What is cyberludopathy and how is it treated in therapy?

These are the characteristics of cyberludopathy, its associated symptoms, and its treatment.

There is currently an increase in cases related to gambling addiction, and this is largely due to the popularization of online platforms that offer themselves as "digital casinos".

This has given rise to a form of pathological gambling associated with the new technologiesThis phenomenon is affecting more and more young people and can cause serious emotional, behavioral and social damage.

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

The main characteristics of cyberlutopathy.

Cyber-ludopathy operates in the affected person in the same way as any other addictive disorder does, since it involves the same reward circuits, which are stimulated every time the action towards which the person develops dependence is carried out.

These brain circuits are responsible for generating a feeling of pleasure or well-being in the person who presents such addiction, as well as for maintaining the addictive behavior.They are also responsible for maintaining the addictive behavior in a sustained manner over time in order to obtain the desired sensation and avoid the discomfort of relapsing. At the same time, what is known as tolerance is produced: the person needs to go deeper and deeper into the addiction to obtain the desired experience. In the case of pathological gambling or cybergambling, this involves gambling more and more, which leads, in most cases, to getting into debt.

In the case of cyberlutopathy, addictive behavior comes in various forms and can be either sports betting or gambling. can be sports betting as well as online slots and other digital gambling..

Having said that, let's see what are the main characteristics of cyberlutopathy.

1. Obsessive thoughts

The essential characteristic of people with cyberlutopathy, as with all other addictions, are constant and recurrent thoughts about doing again the action that generates their well-being..

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

In addition, there comes a point at which this type of thoughts keeps them busy throughout the day and prevents them from properly performing any other activity or paid work, thus jeopardizing their social and professional life.

2. Mood swings

People who present a case of cyberlutopathy or classic pathological gambling may feel irritable or restless when they are not playing or gambling. This also happens when trying to reduce the frequency of gambling, something they usually do not manage to do on their own.

Changes in the person's personality and mood are another of the classic symptoms that indicate that we are dealing with a case of addiction. are magnified as the person sinks deeper into his or her disorder..

Bad mood, unpleasant or out-of-tone answers, aggressiveness towards other people and even physical violence are frequent and very distinctive signs of this type of addiction-based disorder.

3. Diverse profiles

Although it is usually thought that pathological gambling affects more adult or middle-aged men, the fact is that new forms of online gambling have led to the emergence of new profiles of addicts, mainly adolescents, many of whom are minors.many of them minors.

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

4. Affect on social relationships

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

It is common for a person with pathological gambling is affected in a progressive way their social relationships both in the field of friendships and at work, as well as in family and couple relationships..

This situation ends up favoring that person to isolate himself from his social environment, as well as from his loved ones, even separating or divorcing from his partner.

5. Affectation in the labor scope

In the same way, with a situation of ciberludopatía there is a high probability that the person ends up losing his job.During the day he can only concentrate on his addiction and the discomfort caused by not playing or gambling.

As indicated, the relationship with co-workers is also affected, who can often be able to detect such addiction, in cases where it is already in very advanced stages.

6. Avoidance of daily problems

All the above-mentioned problems affect very negatively the emotional wellbeing of the person.This fact pushes him/her to continue doing the activity to which he/she 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 more addictive his addictive behavior becomes and vice versa.

7. Altered perception of reality

It is common for most people with cyberlutopathy to have their perception of reality altered unconsciously and to feel they are able to control their addiction problem, when in fact they are not.

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

8. Gambling more and more

The addictions usually provoke a situation of tolerance in the person, consisting in that this one needs more and more doses of the substance to which it is addicted or a greater amount of reward to feel the same well-being.

In the case of pathological gambling or cybergambling, exactly the same thing happens; i.e., the affected person tends to gamble more and more in order to continue feeling the same emotion as at the beginning..

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

In the second phase of treatment, we mental health professionals help the person to deal with the dysfunctional beliefs that were eroding the person's self-confidenceShe is also helped to detect trap thoughts that precede relapse (the excuses that many patients give themselves without realizing it so that they can fall back into addiction without feeling too bad about it).

In addition, among other therapeutic processes, guidelines and routines are offered to make the person's daily and social environment less exposed to the risk of returning to gambling.. In the case of cyber-ludopathy, this may involve using tricks to stop having easy access to certain websites or stimuli, and learning to segment goals into smaller sub-goals in order to know at all times whether or not progress is being made, as well as to better self-motivate.

If necessary, you can also count on the support of psychotropic drugs for anxiety management.However, 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, learn about the progress of the effects of the treatment, and detect risk situations to resolve doubts, learn about the progress of the effects of the treatment, and detect risk situations that increase the probability of relapse, in order to act in time.