Gambling Addictions
Throughout the story The Leavers written by Lisa Ko, you follow Deming/Daniel’s life following the ‘disappearance’ of his mother Polly. Like any child, Daniel does not take being tossed around from the house to house very well. We see this unfold through the first part of the book. Nearing part two of The Leavers, we discover Daniel’s gambling addiction and what pushes him to continue relapsing. Daniel knows he has a problem, like most people who suffer from a gambling addiction do, and the cause of his addiction could be argued to be extremely deep-rooted into his childhood. With the constant moving, Daniel experienced as a child, and the trauma of never feeling as though he was living up to the adult’s expectations in his life his peers from grade school, the instant gratification of winning money could be seen as a coping mechanism. Daniel faced a lot of trauma as a child with the constant “othering” concept demonstrated by his peers due to the way he looks, it is no wonder that Daniel would start to search for something to bring joy. When Daniel started to lose money and gamble away what was not even is his he soon realizes how deep-rooted his issue is and tries his hardest not to relapse, but somehow always seems to come back to square one. For a lot of people, this is how the gambling addictions cycle works.
Gambling addiction is defined as the uncontrollable urge to gable no matter the effect it has on one’s life. It is considered an addiction because gambling stimulates the reward system part of the brain, the same way that drugs and alcohol do. There are an estimated 2 million people in the United States that suffer from a gambling addiction and about 20 million in the world. Some people get into gambling for the desperate need of money when they are in tough situations, and once they start winning usually they get hooked. When people who partake in gambling start to win money, dopamine is released into the brain causing compulsive betting to further their winnings. In The Leavers you see this happening to Daniel as he starts playing online poker rather than paying attention to his studies.
Even though gambling addiction is extremely common, it tends to not be taken as seriously as drug addiction or alcoholism. Until 2013 gambling addiction was only seen as a compulsion and not as a mental illness as other addictions are considered. Due to the lack of education, people who experience this addiction often times end up in dark places because they never received the proper help. Many people who struggle with gambling addictions end up losing everything they own and declaring bankruptcy because they can not get enough of the thrill factors found in their winnings. Even though growing up Daniel did not have a steady support system, the unconditional love his adoptive parents showed is what kept him from turning into a statistic. He was obviously starting to end up in a dark place once he was expelled from school, but finally having that stability is what pushed him to be better. In real life, people often end up othering those who struggle with addiction. Those who fortunately are not struggling with some type of addiction look down on those who do and do not provide the help they need. You see in the end that Daniel having this support system and finally not being treated as other is what got him the help.
Source: Addiction Center
https://www.addictioncenter.com/drugs/gambling-addiction/#:~:text=Gambling%20addiction%20is%20the%20uncontrollable,common%20impulse%20control%20disorder%20worldwide.
Hello! I really like your context presentation this week (also my last comment got rejected because it contained the word gam bling, space added so it hopefully does not block it, so I am retyping now to try and get it to post!), it helps to shed light on how having an addiction like Daniel is not something to look down on somebody for, but rather something that can be helped like a drug or alcohol addiction. Daniel keeps returning to his addiction whenever things are getting bad in his life and he needs a pick-me-up, but every time he goes back he ends up losing all his money again and it makes him feel worse and worse. I really like how you used facts to try to drop the stigma of addiction, especially when it really is something that can ruin lives and there is support out there for it.
Hello! I enjoyed reading your context presentation and thought you had an interesting approach to the second half of the reading. Often, this form of addiction is taken as serious as other forms of addiction which is extremely concerning. For someone like Daniel, their experiences through childhood and adulthood can have a negative impact on them either physically, mentally, or emotionally. Additionally, having this type of addiction mainly causes stress for immediate family members because it can lead to increase in financial instability. This could include things such as increase in debt, loss of housing, and decrease in savings. Overall, there should be programs implemented for people who suffer from this form of addiction. Great job on this week’s presentation!
Very good context presentation. You explain the reasons for Deming’s addiction to gam-bling well. His loneliness and rebellion come from the alienation caused by his mother’s deportation and his different skin color from others. You mentioned the concept of “other”. Indeed, Deming has always been incompatible with American culture, but he has no right to speak and can only be forced to integrate into the lives of his peers, but he has always been lonely and afraid. Gam-bling addiction is a big problem among teenagers. Daniel is also aware of his problem, and every time he tries to quit, he becomes addicted again and again. The gam-bling addiction you put forward later should also be paid attention to, not allowed to develop, I can’t agree anymore. Because these people, like other addicts, need support and help from people.
Hey I really did enjoy reading your presentation. You provided great insight on the roots of Daniel’s issue with gam.bling. You explained how his issue with gam.bling is much deeper than the instant gratification that one gets from winning. You instead show how his upbringing probably played a huge role in his addiction. After reading your presentation I believe that gam.bling addictions is something that needs to be treated with much more care. Not only does it affect the life of the addicted but also the lives of the people around. I do hope that programs can be implemented to treat such things in the future.
Hello!
Very good context presentation. You did a great job at explaining that situation with Daniel and his addiction that he was suffering with. I believe that the details and background information to why the belief for the addiction was very much necessary, so great job adding that in there in order to give a better understanding to his addiction. You could see throughout that novel that Deming/Daniel was struggling greatly with feeling like he was in a place where he fit in and accepted by those around him. I do believe if he was not struggling with the feeling of not fitting in then those could have resulted in him possibly not falling behind with his studies and start with the online games. Overall, great detail and job on this weeks post.
Hello! I really like your context presentation, and how you relate Demming in The Leavers to people in real life with statistics and reasons why people would be addicted to the games. I think it is important to recognize how the trauma we face as children impact the adults we become, and you did a great way of describing Demming’s life and addiction. There is a clear connection between the two, and you did a great job of pointing it out. Great post!
Great post! I really enjoyed the flow of your presentation, making Daniel’s experience seem like a reality, although we know it is fictitious. The research involved was very benefital and educating as I did not know that it was once only seen as compulsion. Gaining awareness towards this idea was a wonderful selection of topics on your part, along with Ko’s as she chose to make it such an emphasized aspect throughout the literature.