Today’s February 7th. It’s funny how some people consider seven a lucky or an unlucky number. I guess a lot of it has to do with gambling, where you can win or lose money if you roll a seven in the game of craps.
Speaking of gambling, it’s a busy time of year for gambling. The Super Bowl was a few days ago, so there’s been a lot of gambling related to professional sports in recent weeks. There will also be a lot of sports-related gambling next month, as college basketball teams play in big tournaments and people make bets on the outcomes of games in these tournaments.
As for other forms of gambling, I imagine that they’re also big this time of year. They must be. In many areas, the weather’s still cold. People looking for something to do sometimes go to local casinos to gamble, or they travel to places with warm weather and even more gambling. For some, of course, gambling can resemble drug addiction or alcohol abuse.
Of course, it’s not just gambling. Other people exhibit other behaviors that may be compulsive, behaviors that interfere in their day-to-day activities. These behaviors resemble drug addiction or alcohol abuse and can include problems with eating, shopping, or a number of other activities.
Some people say that calling such behaviors abuse are just excuses. But it looks like there’s a medical component to all of this. For people with gambling or shopping problems, gambling and shopping activate the same areas of the brain that respond to using drugs or alcohol. Certain behaviors and substances give some people a “rush.”
Stopping this rush—and the urge to activate this rush can be difficult, but it’s not impossible. Compulsive gambling, like other forms of compulsive or addictive behavior, can mean gambling with one’s life.
