Green Crescent President Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mehmet Dinç visited Uşak Branch Green Crescent Counseling Center (YEDAM) to give information about Green Crescent's efforts to fight against addiction.
Green Crescent President Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mehmet Dinç held a press conference at Uşak Branch Green Crescent Counseling Center (YEDAM) about addictions including gambling, substance and technology and answered journalists' questions. Speaking here, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dinç said, “We carry out prevention activities in 120 branches across Turkey so that our children and young people, especially our children and young people, do not become addicted. Within the scope of prevention activities for all age groups starting from kindergarten, we are trying to raise awareness and empower our children, young people, people, mothers and fathers, and to provide them with the necessary skills.”
Dinç stated that they have counseling centers at 107 points across Turkey and that they provide confidential and free of charge services by expert psychologists and social workers.
Explaining that they work on addictions, Dinç said, “There is no other model in the world that provides such comprehensive services. Therefore, the service we offer here is a service that will be the pride of our country. If we have people, brothers and sisters who are addicted in any way, they can come to our centers and get support without hesitation and without spending any time. The service we provide is free of charge. We have no financial expectation in any way. As long as our people are independent. Let them get rid of this problem. At the same time, our friends who provide this service are experts in their fields. People who have received special trainings on these issues. We provide a service based on the principle of complete confidentiality in our centers. In no way will there be a situation such as recording or confronting them during the treatment process.”
Gambling addiction warning from Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mehmet Dinç
Underlining that gambling addiction is as important an issue as substance addiction and that gambling addiction of young people is now like entertainment among children, Dinç said, “Our children and young people are confronted in every sense. Our children want to play a game, an advertisement about gambling comes up. He is curious, he looks at it, after a while he can get hooked on it. Or they want to watch a movie, an advertisement pops up and they can get hooked on it. Or the addiction industry is trying to turn this into a culture. It starts to show it as entertainment among children. When this becomes a disease, it causes very destructive consequences. So there are many dimensions of entertainment that are right, healthy and non-harmful. When it gets to the point of gambling, multidimensional destruction begins. It has a negative effect on the body, psychological structure and mental structure, as in substance addiction. It seriously damages social relationships. It also poses a serious threat to mood disorders. Therefore, what we call gambling is not only economic loss. Our children and young people should not think that they are playing for fun, playing in a way that they will not be harmed, playing in a way that they can control, it derails very quickly. There is an incredible economic loss, but not only economic loss, but also psychological, social relations, and future fiction cause very serious damage. The sensitivity of people about gambling may not be as much as substance addiction. They are very afraid of substance addiction, but they say gambling is not as much of a problem. The industry is even changing the name. It doesn't call it gambling, it calls it games of chance, games of chance, games of chance, other things. They are all gambling. It seems that its harm is not like substance addiction, but when we look at it, the researches show us very clearly and clearly that the system it follows and the destruction it causes is the same destruction. Therefore, we need to be as anxious and sensitive about gambling addiction as substance addiction.”
After the press statement, the meeting continued closed to the press.
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