Wow what a great in depth response! Thank you! I really like your interpretation and I think you are spot on.
I also believe that there is definitely some underlying cause which starts off the addiction (or should I say, underlying causes because I’m sure many different factors come into play and interact in a way that makes things perfect for us to fall into the addiction). However often the underlying issue may not be that severe – eg. it may be something as simple as boredom, dissatisfaction with an area of our life or some sort of psychological burden/pain we are trying to get away from. We turn to gambling as our source of excitement/escape.
However like you said, once the addiction (symptom) takes over, it often becomes the single most negative aspect of our lives and needs to be addressed as a priority. In fact, I find gambling can often make those initial underlying issues even worse and bring with it a myriad of extra problems we never even had to deal with in the past (eg. financial loss, isolation, anxiety and depression). In that sense it becomes the main problem that needs to be addressed first.
I think reflecting on what caused us to gamble may be important in reducing our triggers; but it’s more a matter that should take the forefront of our attention once we have recovered (or mostly recovered) from our gambling addiction first. It may also be useful as a preventative technique for preventing relapses, as well as assisting others (generally) with not falling into the trap that is addiction.
Thanks for your input! Really gave me some food for thought there.