Hanna Horvath

You can't measure it.

Absolutely, and they say, oh, you, Rima, have a gambling disorder.

No, I don't.

I have a money management problem, or I have a luck problem, or I got screwed by the refs, or the NBA's rigged and I would have won, or I had a foolproof money-making gambling strategy, but it just didn't work this time because, you know, the wind was a little bit off in the football game, you know, things like that.

So that's just denial, which is one of the symptoms of all addictions.

But it's the one addictive disorder where it's really ironic is that you can win legitimately large sums of money in the course of your addiction.

And that creates challenges.

So I had a patient a couple months ago.

She texted me from the casino.

She's like, Dr. Fama, I just won $40,000.

My gambling addiction is cured.

And I'm like, oh my God, that's actually the worst thing because it just fuels in her brain.

Imagine all the dopamine, the adrenaline, all that neurochemical changes that happen.

Yeah, so a lot of people are struggling with their money.

That's not entirely their fault.

There's a lot of forces at play that can influence their behavior.

So just being aware of that.

But also a lot of people's financial behaviors are done on autopilot and are very emotionally driven.

And a lot of people are just not aware that they're spending the money they're spending or doing what they're doing with their money.

So just bringing more conscious thought into that.