Quote from: DaftAjax on January 18, 2020, 04:50:10 PM

Quote from: deisik on January 17, 2020, 03:35:18 AM

Deep inside, somehow I don't buy into this theory about gambling being a stress-reliever in general. On the contrary, I'd rather say it gives us an adrenaline rush which makes us feel alive (again) when we feel bored. Put differently, there is no relief of stress as our inner and subconscious longings for gambling are more about receiving some portion of stress instead of getting rid of it.

Well, by that, should we be really categorize gambling as means of entertainment? To some extent maybe? But I agree, it could never be a form of stress-relief, as long as an activity involves risks (losing money, or losing in general) I don't think that could relieve any stress at all. It could result in some pretty nasty poison in our minds: anxiety, depression, desperation, etc.

That ultimately depends on your attitude

I mean, if you are looking at gambling as an opportunity to "get rich fast", you obviously won't think of it as a form of entertainment. It will be more like a job to you, so you won't feel so much joy and fun. And even if you earn something in the process (which is a big if but still), you will feel something more like satisfaction, the kind of feeling you experience after you have finished some hard job with a meaningful result

As I see it now, the point of gambling (as in gambling per se and not some kind of an odd or even regular job) is in fact to give you some stress at first, and then provide an experience of relief from that stress. If you win, then you will feel that relief. If you lose, it again depends on your overall attitude as the loss could actually bring you even more stress. And then you start chasing losses and get into the stress spiral

Quote from: DaftAjax on January 18, 2020, 04:50:10 PM

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Whether you can control the amount of this stress and keep it manageable is another question, though

Agreed. I think the true stress-relieving activity is when it rewards you relaxation, instead of clinging to something that may make you feel worse than you already are

It works in the way described above. With gambling, you at first intentionally work yourself up (before the bet) and then quiet down (after the bet). It is this cycle that makes gambling so attractive because we are wired that way to feel alive. We need both stress and stress relief at the end of the day