Is it a 'Disease'?

one definition of disease I found on the web -- an impairment of health or a condition of abnormal functioning

so

is this..this gambling problem....pathological gambler in my case...is it a disease?

I've heard many people say that it IS important that we know what it is..disease/addiction/disorder...so that we know how to DEAL with it.

well

I agree that knowledge is power.
I agree that the more I know about this..the better equipped I am to protect myself.

But...is what I CALL it truly important?
Not to me.

I know (now) that there IS a sort of 'profile' that many (certainly not all of us....but many do...*I* do) fit into.....I have attention deficit disorder...I also have many other psychological traits that would tend to fit in with that 'profile'.

I also know that gambling causes chemical changes in my brain...that neurotransmitters are not behaving 'normally' when I am gambling...and that in all likelihood...whether I am gambling or not at any given MOMENT...when I am in the 'cycle'....when I am gambling DAILY...I believe that my brain STAYS in a condition that is not 'normal' for my particular brain :)

I also know that...when I am gambling...my thought processes seem to parallel the process of many other compulsive gamblers when 'in action' (see the entry entitled 'Playing My Tape').

I know that many of the problem gamblers that I have spoken with have been diagnosed as depressed...and/or were dealing with (or...NOT dealing with) difficult emotional issues when their gambling really spiralled out of control (grief, break up, etc.).

I know that...I am not the only one that this has happened to...and that I have many many things in common with many others that this has happened to...and that there is something physical going on as well.

I know that...I talk to people who are DESPERATE not to gamble...who cry...SOB...about what they have done to their lives...they DO NOT WANT TO GAMBLE ever ever again....and they do.

Is it a disease? Is it an addiction? an impulse-control disorder?

To me, those are labels (and personally, I think they all apply) and the LABEL isn't really important...what IS important is the underlying FACTS...what I KNOW.... I know that it is possible to break free of this...and find JOY.

That's what I know.