Powerball Jackpot has reached about $ 1.3 billion – and while you know you will not win, there is a chance that you at least have been thinking about buying a ticket.
Why?
As with almost all lotteries, the likelihood of winning the current Powerball will remain astronomically low – about 1 in 292.2 million. In the context, they are more likely to attack the shark, shocked by lightning or a murdered machine.
Experts are also more likely to worsen their mental health while playing in the lottery, USA Today said earlier.
“If you are fighting your account and want to make money by buying scratches or playing in the lottery and losing that money, this is money you can’t really afford to lose,” said Steve Kobashigawa, a marriage and family therapy specialist specializing in addiction, USA Today said earlier. “Of course, it causes more stress, anxiety, depression and has a great influence on mental health.”
When to Play Powerball Lottery becomes a problem?
If the chances of winning the lottery are so low, why are people tired of playing? Dan Field, a therapist specializing in the treatment of gambling addiction, says the lottery is such an important place in American culture, as it gives people the opportunity to enjoy fantasies about how their lives could change if they win.
“There is this desire to be financially unprotected and free – the fantasy that I will always have enough money to do everything I want and nobody tells me what I do,” he said earlier. “This fantasy may be almost obsessed with some people.”
The Powerball ticket is shown when Jackpot continues to rise.
According to him, this also becomes a problem when people of lower socio -economic status view the lottery as the only opportunity to join the ranks of the wealthy.
“As with other activities, gambling, it can become unequivocally and all other ways of joy will disappear,” Field said. “They are not as important as gambling activities.”
You are already struggling, but we are here to make your life even better: even better sign up for our newsletter.
Many people can play lotteries for fun without contacting addiction or destructive patterns.
Powerball sells a $ 1.76B ticket won. Why are we so obsessed with lottery?
However, when gambling addictions occur, they can disrupt the disastrous consequences, including job loss, homelessness, family fractures, bankruptcy and criminal activity, such as fraud and plundering.
“This is not a very large number, but when it happens, it is quite significant,” said Kobashigawa, adding that he worked with many customers who became addicted to buying lottery tickets. “There is a very high prevalence of suicide ideas and suicide with people who are fighting gambling disorders. It’s very, very serious.”
How to Play Powerball is premature
If you play in the lottery, experts say you don’t forget the following tips:
Get help if you need it; If you notice that you are addicted to the lottery or other form of gambling, seek help from a mental health professional or self -help group such as Gollers anonymous, said Kobashigawa.
Buy only tickets with your discretion; “Keep in mind the budget, especially when it comes to Powerball and Mega Millions,” Jared James, founder of Lotto Edge, who seeks to educate people about the chances of winning lots, USA Today said earlier. “If you don’t have $ 100 to spend, don’t spend $ 100.”
More: He had a debilitating addiction to sports betting, but he did not realize it. His story is not uncommon.
Remember why you want to play. It’s great to play in the lottery for fun, says Kobashigawa, but if you think you need to win to get your lost money, stop.
Don’t hang hope and dreams to win; “It is believed that the lottery will be fun and entertainment,” James said. “Where it’s hard when people see it as their only way out of the financial situation.
Sign up with your feelings; “If you play after playing, you will become really depressed or something like that, and it becomes such an emotional investment, maybe it’s time to look at it as it should be fun again,” James said.
Pay attention to illogical thoughts; If you are an obsessive purchase of lottery tickets with allegedly happy numbers or from a particular alcoholic beverage store, note. The field says that magical thinking can be a sign that plays a lottery has become unhealthy.
This article initially appeared in USA Today: Powerball, The Powerball, 1.3b USD Jackpot and why Americans like lotteries