Why Gambling Is So Hard To Stop - with Chartered Psychologist Dr Manpreet Dhuffar-Pottiwal
🧠Why gambling is so hard to stop, even when you know it is hurting you.
It is rarely about willpower. And it is rarely about a lack of awareness.
Dr Manpreet Dhuffar-Pottiwal explains what is actually happening in the brain when gambling becomes compulsive, and why telling someone to simply stop is far more complicated than it sounds.
Every win triggers a release of dopamine. The brain registers pleasure, excitement, and reward. And over time, through a process called conditioning, it begins to associate gambling itself with those feelings.
Then something shifts. The brain no longer needs the win to respond. The anticipation alone is enough. The moment before the result, the near miss, the next opportunity, all of it becomes part of the reward cycle.
Jackpots, bonuses, and the unpredictability of chance are not accidental features. They are designed to deepen that response.
The result is a compulsion that persists even when the consequences are clear. Not because the person does not care. But because the brain has been conditioned to keep going.
Understanding the neuroscience does not excuse the harm. But it does change how we respond to it.
Do you think we talk openly enough about gambling addiction and its impact on mental health?
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