How To Break An Addiction To Video Games

Has Gaming Become A Negative Force In Your Life

Sure, gaming isnt all bad.

It can be a fun and creative way to pass the time and work your brain

If its taking over the balance of your life, however, then its time to consider some serious changes.

Reach out to your friends and family, and inform them of the lifestyle change youre trying to implement so that you can receive support.

Note: if you have a serious gaming problem, to the point where you are a danger to yourself, please seek professional help.

We all need help sometimes thats the nature of being human in the real world.

Want to read more on this topic?

Check out the bonus material, How Violence in Video Games is Affecting Your Mental Health,here.

Why Is Video Game Addiction So Prevalent

No definite scientific consensus is established in determining whether gaming is addictive. It regarded Internet Gaming Disorder as an unverified potential diagnosis with the need for additional review by the American Psychiatric Association.

The APA defines addiction as a psychological disorder that manifests through compulsive substance usage despite the harmful consequences. Consequently, it excludes the possibility of any behavioral addiction.

Only a very little part of gamers show the symptoms of a disorder particularly when it comes to specific symptoms of withdrawal or tolerance. For this reason, several people say over-use of games can act as a habit or become symptoms of another condition.

Are There Different Types Of Video Game Addictions

There are two major types of video games and therefore two major types of video game addictions. Standard video games are generally designed to be played by a single player and involve a clear goal or mission, such as rescuing a princess. The addiction in these games is often related to completing that mission or beating a high score or preset standard.

The other type of video game addiction is associated with online multiplayer games. These games are played online with other people and are especially addictive because they generally have no ending. Gamers with this type of addiction enjoy creating and temporarily becoming an online character. They often build relationships with other online players as an escape from reality. For some, this community may be the place where they feel theyre the most accepted.

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What Is Addiction Anyway

There is still a major divide between the public understanding of addiction and the expert view. Its common to hear people casually call an activity addictive just because its fun. Some people continue to see addiction not as a medical condition but as a moral failure, contrary to what major public health and medical organizations have said for decades now. There are still misconceptions that addiction requires some sort of physical component for example, physical dependence that causes withdrawal or that physical dependence is conclusive proof of addiction.

Experts, however, have long moved away from these old views of addiction, if they ever held such beliefs at all. Under the expert view, addiction doesnt even require a physical dependence component.

We long ago moved away from thinking about addiction as a physical or physiological need for a drug, Robert West, editor in chief for the scientific journal Addiction, told me. In most cases, its not the physiological thats causing the problem, because you can quite easily get people over that through, say, supervised detoxification. Its a behavioral problem. Where the problem lies is that certain drugs and behaviors in certain people lead to such powerful motivation to engage in the behavior that its damaging or could be damaging.

Learn The Symptoms Of Addictive Gaming

Clearly, video game addiction is harmful. People who participate in it don’t have time for anything else. This is especially important for young children who don’t know how to interact with others socially. Still, just playing video games does not mean that you have an addiction.

It’s important to learn the signs of addictive gaming. Once you know what they are, you can learn more about your own behaviors.

Some of the more common signs of gaming addiction include:

• Feeling the need to play the games for increasing amounts of time.
• Thinking about gaming while participating in other activities.
• Using gaming to escape from stress or other problems.
• Using gaming as a way to cope with anxiety or depression.
• Lying to friends and family about how much time is spent gaming.
• Attempting to hide gaming activities from people you love.
• Becoming angry or irritable when trying to cut down on gaming time.
• Dropping out of other activities in order to pursue video games.
• Not spending time with friends any longer.

These symptoms only tend to get worse as time goes on. The individual may become even more isolated from others. It’s even common to spend hours gaming without eating or using the restroom. These behaviors are very dangerous, and they obviously indicate that there’s a serious problem.

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Here Are Four Possible Signs Youre Gaming Too Much:

Finding Yourself Unable To Quit

We all know those gamers who refuse to quit and play for hours on end into the dead of night. This could be a sign of an addiction as they find it impossible to put the game down for even a second.

