Is the Uncertainty Related With the Reward More Important Than the Substance?

Gambling addiction has even been studied for that. It's the uncertainty, not knowing if the next roll of the die will be a winner or a loser, that is captivating for them. What they want to be is in that head space where everything else falls away and they're completely absorbed by the game. And i have patients who will tell me that it doesn't even really matter if they win or lose. That can be an appealing part of it for some people. But i have many, many patients for whom that uncertainty is not part of appeal. In fact, what they're looking for is extreme certainty.