Pathological gambler is a term coined with despise in our daily lives. People usually associate it with greed, aggressiveness, vanity and eager to get rich without working hard. Yet there was no known gambling gene. Then how is a pathological gambler formed?

One night, Paul came to the counseling center with distress. His sharing was unforgettable.

When you were mistreated and angry, have you ever had thoughts such as “don’t let me win lottery or else…” or “if I won a 3T, I would…”? The fantasies seemed to be able to sweep away the previous bad mood. What were actually behind gambling that could turn the situation upside down?

Truman was 30 years old when he called our center for help. He returned to HK after studying abroad. He worked as a salesman with monthly income of $15k yet he had $540k debts that he could hardly manage their minimum pay and maintain basic living.

Gwen was referred by a social worker to our centre for counselling service due to her anxiety and depressive mood. She was not the one with gambling disorder, but her husband whom she had been married for 3 years. He had gambled over his limit for three times and accumulated debts, which stressed Gwen a lot.

When a family member encounters gambling problem, seniors must feel anxious and concerned, and even furious. They usually have a lot of questions in their heads such as how their family members develop gambling problem, and how they could help him/her.

Mary the mother was in her 50s. Her son was 27 years old and her daughter was around 20 years old. Her husband’s business was not bad. It could have been a lovely family. However, her son became addicted to gambling 3 years ago.

Family is an interesting structure. The bonding between parents and children makes it even more gluey.

While looking at his $300,000 of debts, Adam has never frowned. He seems overconfident. In my clinical experience, many gamblers are optimistic and positive. If they don’t gamble and invest their positivity in other aspects, they probably would have certain achievements.
“In fact, I’m not particularly indulgent in gambling.