Game Addiction Actually a Mental Problem? |
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Last June, we reported on a detox clinic in Netherlands for gaming addicts. Now, a hospital in the United States offers pretty much the same thing. Located in Newton, Mass., the McLean Hospital actually has a "Computer Addiction Services" department, that aims to help people who are hopelessly immersed in video games.The said department's coordinator, Dr. Maressa Orzack, believes that "game addiction is a true mental disorder." According to Orzack who has treated all types of addictions for 15 years, there's little difference between drug use, gambling and video game addiction. She adds that video games work on a theory pretty similar to gambling, called the "variable ratio reinforcement."
Basically, it means that players will set a goal (like finish a particularly a hard mission), and will keep playing until they accomplish it, even if they fail doing it a couple of times. However, they would still keep playing even if they reach the said goal. Thing is, before the players know it, they're addicted. They're already immersed in that "particular gaming world," and see it as a way to escape problems in real life.
Orzack's prescription? "Video game addicts" should accept their problem and be willing to change. And therein lies probably the biggest problem as most people don't see video games as "potentially harmful," as opposed to getting hooked on drugs or other vices. She also adds that there should be "warning labels" in video games packages, pretty much like the warning labels in cigarettes.
What about you? Do you agree with her? Share us your thoughts.
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Comments [refresh]
i guess
I wish I could crawl in the screen and be one with the pixels. Kinda reminds me of game programmer on that movie Grandma's Boy. Very funny movie.
This again proves gaming is hated by many. I mean this basically says anyone addicted to something should just admit it and seek help. Well everyone in the world is addicted to something is this world. Also, thanks to video games I have learned some things school didnt teach or before they taught me.
i like being adicted to games it makes life alot more intresting. These people just dont understand gaming because there not gamers them selves. Things people understand and do alot arnt things people try to fix. For instance have you ever herd of TV adiction. Nope simply because every one understands tv.
uuuh... yeah video games is a bad addiction. Like bein addicted to football at least you're getting exercise. addiction to video games is like getting addicted to staring at the sun.
only better.
it's not the game, nor the cigarette, or anything else that causes the problem. It is the people who are the problems. Some people smoke for 20 years then stop. They have that willpower, and they are a strong enough person. Some people are just weak. If you were to have a warning label similar to that of cigarette package, then you would have to put one on every type of sports gear, condom, television show, etc. Cigarettes actually contain a very addictive substance called nicotine. Last time i checked, i wasn't getting a buzz of sniping people in halo...
I mean, the movies are almost the same, and my friends have for about 50+ DVDs but it's not an addiction? I say that anybody is addicted to something, like singner are addicted to music, film enthusiast to movies, rockstar to rock music, guitarist to guitar playing, and Dr. Maressa Orzack to mental disorder.. I mean, she's the one not getting the message right, she cares about mental dissorder, maybe that's the problem with her lol, I mean, I think saying I'm addicted to video games is more normal than saying I'm addicted to mental dissorder :S maybe she saw too much and now she think everyone is not normal, I dunno.
@#4: yes, exactly, movies are okay but not games? I wonder why, maybe because the juges are too old... or because parents want their children with muscle instead or a brain... anyway, maybe playing video games like 8 hours a day is a problem... like watching the tv when you get home all the time... or eating in a Mc. donald, lol ( mc. donald can kill you so I think it' a LOT worse ).
"because parents want their children with muscle instead *of* a brain..."
come on all they want is money and power. they don't want kids to play these games.these people should ghet a life. its all ready label by the esrb. these people like to sue them also for money, for my little timmy who shot = which likes sue games for it, who cares. they don't even play games. they should worry about other impportant stuff like end the war already. boring sh*t
I would agree, games CAN ruin your life. especially online games like Counter-Strike or World of Warcraft.
I once met a guy who was 40 years old, married, his wife had a good job and all he did was stay at home all day and play Counter-Strike, day in, day out.
I have a friends who like video games, but doesnt want to get himself a system or a proper PC because he sees how addicted I am to games and doesn't want to become that himself.
then again he chooses that so he has more time to go out and to the bar, IMO a worse, more self destructive addiction.
Alll in all every human being is "addicted" to something, maybe they should change the word, how about Passionate? Dedicated? i dunno.
but i don't even play counter strike because its lame with grahics. WoW is addicting just like crack haha. i don't play wow. i don't even play video games hours. people are more likely addiceted to myspace every single day. i hate myspace its so stupid a hundred friends wow lame. you are right about people play those online to much which are boring. how about die inside the the game hahaha.
I guess it could be a mental problem, but I don't know. They seem to put blame in the wrong place. I once read an article in a newspaper that said obesity could be caused by a virus, but most of us know that obesity is caused by people who eat fat foods and don't exercise. It could be a mental problem, but they might just be making an excuse. Now if you excuse me, I need to fill an addiction (a gaming addiction).
