Francoise Sagan (1935 – 2004), ‘enfant
terrible’ of French literature, was perhaps best known for her
first novel ‘Bonjour Tristesse’ (Hello Sadness) but she was also
renowned for her love of alcohol, fast cars and gambling. ‘With
fondest regards’, written in 1984, is Sagan’s collection of her
memoirs of people and things she loved including Tennessee
Williams, Orson Welles, Billie Holiday, the theatre, speeding and
gambling (‘Games of Chance’). The French title of the book ‘Avec
mon meilleur souvenir’, literally translates as ‘my best memory’,
which is a common ending to letters, as is ‘with fondest regards’
in English. The word ‘memory’ gives an important clue: this is a
tribute, a eulogy, the best she remembers of people and places that
have meant a lot to her in the past.
In the following account, I will limit myself to discussing the
section on gambling from ‘With fondest regards’ - ‘Games of
Chance’, a brutally honest and vivid portrayal of Sagan’s own
addiction to gambling. Better than most, she provides a very
intimate insight into the addictive nature of gambling. She
describes her childlike delight in gambling and its ‘joys’, and
refers to the excitement and insouciance involved. She sees it very
much as a ‘game’. Although she must have been worried enough about
her gambling to get herself voluntarily banned (‘self exclusion’
being the technical description in modern parlance) from the casino
in Deauville for 5 years, she stresses the joys of gambling. In
only a few pages, she brings to life with extraordinary skill the
emotions of a happy gambler. She glosses over the negatives, merely
mentioning in passing the debts and the re - mortgaging of her
beloved house in the country. She offers a real insight into the
guilty pleasures of gambling and particularly the relish of
successfully chasing losses – ‘Gamblers do not like losing – but
sometimes they consider themselves lucky to lose less at the end of
a game than they were losing while it was in progress.’ It is also
significant, in my view, that she stresses this piece is intended
only for the eyes of gamblers: perhaps this reflects an awareness
of a certain amount of guilt should anyone decide to try it out as
a result of her words. Nevertheless, this account is a must read
for anyone wanting to understand what goes on in the mind of a
gambler. Given below are a few brief extracts from ‘Games of
Chance’, highlighting some key features of gambling
addiction:
She recollects her foray into gambling, on her 21st birthday, and
where it led her later in her gambling career – ‘I first became
acquainted with gambling one 21st June ----- on the evening of my
21st birthday. I entered the Palm Beach in Cannes with a godfather
on either side of me, both of whom were amused to witness my debut
on the green baize. They did indeed witness the start of my career,
but they were not there to see where it led, for by then I had
escaped their surveillance and was racing from casino to casino
without them.’
Her tendency to take risks, seen in many gamblers, is best captured
where she states – ‘I learned the rules of chemin de fer, learned
that on a single hand of just two cards with a combined value of 8
or 9 one stood to win fifty million old francs --- more than the
enormity of the sums involved, it was the speed with which they
changed hands that fascinated me. I fancied myself gambling with my
destiny, just like that, in two quick hands.’
Gambling addicts have various cognitive distortions such as
illusions of control, overestimates of one’s chances of winning and
of the skill involved, superstitious beliefs, selective memories,
etc. Some of these are evident in this account – ‘I was amazed to
discover that my favourite numbers were 3, 8 and 11 – a fact of
which I had been totally unaware and which turned out to be
unalterable. I discovered that I preferred black to red, odd
numbers to even, low to high ----. Strangely enough, memories of
winning are always more vivid. You only remember the good
time.’
The intensely addictive nature and the grip gambling addiction can
have on the person is exemplified here – ‘It is true that gambling
is a profoundly absorbing pastime. It is true that you can keep the
person you love most waiting for two hours if you are involved in a
game that affords any relish. It is true that you can almost
completely forget your debts, and the constraints and restrictions
that bind you, in pursuit of the croupier’s shoe, only to come to
an hour later and find your problems have increased ten fold. But
what an hour! Your heart races, you lose all notion of time, forget
the value of money, forget the tentacle-like shackles of society.’
Further, she talks about how while on holiday, instead of spending
time on the beach as intended, she was at the casino most of the
time – ‘The sea was always miles out, but the casino at Deauville
was always open. Instead of days spent in the sunshine, there were
nights without sleep. --- there was only the dawn and the night,
with sometimes a glimpse of grass in between. The singing of birds
was drowned by the click of chips, green baize took the place of
green fields.’
It is this brilliant and insightful portrayal of gambling that
makes this a useful read for psychiatrists with an interest in
addictions. The cognitive distortions found in gamblers, gambling’s
adverse consequences and its potential for dependence are all very
realistically depicted. Furthermore, the lure of casinos and the
‘tasty’ and irresistible accompaniments are all portrayed
realistically and with great finesse. British psychiatrists should
note here that approximately 70% of Britons gamble recreationally
and a small minority (around 0.9%) gamble at problematic or
dependent levels. It is estimated that there are around 400,000
gambling addicts in Britain, and that a further 7.3% of the general
population are at risk of developing a gambling problem in the
future. Addiction to gambling negatively impacts on the individual,
family and society. But regrettably gambling addiction often
remains ‘hidden’ for reasons such as professionals’ lack of
awareness and patients’ reluctance to seek help; conceptual and
nosological ambiguity that shrouded excessive gambling did not help
either. But now there is consensus that from an assessment and
treatment point of view, it is akin to other substance addictions.
It is also anticipated that with DSM - V almost certain to include
gambling as an addiction rather than as an impulse control
disorder, it will become more mainstream. British
psychiatrists should also note that the impending opening of
several casinos across the country coupled with a rapidly growing
online gambling industry, both set in the context of a liberal
gambling legislation, are expected to further increase the
prevalence of gambling and its associated problems.
Sanju George
Consultant and senior research fellow in addiction psychiatry