Gambling and its relationship with suicide

Gambling is extremely common in modern society, since they have been accompanying the human being for centuries and are ubiquitous in almost all societies and cultures.

In a game of chance, the participant risks a certain amount of money or material goods with the belief that “something” (we define a game, sport, career, etc. as something) will have an outcome predictable. The winning person multiplies the amount wagered and obtains benefits, to the detriment of all the other participants who have lost.

In the United States, an estimated 78% of the population has ever played a game of chance. This figure is not surprising at all when we go to economic figures, since organizations in this country calculate an annual expenditure of about 300 million dollars only on online gambling. In the poker houses of this region, 1,900 million dollars are invested annually, while lotteries intercept about 80,000 million in the same time interval.

All these data show us a more than clear reality: bets are the order of the day and, with them, the increase in the incidence of gambling. Then,

We explain everything you need to know about the relationship between gambling and suicide.

• Related article: "The 14 most important types of addictions"

What is compulsive gambling?

A gambling person is one who is forced, by a completely uncontrollable psychological urge, to gamble and risk their assets in a sick and progressive way. Today, the official document on psychological disorders "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders" (DSM-5) classifies pathological gambling as an addiction, similar to what happens with chemicals that generate dependence.

For a person to be considered a gambler, they must meet 4 or more of the following criteria for a period of 12 months or more:

• The patient needs to bet more and more money to reach the desired level of arousal.
• He is upset or irritated when he tries to drop gambling.
• He has tried to stop gambling several times, to no avail.
• You have persistent thoughts around the world of gambling.
• You resort to gambling when you feel negative emotions.
• He resorts to the fallacy of "trying to get the money back the next day" after losing large amounts.
• Lies when it comes to recognizing his level of involvement in the game world.
• He has lost relationships, jobs, or educational paths in order to keep gambling.
• Trust others to cover your financial losses.

As we have seen, a person must meet at least 4 of these requirements to be considered a potential psychological patient with gambling. In the United States, the prevalence of this disorder ranges from 0.1% to 6% of the total population., depending on the studies and nuclei consulted. This roughly translates to nearly 6 million people who need psychological treatment for their gambling problems.

• You may be interested in: "Suicides: Facts, Statistics, and Associated Mental Disorders"

Gambling and suicide: two sides of the same coin

There are multiple studies that have linked gambling with suicide, but one is particularly striking: Problem gambling and suicidality in England: secondary analysis of a representative cross-sectional survey, which was published in the medical journal Public Health in 2020, very recently.

In this research, a random sample group of 7,403 adults residing in England was collected, and an attempt was made to correlate the gambling problem with a higher probability of presenting thoughts suicidal. To the surprise of few, gambling patients had almost 20% suicidal tendencies, compared to 4% of the total population. Exactly, the probability of considering suicide was 5.3 times higher in people who had a problem with gambling.

We go further then 4.7% of gambling patients had not only thought about suicide, but had attempted it. There is much more data that allows us to quantify the clear link between the game and this event, since in some hospitals (in this case the Alfred Hospital's emergency department, Australia) up to 17% of those admitted after a suicide attempt in 2010 were gamblers.

What is the reason for this correlation?

Gambling, like any other chronic addiction, affects the patient physically and emotionally severely. For example, various medical sources estimate that people with gambling problems have twice the likely to suffer from depression, and are up to 18 times more likely to suffer emotional distress from their difficult situation.

In addition to these data, it should be noted that this correlation is not unidirectional. A person can develop depression derived from the effects of gambling (economic loss, lack of work, social isolation, etc.), but it is also possible for a depressed person to try to find excitement in the game. The causality of both events depends on each person and case.

For example, a person with a lack of goals and / or depression may turn to gambling to escape from their negative emotions or, failing that, to feel that they are part of a dynamic and collective concrete. Playing can become a routine.

It is not difficult to imagine why suicidal tendencies accumulate in a gambling person: lack of money implies inability to achieve goals, uncertainty, anxiety and chronic stress and feelings of abandonment.

Thus, the high rates of suicidal ideation and suicide attempts secondary to gambling are well established among those with problem gambling disorders. However, major depression (current or past) is a clear predictor of suicide risk among pathological players. In this sense, comorbid depression in pathological gamblers would further increase the risk of suicide (Guillou-Landreat et al., 2016).

To do?

As you may have seen, it is clear that gambling is linked to suicide. Among the many potential adverse consequences of gambling, the most serious is behavior suicidal, as 20% of pathological gamblers will attempt suicide during their lifetime (Moghaddam et al., 2015).

There are risk factors that increase the relationship between pathological gambling and suicide. First, there is the financial stress that has been associated with player suicide, either directly or indirectly, due to relationship between financial problems and increased family conflict, which in turn is associated with increased suicidality (Bucha nan et al., 2020; Carr et al., 2018). It is clear that suicidal thoughts in addicts are common and more than documented.

If you have seen yourself reflected in any of the points mentioned when diagnosing a gambling patient, it is important that you seek professional help and do not let time pass. The G.SIN Psychology Clinic Addictions, specialized in addiction to gambling, is directed by the psychologist Sara Meca, with experience in addictive disorders. The sooner the problem is addressed, the less it will cost to overcome it. These types of problems can be treated pharmacologically and / or psychologically, so seeking treatment is the wisest decision that any sick person can make.

Bibliographic references:

• Buchanan, T. W., McMullin, S. D., Baxley, C., & Weinstock, J. (2020). Stress and gambling. Current Opinion in Behavio ral Sciences, 31, 8–12. https://doi. org / 10.1016 / j.cobeha.2019.09.004
• Clark, L., Averbeck, B., Payer, D., Sescousse, G., Winstanley, C. A., & Xue, G. (2013). Pathological choice: the neuroscience of gambling and gambling addiction. Journal of Neuroscience, 33 (45), 17617-17623.
• Fong, T. W. (2005). The biopsychosocial consequences of pathological gambling. Psychiatry (Edgmont), 2 (3), 22.
• Guillou-Landreat, M., Guilleux, A., Sauva get, A., Brisson, L., Leboucher, J., Re maud, M., Challet-Bouju, G., & Grall- Bronnec, M. (2016). Factors associated with suicidal risk among a French cohort of problem gamblers seeking treatment. Psychiatry Research, 240, 11–18. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. psychres.2016.04.008.
• Moghaddam, J. F., Yoon, G., Dickerson, D. L., Kim, S. W., & Westermeyer, J. (2015). Suicidal ideation and suicide attempts in five groups with different severities of gambling: Findings from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions. American Journal on Addictions, 24 (4), 292–298. https://doi. org / 10.1111 / ajad.12197
• The epidemiology and impact of gambling disorder and other gambling-related harm, WHO.
• Wardle, H., John, A., Dymond, S., & McManus, S. (2020). Problem gambling and suicidality in England: secondary analysis of a representative cross-sectional survey. Public Health, 184, 11-16.