People get addicted to video games. I could have told you that without doing a study. It can be a very bad thing.
I was once ADDICTED TO MILK and that wasn't good either. I gained a lot of weight and it made me have lots of zits. I stop drinking it and it was really hard to stop. My zits are gone and I've lost weight.
I do believe Ms. OrcCrack has or had a significant other who paid more attention to games than her.
Suck to be her, evidently...
DrSarcasmo
Since when did we confuse perseverence with addiction.
EVERYTHING can become an addiction! Driving cars can be an addiction and cause some heavy losses in money and one's physical performance. Do we still se people handing out warning leaflets on driving schools? Do we see even people thinking about handing out those leaflets? No.
There's just something special about gaming to these people.
But don't get me wrong: if someone has a clear addiction, he/she should get professional help like that. It's good that they offer it.
hahaha i think hunter is crrect opon so many levels addiction is every wer thers milliions and trilllion types of addictions well anyone tell parents to stop on coffee and drugs and other bull ***** addiction is wat u really want
EVERY PERSSON IN THE WORLD HAS A ADDICTION THER IS ONE ADDICTION THAT CAN NOT STOP IT IS CALLED THE W...A...N....T every body wants somtin or smting les say u buy a PS3 wen u do this is wat u think YAh i got a ps3. but thers is smtin to that... ther is never saticfaction the WANT always comes in u always want things in life u buy a car u buy a house ther i s no way u can stop this is called ADDICTION the biggest addection in the wrld wye is ther a way to stop thet NOO so wye is ther a need to stop game addiction the WANT has caused more problems in the wrld than all the game addiction cases there will ever be... fr example robbing money jacking and on and on stop tryna stop peeple frum wat they like unles u dnt understand it
Some good points being raised. I have been pretty addicted to video games in the past. It caused some problems in my life that i dont think would have happened if i wasnt playing video games. I dont think they are particularly as harmful as drugs. Maybe just as addictive but not as harmful to yourself or society. Everything in moderation i say...
I'm so sick and *****ing tired of people telling me what I can and cannot do or what is and is not good for me. ***** YOU!
So I like to smoke a cigar once in a while, I understand the damn risks and have made my choice.
So I like to smoke a little pot and dabble in other recreational substances. I research what I put into my body and I understand the consequences.
So I like to play 10+ hours of video games per week. That's my choice.
TAKE YOUR RIDICULOUS WAR AGAINST PERSONAL FREEDOMS AND SHOVE IT UP YOUR TIGHT GOD DAMN ASS!!
There should be a voting system like on american idol (I hate that show) for the world. If enough people call in and vote you off, the black helicopts land infront of your house and take you away. Or, wait a second, the rest of us civilized people could just wipe the USA off the face of the planet... That would definitely be a smart move. I guarantee this Dr person is from either Florida or Texas. The *****s of the planet.
Well, videogames actually produce a chemical in your brain called adrenaline (which I'm sure many of you are acquainted with) which gives you, in many senses, a toxic "high" without commiting yourself to real danger.
In that sense, sex is also addicting because it releases endorphines during intercourse. This can also be said of most particularly any enojyable activity, actually, since the brain is constantly stimulated by chemical reactions.
That said, most anything can be "addicting". videogames in and of themselves, however, don't have an external driving factor to the addiction (unlike cigarettes, which have nicotine) and are thusly a choice ultimately made by the person.
Basically, I'm just saying what everyone else is saying, just in scientific terms.
Also, some of you should watch your grammer.
At least it's far more better than doing drugs.
I would rather have my children as video game addicts than say, drug addicts or alcoholics.
there is a limit guys...
IF you are spending more money on games then anything else...and NEED that money for more important things...oyu need help...
IF you are gaming more then having a social life or not spending time with your wife, g/f, friends, or kids...you need help...
There is such thing as TOO MUCH...
My brother has wasted about the past four years playing that game "Everquest" I mean he's damn near forty and he spends near literally every spare moment on that game. I don't get it myself.
He, not surprisingly, has become a complete social retard without even the most basic understanding of social considerations any more.
So yea..I'm gonna have to agree some folks definetly have a problem.
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The only real reason i can see for all the rants recently about video games is that the people running these clinics think they can make easy money from it.
Maybe some people do have a problem , i'm not sure , but Video gaming certainly dosen't harm your body or kill you, and though plausibly addictive the same thing can be said about televisions and movies , but they aren't being ranted over , and are far more likely to kill your brain so to speak , since they have no interaction at all.
Gaming community not loved...
