74. Gambling Urges: What's Going on in the Brain

<p>When you gamble, it affects your brain and body. It's common to experience an urge to gamble.  This involves thinking a lot about gambling or winning, having a strong desire to gamble, and feeling restless, anxious, excited and/or irritable.  Urges can also continue after you stop gambling and create risk for relapse.</p> <p>In this episode of Fold em, we return to the topic of urges. This time, with a focus on what brain science tells us about urges and how to handle them.  I'm joined again by the team from <a title="Brain Connections website" href= "https://brainconnections.ca/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Brain Connections</a> - <a title= "About us page on Brain Connections website" href= "https://brainconnections.ca/about-us/" target="_blank" rel= "noopener">Dr. Iris Balodis</a> from the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences at McMaster University and <a title= "About Us page on Brain Connections website" href= "https://brainconnections.ca/about-us/" target="_blank" rel= "noopener">Deirdre Querney</a>, MSW, a counsellor specializing in gambling problems for the past twenty three years.  <a title= "Brain Connections website" href="https://brainconnections.ca/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Brain Connections</a> is an online resource about gambling addiction and the brain.</p> <p>Listen to episode 74 and hear about:</p> <ul> <li>How to recognize triggers and urges</li> <li>What is going on in the brain with gambling urges</li> <li>What to THINK and DO when experiencing urges to gamble</li> </ul> <p>To read a summary of this episode, visit the blog at <a title= "Episode blog" href= "https://www.gamblingproblemhelp.ca/blog-2/brain-science-about-gambling-urges" target="_blank" rel= "noopener">www.gamblingproblemhelp.ca</a>.  You can also learn more about urges at <a title="Brain Connections website" href= "https://www.brainconnections.ca" target="_blank" rel= "noopener">www.brainconnections.ca.</a></p> <p>If you live in British Columbia and would like help for gambling concerns, reach out t