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Video Game Addiction Disorder
By Randi Fredricks
Psychologists are now saying that video game addiction should be officially recognised as a psychiatric disorder.
The call follows a debate on the issue at the annual meeting of the American Medical Association in 2007.
At the meeting, Professor Doug Sellman, of the Otago University's Christchurch campus, said the four hallmarks of addiction were present for problem
video gamers.
They were unable to control the amount of time spent playing games, the increasing dominance of gaming in a person's life, the compulsion to play the
game and psychological behaviours such as withdrawal, and an increasing need for a bigger thrill.
Like other addiction, there are likely to be co-existing disorders with game addiction.
Three-quarters of all addictions have some other form of psychiatric problems.
In one extreme case a 28-year-old South Korean man died of heart failure after playing a computer game for 50 hours straight.
Not surprisingly, video game-makers have previously scoffed at ideas that their games can cause psychiatric disorders.
Part of the issue is related to parental control.
Parents need to be mindful and not use game machines as a easy form of babysitting.
It's the same as any addiction: just because people gamble it doesn't mean they are addicted. It's only 5 to 10 per cent of people who use
video games are addicted.
In 2006, the world's first game addiction clinic was opened in the Netherlands and was overwhelmed with pleas for help from throughout the world.
Located in Amsterdam, the gaming detox clinic has already saved 20 plus gamers from wasting their lives in front of a television screen.
They first start the treatment by making the addicties confess that they have no control of playing video games.
Then they separate the gamers away from their games. While in this stage some of the gamers taken the detox have actually had
withdrawal symptoms like sweating when they see a game controller.
One common mistake that people make is giving themselves easy access to their games.
Don't give yourself easy access, get rid of the games that get you hooked so then you have a reason not to play. It may sound hard for someone to throw
their sixty dollar game away but it’s better to have a life than to spend it in front of a TV.
What parents can do to prevent their kids from becoming addicts is to keep watch on the amount of time that their kids play.
Every second of their spare time should not be on their gaming console.
Randi Fredricks
has a Doctorate in Naturopathy and a Masters in Psychology. She runs her own natural health business,
All Things Well,
and counsels clients at her office in San Jose, California. You can reach her at 800-957-5655 or
contact her online. This article is taken partially or in whole from Randi Fredricks' book
Healing & Wholeness: Complementary and Alternative Therapies for
Mental Health. Copyright © 2008. All rights reserved.
No part of this article may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems.
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Randi Fredricks ::: 1723 Hamilton Ave Suite D, San Jose, California, 95125 ::: 408-315-0645
Contact Randi Online
This site does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Randi Fredricks is a Marriage Family Therapist Intern IMF 56610 supervised
by Mary Crocker Cook MFC 24835. Randi Fredricks is not licensed with the
California Bureau of Naturopathic Medicine. © 2001-2008 Randi Fredricks All rights reserved.
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