Video Game Addiction

[Onikaroshi]

Yes, that's why I didn't want to post the criteria. But I did in order to "define" the topic.

You shouldn't auto-diagnose stuff. This is just a tool that mental health professionals use to guide them when evaluating patients.

In my abnormal psych class there was a warning almost every day of it lol. "You are going to think you have every illness in this book, stop, you don't"

[Ladey Gags]

TIL doing something for more than an hour or doing something to "relax" is bad. Man, guess i need to stop playing disc golf and my step dad needs to stop playing basketball.

While those activities aren’t inherently bad, compulsively escaping through anything in order to capture a feeling/release/high means there is a problem that needs to be addressed.

I’d wager the vast majority of people in modern civilization are addicts in one way or another. It’s very very rare to find someone who can be content sitting in a quiet room with their thoughts doing absolutely nothing.

[Ragnarohk]

This thread was meant to be a self reflection about how you feel and what you think about your gaming habits in relation to your mental health.

[Onikaroshi]

While those activities aren’t inherently bad, compulsively escaping through anything in order to capture a feeling/release/high means there is a problem that needs to be addressed.

I’d wager the vast majority of people in modern civilization are addicts in one way or another. It’s very very rare to find someone who can be content sitting in a quiet room with their thoughts doing absolutely nothing.

Doing something to "relax" after a long day of work is not a bad thing dude. Relax, unwind, whatever you want to call is not something negative, it's literally just doing something you enjoy.

Maybe if we didn't have to work things would be different, but since the day man came to be we've had to work, whether that be hunting/foraging, or assembling cars at a plant.

[Ragnarohk]

Binge is always 10-14h/day.

That by itself is not healthy

[agentsi]

If you find yourself avoiding social events, work, your family, your health, and in short, obligations in life. Then you have an issue. But if you can manage all of those things, are mostly financially responsible, mostly healthy, but just enjoy video games. I see no issues. Video games to our generation are what TV was pre-cable/DVR was to the previous.

And in all seriousness, I've been more addicted to a book, than any video game ever. Books are just as liking to destroy someone's life as a video game if they're using it for escaping purposes.

[Ladey Gags]

Doing something to "relax" after a long day of work is not a bad thing dude. Relax, unwind, whatever you want to call is not something negative, it's literally just doing something you enjoy.

Maybe if we didn't have to work things would be different, but since the day man came to be we've had to work, whether that be hunting/foraging, or assembling cars at a plant.

What if when you die, you’re unable to do something to unwind your life? What will you do then?

[Onikaroshi]

What if when you die, you’re unable to do something to unwind your life? What will you do then?

Die? No one knows what's after, maybe nothing, maybe we start over. Zero point in worrying about that.

[Ladey Gags]

Die? No one knows what's after, maybe nothing, maybe we start over. Zero point in worrying about that.

I’m just saying if you don’t learn how to take a seat and enter a state of total acceptance before shit really hits the fan, you’re in for a rude awakening

[Tech614]

Can people be addicted to gaming? Yes, they can be addicted to almost anything if they enjoy it enough and have the personality disorder that leads to it.

Is it the same as literal physical addiction like to say a hard drug like heroin or crack? No, not even close it's all mental you aren't gonna literally have your body shut down on you if you go without it like a heroin fiend will. You aren't going to lie and manipulate people or steal things to play video games. You aren't going to sell your body to play video games and you damn sure aren't going to OD on them.

I really feel like we need different terms because classifying gambling or gaming addictions with the same word as drug addictions is literal garbage and a bad description for people not in the know.

[Ragnarohk]

I really feel like we need different terms because classifying gambling or gaming addictions with the same word as drug addictions is literal garbage and a bad description for people not in the know.

I'll cite wikipedia because I'm not going to look for a proper article right now. (And the wikipedia article is actually really good. It goes into the pathophysiology and molecular/genetic mechanisms)

"Addiction is a brain disorder characterized by compulsive engagement in rewarding stimuli despite adverse consequences... develops over time from chronically high levels of exposure to an addictive stimulus (e.g., eating food, the use of cocaine, engagement in sexual activity, participation in high-thrill cultural activities such as gambling, etc.) ... In order for a person's gambling behavior to meet criteria of an addiction, it shows certain characteristics, such as mood modification, compulsivity, and withdrawal. There is evidence from functional neuroimaging that gambling activates the reward system and the mesolimbic pathway in particular ... Similarly, shopping and playing video games are associated with compulsive behaviors in humans and have also been shown to activate the mesolimbic pathway and other parts of the reward system. Based upon this evidence, gambling addiction, video game addiction, and shopping addiction are classified accordingly"


So it's been linked to functional (neuronal connection, molecular and neuromodulatory) changes.

[Craaazyyy]

It’s an epidemic. Look at hikkikomori (sp?), something that is not confined to Japan. It is a problem in the west too. Look at the classic wow try hards. If you play a video game for more than an hour a day, you’re doing it for unhealthy reasons. I will get replies saying that’s absurd, but the fact is that doing anything for a “release” or to “relax” is self medicating, and needs to be looked at.

Many gaming addicts likely have ADHD, diagnosed or undiagnosed, as the constant stimulation is very unique and it’s hard to find anything else that can produce such an effect on the brain.

that's the dumbest thing i've heard in a while

[Edge-]

I will get replies saying that’s absurd, but the fact is that doing anything for a “release” or to “relax” is self medicating, and needs to be looked at.