People watch movies all the time..nothing is said..
working out, tv, DOGs,
having an addiction to coke and an addiction to playing a game is not the same. Also, why is having determination, even if you fail multiple times, to meet a goal, a bad thing? Aren't we all slammed with the "Make goals and you can achieve them" message in school? Why does it have to be different in this case?
this is a whole gaming addiction theory is pointless because you can basically become addicted to anything. people can be addicted to food, adrenaline caused from things like skydiving, hell i've even heard of cross country runners that run because of an addiction to the endorphines that are released in your body after a long run...
why should people suddenly thing an addiction to video games deserves more of a warning than anything else.. theres no warning on McDonalds advertisement that says "warning: you may get fat eating our food". i personally think that this woman just wants publicity. if she's been treating addictions for so long than she should know that its not specific things... it can be anything.
it seems like with that same thinking a little kid reading for the first time could start a deadly addiction.
It starts out... a cold lonely night, and there, in the middle of the room, sat a CHILD with a BOOK.
"O- o- o- on- once th- th- there w- w- was a s- s- s- s- s- sma- sma- small pu- pup- pup- puppy." etc... he's not gonna go "well, this book is to goddamned hard, I don't even want to know what happens to the... the... the thing that starts with the P." he's gonna set a goal (read the book) and when he does it he's gonna want to read ANOTHER book.
See the deadly cycle? It's comparable with "recreational" drug use, and gambling, and other terribly henious (sp?) actions...
What an idiot.
If ur gonna play games all day thats what u do...if ur not ur not... ***** scientists and there reviews on sum 2 years in a lab....
yes there are people addicted to video games, and i will say i love to play them. But i can't say that video game addiction is harmless.
I have a friend that is 21 and doesn't have a job, has no movtivation to get a job, and dropped out of college, due to a game called Wow.
But no we can't blame the game, we must blame the gamer, like any addiction, it just takes the willpower to stop.
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The only real reason i can see for all the rants recently about video games is that the people running these clinics think they can make easy money from it.
Maybe some people do have a problem , i'm not sure , but Video gaming certainly dosen't harm your body or kill you, and though plausibly addictive the same thing can be said about televisions and movies , but they aren't being ranted over , and are far more likely to kill your brain so to speak , since they have no interaction at all.
Everything in this worldis ather fun and addictive or boring and hard to do. I play games...so? Bush orders troops into pakastan and to bom other cities. like wow! I dont care if someone dosent like gaming but to go up to u and say u got a prob. with ur brain and u need help (unless u do nothing but games) is un acceptable. ppl see only the people who have no jobs and play games. I SEE HOMLESS PEOPLE WHO DIDNT KNOW WHAT NINTENDO WAS! LIKE CRISET SAKE IT WAS WINTER! maby they should focus on making the world better than to stop ppl from playing games. Alot of ppl would probly be alot better off.
And by the way, if games are bad isnt tv as well? I have a friend who can kik some serious A-no and he plays games. The real reason why he has a problem getting a job is cuz ppl just dont like him 4 no reason. I tell yeah his boss reminds me of theis dr "ill free you from a little paradise u make when u go to bed about being in a game" Like seriously this is a bunch of bull.
"having an addiction to coke and an addiction to playing a game is not the same. Also, why is having determination, even if you fail multiple times, to meet a goal, a bad thing? Aren't we all slammed with the "Make goals and you can achieve them" message in school? Why does it have to be different in this case?"
they can be the same if you are spending over 600$ a month on games and/or game consoles and not worrying about the bills...
people on crack do the same.
nocomment
sorry bout dat. if ppl wanna play games day can, y has it all of a sudden become such a big issue? especiallly calling it a mental dissorder
First of all, You guys need to learn some grammar before you post ;P. And if this so called "doctor" wants to make money from this clinic so be it. I play alot of games i like to call myself a gamer, if gaming was taking control over my life when i am older, i will cut down my hours by doing something else like paintballing. Also if you feel are fustrated etc....just go for a drive or something ( although i can't drive i'm only 15 :P).
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Mr Worm likes you very much!!!
i guess this is true, i mean when im REALLY stressed, theres nothing better to do than escape this world and play a video game, or even lose myself in a good book. but i know im not addicted because i confront my problem after. it just calms me down to get away for an hour or so, and then i feel fresh! do u agree with me?
People are once again targeting the gaming industry and saying that they are addicting, and comparing them with cocaine and other drugs. Gaming is all mental, there is nothing chemical about it, thats what seperates gaming addictions from others, its all mental, just like television addiction or Ricky Bobby's addiction to going fast :D. ITS NOTHING LIKE DRUGS
People are once again targeting the gaming industry and saying that they are addicting, and comparing them with cocaine and other drugs. Gaming is all mental, there is nothing chemical about it, thats what seperates gaming addictions from others, its all mental, just like television addiction or Ricky Bobby's addiction to going fast :D. ITS NOTHING LIKE DRUGS
Newton, Massachusetts is where my video game addiction all began in 1992.
