Gambling addiction is fuelling a silent mental health crisis in South Africa
Gambling is a silent but destructive epidemic that is fast becoming a crisis in South Africa.
The most recent financial year saw South Africans spend R1.5 trillion on gambling activities, up from R1.1 trillion the previous year. The ease and convenience of online gambling have only exacerbated the problem, leaving a trail of negative consequences, from financial ruin to diminished family life and even associated drug and substance abuse in some instances.
According to Dr Thelma Oppelt, spokesperson for the South African College of Applied Psychology (SACAP), gambling is often seen as harmless fun: a few bets on a horse race, a spin of the slot machine, or a quick wager on a sports match. But beneath the flashing lights and promises of easy money lies a powerful psychological pull that can trap even the most cautious players.
While people gamble for myriad reasons, from excitement to escape and social connection, at the core of gambling’s appeal is the brain’s reward system.
“Each time someone wins, even a small amount, the brain releases dopamine, the same ‘feel-good’ chemical triggered by eating chocolate, exercising, or falling in love,” Oppelt told IOL.
“This dopamine rush reinforces the behaviour and makes people want to experience it again. Over time, the brain can become conditioned to crave the thrill of uncertainty itself, not just the win.”
Even when losing, the anticipation of a possible win keeps the dopamine loop alive, she added, as gamblers get stuck in “the zone” and the rest of the world seems to fade away.
In many instances, there is also a highly unconscious pattern at play, clinical psychologist Debbie Howes told IOL.
90% of our functioning comes from the unconscious mind, she explained, and here we find a completely different and unknown set of belief systems that developed in early childhood, where we often imprinted how to get our needs met in a toxic way.
“So the unconscious part of us that is attracted to gambling is the part of us that’s on the child level, which is looking for love as an association in illusions. Because during childhood, they had to get love from illusory places.”
This points to a lack of emotional support as a child, where unconditional love likely wasn’t displayed, Howes explained.
“So then you grow up looking for love in places that are unfulfilling, toxic and illusory. But the unconscious mind starts to associate love and pain going together, which means looking to meet your needs, whether they are financial, emotional, relaxation or whatever.”
She equates the unconscious human mind to that of a child, which doesn’t always know right from wrong. For instance, if a burglar balks into the lounge and tells the child, “Hi, I’m your daddy’s friend, I’m borrowing the HiFi”, the child will help them because they think the burglar is the good guy. And gambling, or any other form of addiction or toxic behaviour, is essentially the same thing.
But how can you tell that your gambling is becoming a problem?
Registered Counsellor Stephanie Barrett, who has extensive experience assisting people with gambling issues, says the following signs can point to a gambling addiction:
- Constantly thinking about bets
- Going for bigger games with bigger risks
- Hiding your gambling from friends and loved ones
- Borrowing money from different sources
- Having arguments with loved ones
- Withdrawing
People start gambling for many reasons, she said, including boredom, a lack of joy and loneliness, while the need for a sense of being worthy and belonging can lead to financial motivations that trigger gambling.
The first step to stopping a habit such as this is to accept and fully acknowledge that this is happening, Barrett advises.
“This is often the hardest part of the journey as this is to realise there is something lacking in their lives and there is a gap that the person needs to look at, reflect on and work on.”
This could mean joining a fulfilling social group, or finding new habits at the time of day when gambling occurred, even if it means arranging to call a friend at a certain time of day. It’s also beneficial to remove the games on your phone or computers and seek financial guidance where needed. But most important is to talk about it with non-judgmental people who can understand what you’re going through.
“We must remember that this is increasingly prevalent, and people are not talking about this, which makes it perceived that it is only you, but it is not. This affects everyone, not a specific economic layer, gender or culture,” Barrett said.
“We need to start talking about this and supporting one another. Addiction is an illness and can have extreme negative actions, including suicide. Please reach out.”
Joining peer support groups, where one can hear from others with lived experience, can make recovery less isolating, Dr Thelma Oppelt advises. For instance, South Africa’s Gambler’s Anonymous (GA) and GamAnon, for affected loved ones.
“Too often, the focus is on clinics and private practitioners, which many people cannot afford. With only the gambler getting treatment, with little to no focus on the family. We need to bring the conversation home, into families and communities where gambling harm begins and can also be healed,” Oppelt explained.
“Gambling remains hidden in families and is stigmatised. Many people are introduced to gambling by family members at a young age, normalising the behaviour. Yet while some can gamble occasionally without harm, others develop a serious problem, known in the DSM-5 as Gambling Disorder. Only a small percentage of gamblers reach this level, but the effects can be devastating, leading to financial ruin, mental health struggles, and family breakdowns,” she added.
Healing the unconscious mind
For those who have the means to do the deeper work, Dr Debbie Howes suggests seeking help from a professional who can assist in changing your unconscious programming.
“With gambling, there are often themes to do with the missing role model of a father. So they’ve got to learn to internalise that and become their own father. Because the male and gambling are synonymous. It’s an association,” Howes said, explaining that males are often linked to finances in a household.
“So it’s often healing the bridge that is broken between the child and the adult male. By healing that interaction within your own self, when you learn to replace the missing father and be that for yourself, it starts to heal that theme of looking for support outside and starts to initiate, generating inside, what you’re relying on outside and getting disappointed as a result.”
She said that the inconsistency that you attract while gambling is very reflective of the early childhood inconsistency of male support.
“There’s a lot of depth to it, that’s why people often don’t understand, they just think, ‘oh you’ve just got no willpower,’ and they judge and they make you feel guilt. But that makes it worse, because when you’ve got guilt, it exacerbates it, and then the way to appease the guilt is just to go back and do it again. It sets up a very negative cycle.
“So that cycle needs to be broken within, on a deeper level, by healing the unconscious mind.”
For help to quit gambling, call the South African Responsible Gambling Foundation on its toll-free counselling line, 0800-006-008 or WhatsApp/SMS HELP To 076-675-0710 or email to helpline@responsiblegambling.org.za
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