They might always be online or have completed a game several times in a few short days. One way gamers could handle this issue is to set a bedtime or a certain amount of time to play in order to prevent their gaming from getting out of control.

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Video Game Addiction Symptoms Causes And Effects

Video gaming addiction is recognized by various groups such as the American Medical Association as a condition. Research shows 6-15% of gamers are addicted, and its start to affect their daily life and relationships. It can have a serious cost to people with it but their symptoms can occasionally be difficult to spot. Video game addiction in America can affect many people.

Gaming Disorder: Why Video Games Can Be Addictive

Even without an officially diagnosed disorder, some people sacrifice their jobs and marriages to spend 60 hours every week playing on the computer. Some children and teenagers become so attached to video games that they threaten their parents when theyre told to put down the controller.

Many people have read about such cases or have had experiences which show that video games have addictive power. While anecdotal evidence is not scientific research, real-world experience and the growing awareness of other behavioral addictions explain why the concept of video game addiction is becoming increasingly accepted. Recently, the World Health Organization added gaming disorder to its official list of diseases.

Gaming disorder is defined as a pattern of gaming behavior characterized by impaired control over gaming, increasing priority given to gaming over other activities to the extent that gaming takes precedence over other interests and daily activities, and continuation or escalation of gaming despite the occurrence of negative consequences.

– World Health Organization

Moreover, video games affect the brain in the same way as addictive drugs: they trigger the release of dopamine, a chemical which reinforces behavior. For this reason, playing video games can be an addictive stimulus. These facts indicate that addiction to video games may be possible.

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Decreased Performance In Work Or School

Gaming, like any hobby, can begin to affect performance in work or school if it turns into an addiction. The focus will be taken away from supporting yourself or learning to better yourself in life, to that of becoming a better video game player.

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This coincides with the last sign that it will become all a gamer thinks about as they lose focus of what really matters. Video games should never affect life at work or school, and this is a major sign that changes need to be made.

Dual Diagnosis: Video Game Addiction And Substance Abuse

Because video game addiction has been linked to depression, sleeplessness and an overall lack of concern for ones own health, it is not surprising that substance abuse is also a problem for many gamers suffering from this compulsive disorder. For those suffering from video game addiction as well as substance abuse, proper treatment is imperative to recovery. If you or someone you know is currently suffering from one or both of these disorders, seek professional guidance immediately by calling us at .

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What Causes Gaming Addiction

Video games are designed to be addictive using state-of-the-art behavioral psychology to keep you hooked. Games are immersive experiences that provide you with a high amount of dopamine, and overexposure to this level of stimulation can cause structural changes to your brain 11.The association between online gaming, social phobia, and depression: an internet survey×.

You begin to live in a world where you expect instant gratification. Games are so immersive that its easy to play for hours and hours without even noticing that a minute has gone by. They allow you to escape and see measurable progress. They are social and create an environment where you feel safe and in control.

Game developers also deploy manipulative game design features such as in-app purchases, microtransactions, and loot boxes that some governments have declared illegal because they are a form of gambling. Gaming addiction exists because game companies are billion-dollar industries and the more people they have hooked on games, the more money they make.

What Causes An Addiction To Video Games

Many different causes factor into video game addiction. One of the main reasons that video games can become so addictive, however, is they are designed to be that way. Video game designers, like anyone else trying to make a profit, are always looking for ways to get more people playing their games. They accomplish this by making a game just challenging enough to keep you coming back for more but not so hard that the player eventually gives up. In other words, success for a gamer often feels just out of reach. In this respect, video game addiction is very similar to another more widely recognized disorder: gambling addiction.

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Physically Suffering Because Of Gaming

When gamers find it hard to quit, or even put the game down for a second, it can cause their health to suffer. This could include things like lack of sleep, not eating proper meals, or even poor hygiene.

It can cause a person’s health to degrade as they develop more serious illnesses due to their bodies not functioning properly. The best way to handle this is to make sure that gamers are taking care of themselves first and playing games second so they can be healthy, while still finding happiness.