As a Gamer I can say there is a thin line in between obsessed and passionate, I myself, am obsessed. Not addicted. I would never go as far as to say I am. A lot of gamers I know simply find it to be a great joy in life. So why can't any of us play games without being called addicted?
I leave one last statement.
There are a lot of gamers out there. Don't go making assumptions
For those of you who say that videogames arent addictive, your just flat out wrong. I have been known to have long gaming sessions but so far i have been lucky to come out of it without having to dive back in right away. I play games probably an hour every other day now, I have my addiction under controll. There are some who are not so lucky. Those people who play MMORPG's I just feel sad for.
I had a Friend R.C. He was a great guy. Then he started playing everquest, Last i saw of him, he was alone in his appartment for five days without running water, but he had electricity and his damn cable internet. nothing helps you break your gaming addiction like seeing a everquester alone in his ***** smelling appartment in his underwear, not having enough time to talk to you for more than 20 seconds i dont know if he even knew that i left or was ever there. I did go by his place last month only to find that he and all of his stuff were gone and someone else had moved in. I have no Idea what happened to him, nobody does.
My Ex-Wife and I argue all the time about one thing. Source... She plays CS:S for days on end. I actualy let her stay with me and from the time she wakes up at 1:30 or so to the time she goes to sleep at 4AM she is on her computer playing source, or 1.6 or on myspace. I mean she gets off sometimes to.. feed our son, at least i hope she does. I dont know I work 3pm-9pm and when I get to the house i take care of our son. She dosent realize that she is not even living a life. I have talked to her about going to get help, but she dosent think she has a problem. I just hope she snaps out of it by the time he goes to prom. he's almost 3 years old now.
I cant blame the games, only the gamer. I play source and CoD2 as well as five or six other games when i can but never for more that an hour at the most, usualy 10 - 20 minute sessions. I have a Full time job with health and dental, I play with my son before i go to work, I pay my bills and socialize with friends. I am fairly well adjusted on the outside but I'm in constant pain on the inside because I know that I can never move on and have another girlfriend or a wife untill i get my sons mother some help and out of my damn house. She is an embarasment to me and my son. I hide her like a dark secret, I cant stand it some times so i vent to others like yourselves.
Gaming addiction Is real. you cant blame the games only the people playing. It IS a mental addiction that can be helped. I just hope that Others realize that there is help out there.
Um all I have to say is that the whores game theory is dumb. I do set goals while I play games, but if I fail I usually get pissed and stop playing for a couple of days.
anything in excess is unhealthy.
That is bull*****. It isn't doing anybody any harm. We are all addicted to video-games to a certain point so its not like we're addicted to something destructive like drugs or alcohol. Get a life!
Im doing a report on gaming addiction. if any game addicts want to do an interview contact me at michellecolroad o
o no gaming has finally reached the point where it will be called anywhere from "mental problem" to a brainwashing device formed by the nintendo cult also in league microsoft and sony to brainwash the gamers into zombies to fulfill ther wolrd domination scheme, dont even pretend to know anything about gameing since i doubt you have ever truely even played a game the last game you played was when 20 30 50 some odd years ago? or maybe you are just a schitzo(pyscho) and theres no reason at all to even dignify this with a responce.
I have to say after being married to a gamer addict who would spend 12 hours a day on his game that it is a very dangerous habit. My husband would beat me up and came very close to killing me a few times because during a fight I would want to destroy his computer. I spent 2 years watching him lose his job, get angry at me, want to control me, hurt me if I in any way hurt his relationship with his game...and he chose his game over our marriage. I now have a protective order so I'm ok but he is living in a room and playing his game. No one seems to get it until they live with it. I probably wouldn't understand game addiction either if I had never married this person. It is ruining his REAL life and I feel very sad for anyone who is so controlled by a game. I do believe you have to evaluate your thinking. If you spend most of your time thinking about a game then maybe it's time to refocus on reality. I suggest giving it over to the Lord and committing your life to serving Him. Be successful with real people and make a real difference! That's somthing that you and your family will benefit from and you'll like yourself for getting out there! My prayers are with all gamers and especially their loved ones who have been hurt. God Bless!
I have a 55 year old husband who goes to work, comes home, and sits on this fricken computer playing, of all things, TOONTOWN. He gets up an hour early in the morning so he can get his fix before he goes to work. He does nothing around the house. Spends no time with the kids. He doesn't even visit his mother in the nursing home two miles away, despite the fact he went to court and fought his sister for guardianship.
Wonder what he'll do when I pack up the kids, the dog, and this damned computer and move out?