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Rehabilitation clinic for gambling addiction

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Gambling addiction, also called gambling addiction or gambling disorder, is the uncontrollable urge to keep gambling even though it interferes with one's life.

Gambling stimulates the brain's reward system and releases dopamine in a similar way to drugs or alcohol. It is a progressive addiction, meaning that the user develops a tolerance and needs more and more to get a "kick", which means taking bigger risks and making bigger gains. Gambling addiction can lead to withdrawal symptoms when separated from the thrill, much like a person with a drug addiction struggles when separated from their drug of choice.

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Symptoms

Gambling addiction

Gambling addiction, also called gambling addiction or gambling disorder, is the uncontrollable urge to keep gambling even though it interferes with one's life.

Gambling stimulates the brain's reward system and releases dopamine in a similar way to drugs or alcohol. It is a progressive addiction, meaning that the user develops a tolerance and needs more and more to get a "kick", which means taking bigger risks and making bigger gains. Gambling addiction can lead to withdrawal symptoms when one separates from the thrill, much like a person with a drug addiction struggles when separated from their drug of choice.

Symptoms of gambling addiction include:

The preoccupation with gambling, the constant planning of when and how to gamble, and the fantasy about gambling.
The urge to constantly increase the amount of money you play for in order to experience a high.
Feeling anxious, irritable or losing sleep when you try to stop gambling.
Gamble to escape difficult feelings such as guilt, anxiety or stress.
You gamble secretly or hide the extent of your gambling addiction from your loved ones.

As with any other addiction, people can lose control of their gambling behaviour. The need to feel "high" can lead them to gamble away more money than they want or can afford. This process can lead to destroyed relationships, severe financial losses and difficult feelings such as shame, guilt or despair.

The decision to enter rehab for gambling addiction is never an easy one. At Paracelsus Recovery, our treatment programme for gambling addiction is based on the pillars of harm reduction, treating psychological and physical imbalances and providing the specific psychotherapeutic treatment you need.

We believe that effective, non-judgmental work with the individual in an environment where they feel comfortable is the key to successful treatment. When a person begins to be overly dependent on an external substance or behaviour, they may be suffering from an excessive internal imbalance. This can include biochemical imbalances, emotional issues, trauma, relationship problems or unbearable stress levels. Our dedicated and compassionate team works exclusively with clients to identify these issues and help them restore their well-being.

We offer gambling addiction treatment in both Zurich and London.

FAQs

Excessive gambling activates the brain’s reward system in a similar manner to drugs by releasing more and more dopamine. Dopamine alone is not enough to create an addiction, it is just enough to allure people to the activity. Genetic predispositions for reward-seeking behaviours and impulsivity, environmental, psychological and biological factors all play a role in making an individual increasingly dependent upon those dopamine hits.
We use a unique, holistic approach that treats the entire person, body, mind and soul. We begin by identifying the underlying cause of gambling addiction, which is often an interplay between psychological, physical, social, spiritual and biochemical issues. We will then create an individualised treatment plan designed to address these specific imbalances. Although not mandatory, primary family members are encouraged to attend couples or family therapy sessions during the course of treatment. We can also provide an extensive aftercare and relapse-prevention programme at an additional cost.
In addition to the financial instability caused by a gambling dependency, it can also increase a person’s likelihood to experience depression, migraines, intestinal disorders and anxiety-related issues. These side effects are linked to the stress caused by addiction.
Until recently, there was much debate over whether gambling was an addiction or an impulse-control disorder. In 2013, after 15 years of research, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) officially recognised gambling as an addiction in the DSM-5. However, it is highly co-occurring with mental health disorders such as bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Yes, gambling addiction occurs when an individual becomes addicted to the process or set of behaviours associated with gambling.
Jan Gerber, MSc CEO
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