18th February 2012, 07:37 PM
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Member
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Join Date: Jan 1970
Posts: 4,431
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We are all going to have different ideas on this subject, because it's somewhat touchy.
Either we know of someone who has caused problems for others, or maybe someone feels it hits home. I'm not casting judgements, but you'll find that the general public's perception of gamblers as "losers" is that they know or have experienced the fallout from someone with an addiction.
Addicts are not by nature irresponsible, because for the most part they are devasted by what has happened in the cold light of day, they feel remorse and chastise themselves vowing never to do it again.
Unfortunately they have no control.
Even the greatest experts are only starting to unveil some of the intricasies of addiction and new evidence is coming to light about signals to the brain and seratonin.
Why is it that some alcoholics aren't addicted to drugs?
Why is it that some gambler's aren't addicted to alcohol?
Of course there are some unfortunate people who are addicted to all three and addicted to eating and addicted to shopping and addicted to sex.
But the above questions have experts baffled at this point.
It is a very grey area and unfortunately the public has little understanding or time for addicts, because all they see are the actions and not the disease.
In the example of irresponsibility, I know of a woman who is addicted to shopping and will come home with a widescreen tv and not pay her rent.
That is her addiction.
I couldn't class her as irresponsible, she feels great remorse.
She thinks about shopping constantly, it consumes her day.
As soon as money comes in, it's like she won lotto, not got wages she worked for.
There is something malfunctioning in her brain making her view money in a different way.
And she cannot control it.
Years ago I was a sales rep on the road using my own car, we had just rented a house and had a new baby.
My exwife would rush to the bank on pay day and buy up big, leaving us no money for two weeks and no petrol for the car.
She would borrow off her parents and the cycle would continue every month.
We are no longer together for other reasons, but I see her regularly and in 20 years, she hasn't changed a bit.
In fact her new husband rang me up distraught, and I tried to give him some advice.
Drugs alcohol and gambling are just a few of the more renowned addictions, there are a great deal many more that people manage to hide better.
Irresponsible, are those that do things and just don't care.
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