Gambling disorder a case report

BACKGROUND: Historically, gambling has been viewed as a sin and later as a vice. More recently, disordered gambling has been seen as an illness determined by genetic and environmental factors and individual decision making. only 10-20% of pathological gamblers actually seek professional help. Our case is unique, as unlike most pathological gamblers, our patient actively sought treatment and showed good response in early follow-up period. CASE REPORT: A 37 years old male, with family history of problem gambling and substance use in father, premorbid narcissistic traits, came to psychiatric OPD with complaints of depressive symptoms for 4 months, in the background of progressively increasing engagement in online gambling with consequent heavy financial loss over the past 7 years. According to DSM-V diagnosed with gambling disorder, he was treated with tab fluoxetine 20 mg, naltrexone 50 mg and psychoanalytically oriented therapy. DISCUSSION: A comprehensive treatment plan that incorporates a multi- modal approach should be used in managing pathological gamblers with pharmacological and psychoanalytically oriented therapy has shown good and early response in our patient.