You will not find any therapists or behavioral psychologists that would back up such a broad statement, because it is patently absurd.

Do you need to be looked at if you spend a few hours a day exercising and socializing with friends to relax?
What if you engage in activities like reading books for an hour or two a day?
How about spending an hour or two a few nights a week with a local art collective working on 2/3D art projects?

There is no medical or diagnostic basis for this assertion, and it's flat-out wrong.

[Mirishka]

I was absolutely addicted to WoW during the Wrath expansion. I put raiding before time with family/friends etc and got agitated as hell at anything/anyone that pulled my attention from that.

It wasn't until I snapped at someone for interrupting me during a raid, that I realized just how obsessive about the game I had become. So I decided to stop raiding completely for the last 4 months or so of Wrath and limited myself to one night a week for most of Cata.

Thankfully I never got to that point again: I've been careful not to.

[Ladey Gags]

You will not find any therapists or behavioral psychologists that would back up such a broad statement, because it is patently absurd.

Do you need to be looked at if you spend a few hours a day exercising and socializing with friends to relax?
What if you engage in activities like reading books for an hour or two a day?
How about spending an hour or two a few nights a week with a local art collective working on 2/3D art projects?

There is no medical or diagnostic basis for this assertion, and it's flat-out wrong.

What “therapists” (modern witches) think does not concern me. In my own contemplations, I have found that doing anything for the result is a means to escape something that is bothering your subconscious.

[Tech614]

So it's been linked to functional (neuronal connection, molecular and neuromodulatory) changes.

You can say anything is linked to anything but unless you actually have been around a family member with a hard drug addiction you wouldn't understand comparing what is basically a very minor mental and social disorder to your body literally needing said drug to operate is garbage. They need to be classified with completely different words so the ignorant masses don't compare them. It's like comparing a BB gun to an AR15.

[Edge-]

You can say anything is linked to anything but unless you actually have been around a family member with a hard drug addiction you wouldn't understand comparing what is basically a very minor mental and social disorder to your body literally needing said drug to operate is garbage. They need to be classified with completely different words so the ignorant masses don't compare them. It's like comparing a BB gun to an AR15.

It would be. It would be a sub-category of behavioral addiction, as gambling addiction is. That's been in the DSM for at least a few issues by now, and had a more defined definition in the DSM-V.

Yes, behaviors may not come with the physiological additions that substances can have, but it can and does often change how ones brain functions. In part because all learned behaviors do, but also because these are people whose brains are usually a bit more inclined towards addictive behaviors (IIRC there are triggers during your teenage years that can cause this). It's functionally just one in a long line of more clearly defined behavioral addictions.

[Tech614]

It would be. It would be a sub-category of behavioral addiction, as gambling addiction is. That's been in the DSM for at least a few issues by now, and had a more defined definition in the DSM-V.

Yes, behaviors may not come with the physiological additions that substances can have, but it can and does often change how ones brain functions. In part because all learned behaviors do, but also because these are people whose brains are usually a bit more inclined towards addictive behaviors (IIRC there are triggers during your teenage years that can cause this). It's functionally just one in a long line of more clearly defined behavioral addictions.

You think masses are smart enough to look at sub categories? They see on their cable news of choice "video games not classified as addiction" and start treating their family members like they are drug addicts.

Please don't take my post as something that is needed for people willing to do 5 mins of research, most people don't.

[Ragnarohk]

You can say anything is linked to anything but unless you actually have been around a family member with a hard drug addiction you wouldn't understand comparing what is basically a very minor mental and social disorder to your body literally needing said drug to operate is garbage. They need to be classified with completely different words so the ignorant masses don't compare them. It's like comparing a BB gun to an AR15.

They both fall into the same category, that doesn't mean they are identical. Current evidence points that the observed neurophysiological changes are similar.

Things can exist in a spectrum. Apples and oranges look and taste differently, but they are both fruit.

This isn't about comparing them. This thread is about gaming as a behavioural issue, not chemical substance abuse.

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What “therapists” (modern witches) think does not concern me. In my own contemplations, I have found that doing anything for the result is a means to escape something that is bothering your subconscious.

Those "modern witches" spend 6+ years studying human behaviour. I'm going to go ahead and say that your own contemplation doesn't hold against current scientific evidence.

[Shinrael]

For me it is a concious choice. I have calculated the time I spend on everything in my life on a weekly basis and I have dedicated a fair bit to gaming, but once again - that is a concious choice. I like being immersed in a fantasy world. It could be movies or books or browsing concept art on the net, it just so happens that games combine all the forms of art I enjoy in one. It's like chocolate. I know I enjoy it. I know that I can go without it for long periods of time, but I see zero benefits to keeping myself away from it. Sure, I gain extra free time which I can distribute to my other time-spenders such as work or drawing or writing or jogging or w/e but I also know well that my brain needs a rest. But I know that will just make me burnout from those habits and hobbies, so what's the point.

Video games also helped me deal with all kinds of issues in the past. Depression and loneliness to name a few. I no longer have those and I have a more successful life than I even hoped to have 10 years ago, so games are definetely not an impairment in that regard.

I can see how they can be a problem for people who lack patience and discipline. But then again, the root of the problem would be... the lack of control and discipline. Games just happened to be the medium where those issues become apparent.