c. 1996 Religion News Service

(Body & Soul is a regular column exploring the interplay between spirituality and psychology. Pythia Peay is the author of”Putting America on the Couch,”to be published by Riverhead Books in 1997.)

(UNDATED) As his mother lay dying, Alex Walters’ father was nowhere to be found. Panic-stricken, Walters drove by his father’s house to check on his whereabouts. But when Walter saw that his father’s car was missing, he guessed the truth: His 80-year-old parent was away gambling in Atlantic City.

Walters’ father returned the next morning. And he was by his wife’s bedside later that afternoon when she passed away. But the grief Walters experienced over his mother’s death was magnified by his father’s flight to a tawdry casino.

It seems incomprehensible that a man might leave his dying wife to play cards. But sadly, many, like Walters’ father, are unable to control their impulse to gamble.

According to the National Council on Compulsive Gambling, between 3 percent and 5 percent of the population suffers from pathological, or excessive, gambling. Baltimore addictions counselor Joanna Franklin says problem gambling is no longer confined to casinos, but is now”everywhere.” Having gained increased social acceptance, the business of gambling is among the nation’s fastest growing industries. The Harvard Mental Health Letter, published by Harvard Medical School, recently noted that more people are involved in gambling than go to the movies or baseball games.

Americans now spend nearly $500 billion a year on casino and state lottery wagering alone. Twenty-seven states have casinos and 38 have state lotteries. Then there is betting on sporting events, which Franklin says is the most widely abused form of gambling.

But as more states turn to gambling to generate revenue, there is mounting concern that the social costs may outweigh any financial advantages. Society’s most vulnerable members, studies show, appear to be at the greatest risk of losing what little money or assets they possess.

In fact, says Franklin,”women, teens, seniors and minorities”lead the growing ranks of problem gamblers.

Besides a dwindling bank account, how can you spot someone with a gambling problem?

The Harvard Mental Health Letter earlier this year listed the following symptoms as sure signs of pathological gambling:

Preoccupation with planning bets; no tolerance for losing; gambling when frustrated, or, to celebrate a success; losing a job or marriage to the habit; selling personal property or stealing to finance gambling.

The publication further separated problem betters into two categories:”Action”gamblers, who are often competitive men with fantasies of success, prefer cards and the stock and commodities markets.”Escape”gamblers, who are more likely to be women, play slot machines or the lottery as a way of numbing depression.

Yet in a free market society _ where some call Wall Street”the biggest casino of all”_ deciding what constitutes a pathological gambler is complicated. Is it the casino card-player with major loses who has a”problem,”or is it the savvy investor who wins big?

The difference between gambling and investing, says Howard Schaffer, director of the Harvard Medical School center on addictions,”has to do with how much a person uses information to guide their decision. If you invest in the stock market without forethought, it’s gambling.” Likewise professional gamblers who play cards for a living may not have a problem if they rely upon critical thinking and not impulse to guide their activity, he says.

Schaffer notes that gambling is helping mental health professionals understand the nature of addiction.

Why is it that some people can take a drink or use narcotic drugs to relieve pain without becoming”hooked?”Why is it that most people can stop gambling any time they want?

Trying to answer those questions is helping researchers understand that”the objects of addiction are those things that change the way our brain chemistry works,”Schaffer says.

Thus, it’s not the drug or game alone that are at the root of addiction. Rather, it’s the emotional experience that those things produce in human beings that cause addiction.

Experiences like driving fast _ or betting _ for example, produce a chemical reaction in the brain that is experienced as an emotional rush. For some, the rush is similar to that produced by cocaine. What addicted gamblers chase, says Schaffer, is the high they once experienced when winning.

But Schaffer says problem gambling is also a consequence of the widespread despair in America today. Though misplaced, people are searching for hope when they purchase a lottery ticket.

To find help, compulsive betters can turn to Gamblers Anonymous, or individual therapy. Spirituality, too, says Schaffer, is a source of support.

Clergy and other religious leaders have much to offer those whose spirits may need uplifting _ and who are unlikely to find it by buying lottery tickets or watching the roll of the dice.

MJP END PEAY