Mistake #: Creating Easy Access

Four out of five children over eight years old own a video-game system. The risk of video-game addiction increases dramatically when your child owns a system, because then it is much harder to control the amount of time spent playing. As with any other behavioural addiction, easy access to the object of obsession makes it difficult to avoid pitfalls.

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Coping With Threats Of Self

All threats of harm should be taken seriously. A user may make threats to engage in self-harm when discussions involving limits or needing help are on the table. Do not take these lightly. Be direct and ask if they have a plan to harm themselves or others. If you suspect a person may intentional harm themselves, contact your local crisis line or your local police officer who may be able to conduct a safety check. By you taking action, a gamer may realize that idle threats are not the way to get you to leave them alone. Idle threats will often cease if the real intent is to keep you at a distance so they can keep video gaming.

• Seizures

How To Break An Addiction To Video Games

For example, people that dont believe are addicted to porn or video games couldnt.Games are immersive experiences that provide you with a high amount of dopamine, and overexposure to this level of stimulation can cause structural changes to your brain 1 1.Having something to look forward to other than video games can help break down a video game addiction Here are a three ways to break or prevent the addiction cycle.

Here are three easy steps on how you can easily break an addiction.Heres what i tell them.If you dont have them, you cant play them.If you play online games, delete your accounts.

In recent years, ive spoken with many parents who are looking for ways to wean their kids from the screen.Its time to get empowered.Likewise, having other activities to engage in with friends can also help disincentivize the.Make a list of the alternative things that you are going to do

Many devices have ways to track playing time, check the manual and see whats available.One needs to accept the fact that he is addicted to something thats actively or potentially harmful.One of the best ways to manage this with my son is to give him his earned electronic time early enough in the afternoon that he can get outside and engage in some kind of physical activity afterwards.Overstimulation from video games is very real, but can also be related to sensory issues, which coexist in many children with adhd and are still poorly understood.

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None Of This Is Going To Be Totally Easy

Kicking or controlling your habit can feel overwhelming, especially if video gaming is an integral part of your daily routine.

But you CAN

You CAN still find a way back to a relationship with your computer or phone that benefits, not undermines, the rest of your life.

You CAN attack the emotions that cause you to overplay at their core.

Or even set up the environment around you to make playing games much more inconvenient

Controversy And Alternative Viewpoints

Common challenges involve the reliability of the methodology and validity of the results in some studies. Many rely on self-surveys from university students and also lack time frames making it difficult to study the impact, if any, of addiction on a long term scale. Other concerns also address the definition of addiction and how to measure it, questioning whether or not time is a proper unit to determine how addicted someone is to gaming. Daria Joanna Kuss and Mark D. Griffiths have argued the current scientific knowledge on internet gaming addiction is copious in scope and complexity. They state that instead, a simple framework should be provided to allow all current and future studies to be categorised, as internet gaming addiction lies on a continuum beginning with etiology and risk factors all the way through the development of “full-blown” addiction and ending with ramifications and potential treatment. In addition, they caution the deployment of the label “addiction” since it heavily denotes the use of substances or engagement in certain behaviors. Finally, the researcher promotes other researchers to assess the validity and reliability of existing measures instead of developing additional measurement instruments.

The evidence of video game addiction to create withdrawal symptoms is very limited and thus debated, due to different definitions and low quality trials.

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Filling A Hole Of Loneliness With Anything Is A Recipe For Addiction

Instead, maybe its time to fill it with people.

If your relationships with other humans leave something to desire, it may be time to take a few risks and get in the game again.

• Go visit some friends.
• Pick up the phone and catch up with someone you havent talked to in a while.
• Try putting on a weekly dinner party or invite a friend to go out for coffee or a drink.
• Join a club or just attend some special interest events.
• Start practicing the art of striking up conversations with strangers .

If the loneliness has really caught hold and begun to impact your self esteem and quality of life, consider speaking to a counselor or therapist to work through this transition.

Therapists can be invaluable even if all you need is another human to listen.