Many craved the rush, while a few found it the ultimate escape. In time, a common theme develops among people who attend Gamblers Anonymous meetings. They acknowledge that gambling got out of control and calamity eventually consumed them. Gambling can be every bit as addictive as drugs or alcohol, according to Dr. Paul Good, a clinical psychologist who runs a treatment center called Gamblers Recovery Program in San Francisco. Gambling produces chemical changes in the body and physiology impacts our psychology.
All addictions are mind-body problems.
There are plenty of indications that gambling affects the body. Even away from the gaming environment, addicts become preoccupied with getting money to gamble. It becomes a perilous cycle. Pathological gamblers will continue to gamble in spite of adverse consequences in their life. Good said compulsive, or pathological, gamblers normally fall into one of two categories - action seekers and escape artists.