CAN YOU BE ADDICTED TO INTERNET GAMES?
An addiction to computer and online games can put your life on hold – or worse, it could derail it completely. Reach out to J.D. Murphy in Pineville for counseling if you or somebody you love is struggling with addiction to computer games or the internet.
Can you or somebody you love be addicted to online games? They sound harmless — after all, they’re just games. For many people, online gaming is an innocent pastime, but not for everybody. Online gaming moves from harmless fun to something more sinister when you play compulsively, and to the exclusion of other interests. Is your online gaming addiction endangering your ability to succeed in school? Does the amount of time that you spend on computer or video games interfere with your functioning on the job?
Like other kinds of addiction, if you are addicted to computer or video games, or internet gaming in general, then you may experience symptoms of withdrawal when you are prevented from gaming. If an online gaming addiction is taking over your life, then it may be time to reach out for help.
IS ONLINE GAMING A REAL PROBLEM?
In the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), a publication of the The American Psychiatric Association, Internet Gaming Disorder is identified in Section III as a condition warranting more clinical research and experience. Click here for details.
THE BEST MINDS ARE WORKING TO PROMOTE YOUR ADDICTION TO ONLINE GAMING
Sony and Microsoft and a host of other video game and software companies take some of the best minds available to create interesting, engaging, and compelling gaming environments. For some people, these environments are too successful and too compelling.
Just as drugs and alcohol can affect our brain chemistry, online and internet gaming can affect brain pathways, triggering feelings of pleasure and reward. When our brains demand that intense feeling from gaming, computer and video games can quickly become addictive.
SELF-TEST — CHECK IF YOU ARE ADDICTED TO INTERNET GAMES
- Are you preoccupied with online games?
- When you can’t play, do you experience irritability, anxiety, or sadness?
- Have you increased the number of hours that you play games online?
- Have you tried, but been unsuccessful, in limiting the number for hours that you play?
- Has Internet gaming taken the place of other hobbies or activities that you previously enjoyed?
- Are you lying or being untruthful to your spouse, parents, or friends about the number of hours that you spend gaming?
- Has online gaming damaged or jeopardized school, work, or romantic relationships?