Contents:
- Medical Video: Video Game Addiction | Peninsula Behavioral Health
- Addiction to playing games is a new mental disorder according to WHO
- What is meant by addiction to gaming (gaming disorder)?
- What causes someone to be addicted to the game?
- Are all game players at risk of addiction?
Medical Video: Video Game Addiction | Peninsula Behavioral Health
Some people choose to take a nap, read a book, or watch a comedy film to fill their spare time while driving away stress. A few others prefer to play games - whether console games, computer games, or online games on mobile phones. Playing games is not as bad as many people have considered. But be careful if you are already addicted. The World Health Organization (WHO) now classifies addiction to playing games as a mental disorder. Wow!
Addiction to playing games is a new mental disorder according to WHO
The World Health Organization (WHO) plans to publish a guidebookInternational Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) in 2018 by including addiction to playing games as one of the categories of new mental disorders, referred to as gaming disorder (GD).
Gaming disorder is proposed to be included under the broad category "Mental, behavioral, and neurodevelopmental disorders", especially under the subcategory of "substance abuse or addictive behavior." This means health experts around the world agree that addiction to game play can have a similar effect addicted to alcohol or illegal drugs.
This proposal was made because it saw evidence of a rapid increase in cases of game addiction from various parts of the world, which was also accompanied by requests for referral of medical therapy at doctors.
What is meant by addiction to gaming (gaming disorder)?
Addiction to playing games is characterized by an inability to control the desire to play, so that it is difficult and / or unable to stop the behavior - despite all the efforts made to stop it.
The classic signs and symptoms of game addiction are:
- Always spend a long time playing, even the duration increases day by day.
- Feeling irritable and offended when banned or asked to stop playing games.
- Always think about the game while working on other activities.
This loss of self control makes game addicts tend to prioritize gaming in his life so that he would do various ways to be able to complete his desire for opium, not caring about the consequences and risks.
What causes someone to be addicted to the game?
Every thing or things that make you feel good will stimulate the brain to produce dopamine, a happy hormone maker. Under normal circumstances, this will not cause addiction. Just feeling happy and satisfied in general.
But when you experience addiction, the object that makes you happy actually stimulates the brain to produce excessive dopamine. Over-dopamine counts will disrupt the work of the hypothalamus, the part of the brain responsible for regulating emotions and moods that makes you feel very happy, unnatural, upbeat, and over-confident - a sign of euphoria - to feel 'high'.
This happy effect will automatically make the body addicted and crave to feel it again. In the end, this effect keeps you from using the opium repeatedly in higher frequency and duration to satisfy the need for extreme happiness. If this happens continuously, over time it will damage the brain's receptor motivation and reward receptors and the system causes addiction.
Are all game players at risk of addiction?
Within reasonable limits, playing games is certainly not prohibited. Playing games can be a good stress repellent activity and is also beneficial for brain health.
There is some medical evidence that playing games can be used as an alternative therapy for treating mental disorders such as Alzheimer's and ADHD. The reason is that during game play, your brain will be required to work hard to regulate cognitive functions (such as strategy planning) coupled with complex motor function work (for example, while looking at the screen you also have to move your hands to play a joystick or push a button).
Well if this hobby is not controlled, then it can develop into addiction. For doctors or psychiatrists who can diagnose gaming disorder, symptoms and signs of behavior from game addiction must occur continuously for at least 12 months and show "side effects" of severe disturbances in the addict, such as personality changes, characteristics, behavior, habits, even brain function.
Someone is also called addiction if the opium has also caused interference or even conflict in social relations with other people and in professional environments, such as schools or workplaces.
