intervene in therapy?

The recovery process after having developed an addiction takes several months and involves seeing mental health professionals specialized in addictive disorders as soon as possible.

In the case of cyberludopathy, support during the first hours and days without playing is critical, because in this first stage the discomfort shoots up quickly; however, in therapy the person is helped to manage anxiety and the rest of the unpleasant emotions and feelings associated with the avoidance of relapse.

In the second phase of treatment, mental health professionals help the person to cope with dysfunctional beliefs that were wearing down the person's self-confidence, and is also helped to detect trap thoughts that precede relapse (the excuses that many patients give themselves up without realizing it so that they can fall into addiction again without feeling too bad thus).

In addition, among other therapeutic processes, guidelines and routines are offered to make the person's daily and social environment less risky to return to gambling. In the case of cyber gambling, this can happen by using tricks to stop having easy access to certain websites or stimuli, and by learn to segment goals into smaller sub-goals to know at all times whether or not progress is being made, as well as to self-motivate better.

If necessary, You can also count on the support of psychotropic drugs for anxiety management, although in these cases it should always be done under medical supervision and following the guidelines of the team of mental health experts.

In the last stage of the intervention, follow-up sessions are held to resolve doubts, find out about the progress of the effects of the treatment, and detect risk situations that increase the chances of relapse, to act in time.