Addiction when gambling becomes a problem

While most people enjoy casino gambling, sports betting, lottery and bingo playing for the fun and excitement it provides, others may experience gambling as an addictive and distractive habit. Statistics show that while 85 percent of the adult population in the US enjoys some type of gambling every year, between 2 and 3 percent of will develop a gambling problem and 1 percent of them are diagnosed as pathological gamblers.

Where can you draw the line between harmless gambling to problem gambling? How can you tell if you or your friend are compulsive gamblers? Here you can find answers to these questions and other questions regarding problem gambling and gambling addiction.

What is the Meaning of Problem Gambling?

Problem gambling or compulsive gambling is defined as an uncontrollable urge to gamble despite the destructive effect of gambling on the gamblers life and despite feelings of guilt and remorse. Problem gambling tends to have a negative effect on the gamblers financial state, relationships and daily life. Severe cases of problem gambling can be defined as pathological gambling.

Am I a Compulsive Gambler?

1) Do you gamble until your last penny runs out?

2) Do you gamble to win back your former losses or debts?

3) Did you ever had to borrow money to continue gamble?

4) Did your gambling habit ever made you lie to your friends or family?

5) Did you ever skip work or other obligation to gamble?

6) Do you tend to gamble to forget about your personal problems or to celebrate happy occasions?

7) Does gambling have a negative affect on your daily life or relationships?

If you have answered yes on at least one of the questions listed above, then you have a problem.

Can Anyone Become a Compulsive Gambler?

Theoretically, yes. Any gambler can develop gambling problem regardless to the type of gambling he is occupied with, the amount of money and time he is spending on gambling. Researches show that slot machines that can be found in bars and convenient stores are the most addictive type of gambling activity, while lottery draws and bingo games are located on the other end of the scale. Gambling addiction is an emotional problem; its symptoms, causes and treatments are similar to any other form of addiction.

How Can I treat Gambling Addiction?

1) Group Therapy:

Gamblers Anonymous offers a 12 step self help program similar to the one offered to alcohol addicts in Alcoholics Anonymous. Group therapy also offers gambling addicts advice and support from professional counselors and other gambling addicts in different phases of their recovery process. Gambler Anonymous centers are available in more than 1,200 locations statewide.

2) Individual Therapy:

Cognitive or behavior therapy can help gambling addicts to identify their unaware thinking and acting patterns, which led them to gamble compulsively, and to replace them with controllable and healthier ways of thinking.

3) Psychiatric Medication:

It has recently been proven that antidepressant medications from the family of SSRIs, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors can be affective in treatment of gambling addicts.

Want to earn an online degree some cautions are advised

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The online degree programs are increasing in popularity and creditability, more and more prestigious colleges and universities offer complete online degree programs taught by the same faculty who teach in their classrooms. Many online programs offers by these prestigious colleges and universities are reputable. Hence, earning a degree online can be a good option for many students, but some "diploma mills" have hurt the integrity of such programs.

If you plan to pursue a degree online, precaution steps must be taken to avoid earning a "Fake" online degree. Some "diploma mills" have sophisticated Web sites and might seem like real universities but lack college-level work and accreditation. You should always check with the Council for Higher Education Accreditation to see if their program is accredited.

Most of "diploma mills" are focus on fast production and distribution of fake degrees. They just offer credit for life experience and if you pay your fees you get your diploma. You don't have to worry about practical experience. If you pay a little extra, you can even graduate with honors and you can even complete a degree including Doctorate degree in 5 to 7 days.

The problem arises when this life experience is not accepted by state and federal laws and you facethe problem of looking for a suitable job. Today, most employers are smart, they will check your degree against accreditation and they aware of those online colleges which "Famous" in "diploma mills". So, make sure you are holding a legitimate degree when applying for a job position; the best way to avoid this from happening to you is to check the online degree program against it's accreditation before your register for it.

In general, accredited colleges and universities will receive the. edu designation in their website domain name. For example, Stanford University's web address is Stanford. edu which authenticates that they are genuine online universities. But the best way to confirm the accreditation of an online college or university is to check with the US Department of Education.

Currently, there are six higher education regional accrediting agencies which are recognized by the U. S. Department of Education. These U. S. regional accrediting agencies are:

• Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Higher Education


• New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Commission on Institutions of Higher Education


• North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Institutions of Higher Education


• Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges, Commission on Colleges


• Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges


• Western Association of Schools and Colleges, Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities

There are also many other national, professional and specialized accrediting bodies that are recognized by the U. S. Department of Education. They provide accreditation, guidance and quality assurance roles for distance and online learning institutions, foreign learning institutions and training providers.

If you are planning to pursue your degree online, spend some time to check and confirm the accreditation of your selected online college or university. And make sure the organization that provides the accreditation to the college is recognized by US Department of Education. Take these precaution steps in advanced are better than regretting it later when you are holding a helpless "fake" degree.

Online degree - when r u going to make a decision to enroll in one

When you have thousands of options in front of you, it is difficult to pick one. If you have been searching for online degrees the chances are, your search won’t come to an end until you make a decision to enroll in one.

Decision to enroll within a set time period is important because otherwise your search is likely to continue without any objective. But once you have made a decision to enroll in online bachelors or MBA or any other course then you just have to choose one from 1000s of Universities and colleges, which are offering these courses.

The more you search, the more information you are likely to have about the Universities and Colleges and courses. The end result is likely to be in the form of information overload. This would hinder your decision making power and you would find it difficult to pick one.

One of my friends wanted a laptop. He searched on the Internet, asked everyone around about the specifications, costs and brands etc. Loaded with all this information he walked confidently into the computer warehouse. He found so many different types of laptops with so many different specifications that his head started to spin in half an hour or so. Different laptops have different specifications; some have this but lack something else. He went in that computer warehouse 4 or 5 times but still could not make any decision. As soon as he walked in the last time the sales assistants disappear at the back. They realized that he is just wasting their time and not serious about buying, because he was asking the same questions again and again.

Anyway, he had to send his wife for the laptop, she walked in with two criteria, one DVD player/recorder and wireless networking enabled. She wanted a digital camera, so she choose the cheapest laptop and with the money she saved she bought a digital camera for herself. They both are happy with their equipments.

The degree is not like buying a laptop because it has far reaching consequences for your future. But first you need to decide about your criteria. Once this is clear then you just need to make a decision to enroll within a set time period. This time period could be between in the region of one week to 6 months. Whatever time period suits you and whenever you feel you would be ready for the commitment, is for you to decide. This would make your search a lot easier.

Many people would like to have a degree. They even have the complete information about different Universities and colleges but they still find it hard to make a decision to enroll. The problem is they are not sure about what to look for and what are their criteria about online degree.

I read somewhere that food is hardly a criterion in life. For some people it might not be but I love it and it is one of the best criterions of my life. So it depends upon your criteria, it could be cost, accreditation, reputation of the University/ College, how many students are enrolled, how many students have actually completed, time commitment they are asking for, their lecturers, the support they provide, frequency of the online lectures etc.

Decision to enroll in a set time period is one of the most important one, when you are searching. Let me explain, distance-learning courses and degrees have been around for a long time and most Universities and colleges offer these courses. Online degrees are comparatively new and are an extension of distance learning courses. If you had made up your mind to enroll in one, you could have found a university offering distance-learning degrees long time ago. But since you are still searching, your search is likely to continue until you decide to enroll within a set time period.

It’s now your call either to make up your mind or continue with your never-ending search. You can find some good information on the following website addresses.